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The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine

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The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine

The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine

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Dr. Blake Raggio, Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon

Botox for the Boomer: What You Need to Know In January’s article we discussed the ins and outs of hair loss and the available methods of hair restoration, ranging from in-office stem cell treatments (PRP) to hair transplant surgery. This month, I would like to shift gears and discuss the nuances of perhaps the most popular anti-aging procedure today, botulinum toxin, or more commonly referred to as “botox.”

What exactly is botulinum toxin?

Botulinum toxin, commonly referred to as “botox” or “toxin” for short, represents a powerful neuromodulator derived from a toxin purified from a bacterium, Clostridium botulinum. To add to the confusion, there exists several tradenames of botulinum toxin, four of which are currently available in the United States and FDA-approved for cosmetic use. They include, Allergan’s Botox Cosmetic, Galderma’s Dysport, Merz’s Xeomin, and Evolus’ Jeuveau. For the remainder of the article, we will use the term toxin or neuromodulators to refer to any of the above botulinum toxin preparations.

How does toxin work?

As mentioned above, toxin is a neuromodulator that works by blocking the nerve signals needed for muscles to contract. When injected using precise amounts into targeted muscles of the face, toxin can be safely used to soften wrinkles by relaxing the muscles whose repetitive movement is associated with deep lines or wrinkles (e.g., smiling, frowning, surprised, grimace).

What areas of the face can be treated with toxin?

Botulinum toxin can be used to soften lines and wrinkles on several different areas of the face, including the more commonly addressed forehead, eye area (crow’s feet), and “bunny lines” on the

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nose. A more experienced injector may also discuss the roles of toxin to soften chin dimpling, treat a “gummy smile,” turn up the corners of the mouth, increase lip “pout,” improve the contour of the neck (Nefertiti lift), soften neck-banding (playstma injections), slim the jawline (masseter injections), rotate the tip of the nose, or improve the overall appearance and texture of the skin by injecting hyper-dilute concentrations of toxin (meso-botox). NOTE: some of these treatments may be considered off-label, so please consult with a credentialed and reputable physician when creating a treatment plan.

What does a toxin treatment feel like?

For most people, toxin injections are a very quick in-office procedure with minimal discomfort (often described as a “pinch”). Even better, there is virtually no downtime associated with toxin injections. In fact, many patients come for their treatment during their lunchbreaks and can return to work immediately after their appointment. Also, try to find an injector who offers other ancillary measures to maximize your comfort, which may include vibration devices, ice, or topical anesthesia.

How soon will I see results, and how long does it last?

Generally, it takes 3-7 days to see the full effects of toxin. The results typically last between 3-5 months, depending on a variety of factors including injection technique, dosing concentration, age, metabolism, and physical activity level.

Repeated “maintenance” injections every 3-4 months help patients maintain their results for a longer period, sometimes

requiring less amount of product during subsequent visits as the muscles progressively weaken or atrophy.

Is toxin safe? What are the side effects?

The four FDA-approved botulinum toxin preparations for cosmetic use have an extremely high safety profile with minimal and temporary side effects including bruising, swelling, redness, or tenderness to the injection site. You should know, however, that some contraindications exist, including if you have certain neurological diseases or are taking particular antibiotics. It is also recommended to avoid treatment within 2 weeks of being sick, having dental work, or receiving a vaccine. Overall, neuromodulators such as Botox, Dysport, and Xeomin represent a safe and powerful tool to prevent and treat the signs of aging.

When should I start getting toxin?

What do I need to do?

While some may worry they are “too young” or “too old” to receive toxin, there is no right or wrong age to begin treatments. The first step involves finding a reputable, credentialed, and experienced injector with intimate knowledge of facial anatomy who can offer you a customized treatment plan based on your aesthetic goals. As always, choose a surgeon whom you trust.

There is nothing more important than the relationship you have with your doctor.

Until next time.

Dr. Blake Raggio Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon Jackson Hospital and Clinics 334-270-2003 RiverRegionFacialPlastics.com drblakeraggio@gmail.com

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BOOM!, The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine

Contents

February 2021 Volume 11 Issue 7

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”

Facebook.com/RiverRegionBoom

C.S. Lewis

Thought Relationships Taste Inspiration

Humor Advice Health Community

“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.”

Carl Bard

7 3D Image Advanced Heart Check-$99 9 Botox for the Boomer: What You Need to Know Dr. Blake Raggio 12 Publisher's Column

Happy Valentine's!

14 You’re a Completely Different Person at 14 & 77... page 48

Features 24 The Benefits of 30 Do these 5 things Being a Caregiver and you’ll be happier...

34 Jeff's Barganier's Day-Tripping to LaGrange

48 For My Grandchildren: A Letter of Love and Legacy

18 Maximizing Social Security Benefits Susan Moore 22 AUM OLLI Begins a New Year 26 Shifting Gears to Retirement: The Joys and the Challenges

Departments 36 This and That A few ditties of info

16 Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe

52 Greg Budell CRASHMAS MEMORIES

page 52

27 Ways to Read Health News Like a Scientist

page 27

page 11

28 Memories of Grandmother’s Flower Gardens

By Anne Thomas Carr 32 How do I love thee?

Let me count the ways...

Ask an Elder Law Attorney

page 42

page 30

page 28

page 24

39 LOL-MEME Humor 39 BOOM! Reader Discounts 40 Retirees More Than Doubled Their Debt in 2020 42 BOOM! Cover Profile

page 40

page 36

page 34

page 16

Free Subscriptions @ w w w. r i ve rre gio n b o o m.co m

50 Lemon Oil with Tracy Bhalla

BOOM! The River Regions 50+ Lifestage Magazine is published monthly by River Region Publications, P.O. Box 6203, Montgomery, AL 36106.

The phone number is 334.324.3472. Copyright 2021 by River Region Publications. No part of this publication can be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Opinions expressed in BOOM! The River Regions 50+ Lifestage Magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the owners, nor do they constitute an endorsement of products and services herein.

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Publisher’s Letter

Love, Patience, and Compromise Each February we try to feature a fiftysomething couple who has experienced love in a unique way. Sometimes we have featured loving couples who have found each other while growing old and becoming newlyweds again. My wife Sandy and I had that experience and we still claim to be newlyweds after only 3 years. At our ages we’ll probably remain newlyweds for the rest of our lives, as long as we have the energy!

The mission of BOOM! is to serve the folks of the River Region age 50 plus with information and ideas to inspire new experiences, better quality of life and new beginnings.

Publisher/Editor

Jim Watson, 334.324.3472 jim@riverregionboom.com

Jim Watson, Publisher jim@riverregionboom.com

Contributing Writers Jeff Barganier Tracy Bhalla Greg Budell

Anne Thomas Carr Terrie Durham Willie Durham Richard Eisenberg Olivia Goldhill Ashley Krollenbrock Dr. Blake Raggio Michele Weldon Raley L. Wiggins Dr. Connie Zweig

Cover Photography Total Image Portraits www.totalimage.com

Advertising

Jim Watson, 334.324.3472 jim@riverregionboom.com

Facebook.com/RiverRegionBoom

Other featured couples have many years of experience with the ins and outs of married life, the challenges of building a life together and looking through the same lens as they grow older together.

This month we have the honor of featuring such a couple. Willie and Terrie Durham were high school sweethearts growing up in Montgomery and after Willie attended Terrie’s church to let her father know he had honest intentions about the affections for his daughter, Willie and Terrie were married soon after high school.

Willie spent the next 20 years as a US Marine and after they were done with that career they moved back to Montgomery and family. Terrie had experience in the insurance business and encouraged Willie to start his new career as an insurance agent. A few short years later Willie opened his own State Farm Insurance Agency and now both he and Terrie work together growing their business.

They will celebrate their 37th wedding anniversary this August and they represent all that is good about the institution of marriage and what it takes to be successful, especially in the culture of today’s society.

The three words that describe their marriage are Love, Patience, and Compromise. I hope you’ll enjoy getting to know them as much as I have.

We have many more goodies for your reading pleasure including some day-tripping from Jeff Barganier, a crashmas story from Greg Budell, a grandmother’s letter to her grandchildren about a legacy and love. If that wasn’t enough we have tips on how to be happy as you age. That’s right, 5 tips on how to be happy… that’s it, just 5. Life really is that simple. If you’ve been thinking about Botox, River Region Facial Plastics’ Dr. Blake Raggio has the answers for you, in fact he made it so understandable, I’m thinking about…

There’s plenty more to wrap your brains around in this issue and thanks in advance for sharing with all your friends and family, I appreciate it very much. Finally, if you plan on traveling in the months ahead, let me encourage you to consider flying out of the Montgomery Regional Airport. Less stress and more convenient than any other alternative you may be considering. I’m not sure about you but as I’ve aged, less stress and convenience fit my lifestyle better than ever. Enjoy your trip!

Remember, all we need is love.

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Jim

334.324.3472 cell/text jim@riverregionboom.com

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Look at a photo of yourself as a teenager and, mistaken fashion choices aside, it’s likely you see traces of the same person with the same personality quirks as you are today. But whether you truly are the same person over a lifetime—and what that notion of personhood even means—is the subject of ongoing philosophical and psychology debate.

The longest personality study of all time, published in 2016 in Psychology and Aging and highlighted by the British Psychological Society, suggests that over the course of a lifetime, just as your physical appearance changes and your cells are constantly replaced, your personality is also transformed beyond recognition.

Overall, there was not much overlap from the questionnaires taken 63 years earlier.

“Correlations suggested no significant stability of any of the 6 characteristics or their underlying factor, dependability, over the 63-year interval,” wrote the researchers. “We hypothesized that we would find evidence of personality stability over an even longer period of 63 years, but our correlations did not support this hypothesis,” they later added.

as much as 63 years, there is hardly any relationship at all.”

Perhaps those who had impulsive character flaws as a teenager would be grateful that certain personality traits might even out later in life. But it’s disconcerting to think that your entire personality is transformed.

“Personality refers to an individual’s characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior, together with the psychological mechanisms—hidden or not—behind those patterns,” note the authors, quoting psychology professor David Funder’s definition.

You’re a Completely Different Person at 14 and 77...

The study begins with data from a 1950 survey of 1,208 14-year-olds in Scotland. Teachers were asked to use six questionnaires to rate the teenagers on six personality traits: self-confidence, perseverance, stability of moods, conscientiousness, originality, and desire to learn. Together, the results from these questionnaires were amalgamated into a rating for one trait, which was defined as “dependability.” More than six decades later, researchers tracked down 635 of the participants, and 174 agreed to repeat testing.

This time aged 77 years old, the participants rated themselves on the six personality traits, and also nominated a close friend or relative to do the same.

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The findings were a surprise to researchers because previous personality studies, over shorter periods of time, seemed to show consistency. Studies over several decades, focusing on participants from childhood to middle age, or from middle age to older age, showed stable personality traits.

But the most recent study, covering the longest period, suggests that personality stability is disrupted over time. “The longer the interval between two assessments of personality, the weaker the relationship between the two tends to be,” the researchers write. “Our results suggest that, when the interval is increased to

If your patterns of thought, emotions, and behavior so drastically alter over the decades, can you truly be considered the same

By Olivia Goldhill person in old age as you were as a teenager?

This question ties in with broader theories about the nature of the self. For example, there is growing neuroscience research that supports the ancient Buddhist belief that our notion of a stable “self” is nothing more than an illusion.

Perhaps this won’t surprise you if you’ve had the experience of running into a very old friend from school and found a completely different person from the child you remembered. This research suggests that, as the decades go by, your own younger self could be similarly unrecognizable.

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Perfect for your next

TV Tailgate Party Sheet Pan

Shrimp Boil

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil 2 pounds stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1 pound baby red potatoes, quartered 4 carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices 1 onion, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 3 cups beef broth 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1 teaspoon dried rosemary 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, optional 2 bay leaves 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

DIRECTIONS

O Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

O Season beef with salt and pepper, to taste. Add beef to the skillet and cook until evenly browned, about 2-3 minutes.

O Place beef, potatoes, carrots, onion and garlic into a 6-qt slow cooker. Stir in beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire, thyme, rosemary, paprika, caraway seeds and bay leaves until well combined; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

O Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours.

O In a small bowl, whisk together flour and 1/2 cup stew broth. Stir in flour mixture into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until thickened.

O Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.

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February 2021

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Maximizing Your Social Security Benefits

More than 95% of Social Security recipients don’t maximize their benefits, according to a study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Over 40% of Americans file at age 62, minimizing their benefits if they live into their eighties. By minimizing their benefits, Americans are missing out on tens of thousands of dollars of benefits, if not more, according to Larry Kotlikoff, author of a best-selling book on maximizing social security benefits that was published in 2015.

The problem with maximizing Social Security benefits is how complicated it has become and is likely to remain so for the next several years. On Wednesday, February 24th 2021 from noon to 1:30 p.m., Susan Moore of Moore Wealth Management, Inc. (MWM) will conduct a complimentary and without obligation “Maximizing Social Security” webinar. The workshop will review how Social Security works and will include a discussion on President Biden’s proposals to reform Social Security.

There will be both a live and recorded version. If you would like to be included in the webinar, please call the Moore Wealth Management office for further information or reservations at 334.270.1672, or email sarah@ moorewealthmanagement.com . If you miss the webinar, we also offer free consultations that are without obligation.

The workshop will cover how the Social Security system works in general. Specifically, the workshop will discuss different techniques to maximize Social Security including when and how to file, how to lessen

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Financial Thoughts with Susan Moore

By Susan Clayton Moore, J.D.

Principal of Moore Wealth Management, Inc.

taxes on Social Security, and special rules that impact widows and widowers, divorcees and spousal benefits. For example, rule changes went into effect in 2016 that result in different options for people born before versus after January 1, 1954.

There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to maximizing Social Security.

It pays to learn how the rules apply to you.

It will also discuss how the cost of living adjustments are figured and how those adjustments impact Medicare premiums as well as potential reforms to Social Security resulting from the solvency issues confronting Social Security and Medicare.

We conduct a variety of workshops and seminars at MWM. The mission statement of MWM is very simple: “and then some.” We attempt to do what is expected, what is required and then some. The Social Security workshop is part of our monthly “and then some” workshops. In addition, MWM conducts monthly current events market updates that attempt

to explain what is going on in the financial world. If you would like to be on the mailing list or receive email notifications of upcoming webinars, please call 334.270.1672.

Susan Clayton Moore, J.D., is a financial advisor and wealth manager of Moore Wealth Management, Inc., with offices in Auburn, Montgomery, and Alexander City, AL. Susan serves over $170 million (as of 7.31.2020) in brokerage and advisory assets through Kestra Financial and has been a financial planner for over 37 years. Contact Susan at 334.270.1672. Email contact is susan@moorewealthmanagement. com.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney or tax advisor regarding your individual situation..

Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advisory Services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. Kestra IS or Kestra AS are not affiliated with Moore Wealth Management, Inc. https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures

February Workshop (webinar)

Maximizing

SOCIAL SECURITY to register, call our Montgomery office at

334.270.1672

sarah@moorewealthmanagement.com

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AUM OLLI Begins a New Year

Classes for the AUM OLLI 2021 winter term began in late January with a wide variety of online classes from AUM OLLI and from OLLI Shares, a collaborative initiative among OLLI programs at Auburn University at Montgomery, Auburn University, the University of Alabama, and the University of Alabama – Huntsville. Even though the scheduled classes are already in session, there are still some opportunities available with a membership in AUM OLLI.

AUM initiative – the Rural History and Ecology Institute. This new Institute has the goal of creating a safe, free, and easily accessible place where the community can explore the past, present, and future of Alabama land use. The Institute will also work to create research opportunities that explore the land’s natural and cultural resources and the nuanced interplay between landuse, ecology, agriculture, and urban environments.

There are two lunch presentations available in the winter term. On February 18, 2021, from Noon to 1:00 p.m., Al Medina will introduce his audience to the 14,000-foot peaks of Colorado. He grew up in the area and has climbed many of the peaks. In his presentation, he will share pictures of some of the peaks and tell stories about climbing and the involved dangers.

This latter lunch presentation is also an introduction to a one-day, outdoor class that AUM OLLI is offering – AUM’s Campus Natural and Cultural Land Usage. Since this class meets only on March 5, 2021, from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., it is still open for registration. AUM faculty members will lead a leisurely tour of AUM’s walking trails to learn about the natural and cultural resources of the land.

During the walk, faculty will discuss the native and introduced plants and animals that occupy the 250-acre wooded area of the AUM campus. The tour will include

On February 11, 2021, from Noon to 1:00 p.m., AUM professors Chelsea Ward and Kim Pyszska will discuss a new

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an overview of land’s recent history, focusing on the families that lived and worked on it during the 20th century.

Participants will learn about current research being conducted by AUM faculty and students, as well as plans for future land restoration and research.

Membership in AUM OLLI is required for all of these activities. Members must also register for the individual events to receive the links to the lunch presentations. Registrants will receive details about the course closer to the day.

Fulfill a New Year’s resolution: join AUM OLLI and get active mentally and physically.

www.aum.edu/OLLI

JOIN TODAY! Tell your friends!

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The Benefits of Being a Caregiver

By Ashley Krollenbrock

We often hear about the sacrifices caregivers make, but we don’t hear enough about the benefits of being a caregiver.

Caregivers gain a lot from their role. In fact, many caregivers feel that caregiving has helped shape who they are. These benefits make us better caregivers and they make us more balanced people. When we keep them in mind, we remember the bigger picture and focus on what’s most important in life.

worrying about her. It wasn’t possible to see her every day and when she got sick or experienced pain, I felt guilty. I constantly wondered if there was something else I could have done to protect her.

Now, I have peace of mind knowing that my mom is being well-cared for. She still gets sick of course but I don’t have to wonder if I could have done something different to prevent her illnesses. I know what her doctors recommend, and I follow those recommendations. This makes it easier to accept when things don’t go perfectly.

Keep the following benefits in mind to help you avoid burnout.

As a caregiver:

1. You will know who your true friends and family are.

Takeaway Tip: As a caregiver, sometimes you might second guess yourself. Remember, you don’t have to be the best at everything to be the best caregiver for your loved one.

Even if you do everything right, people get sick and scary things happen sometimes. It’s easy to blame yourself but you’re not responsible for protecting your loved one from everything. Do your best and treat yourself with compassion.

Being a caregiver can be lonely, but it will also show you who your true friends are. They’re the ones who are willing to offer help or keep you company. They’re the people who will listen to you talk about the difficult moments in life. They will celebrate your victories alongside you. When someone is there for you in your most challenging moments, you’ll develop a deep trust.

Caregiving helps you realize which relationships are your best and strengthens them even further.

Takeaway Tip: Sometimes it can be hard for your loved ones to know how to be there for you.

If you’re feeling isolated, learn to ask for help from a trusted friend or family member. Tell them you’re feeling lonely and ask if you can go out for coffee or even take a walk together. Your loved ones may not reach out because they’re worried about burdening you with more obligations.

Make it clear that you appreciate the time you spend together.

3. You will become confident in your ability to handle anything.

2. You won’t have to worry about whether your loved one is receiving good care.

When my mom lived in a nursing home, I felt powerless to improve her care.

Even when I liked the people who were working with her, I couldn’t stop

Caregiving will throw you a lot of curveballs and you’ll serve in a lot of different roles. You will talk to doctors, nurses, case managers, lawyers, and physical therapists. You’ll learn to administer medications and help someone dress, among other new skills. Caregiving will prepare you for curveballs at work, as a parent, and in all areas of life.

Takeaway Tip: Remember, even if

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you can handle anything, you aren’t responsible for everything. People will notice that you have a good head on your shoulders and may begin to turn to you for help. Helping others is a wonderful thing, but you also need to remember to protect your time. If possible, offer advice and guidance instead of doing things for others. Share what you’ve learned and empower others to achieve their own successes.

4. You will come to understand what you truly value.

Avoiding Caregiver Burnout to Reap the Benefits of Being a Caregiver If you’re a caregiver and live with the person you care for, you will burn out if you feel like you’re always on duty. Don’t make everything about caregiving. Allow yourself to have a simple dinner with your loved one without worrying about their needs. Reframe your thinking and try to enjoy experiences for what they are.

It’s easy to get caught up in your responsibilities but caregiving isn’t only about the day-to-day care we provide.

It’s about connection and sharing a life with the person you care for. Just like you don’t want to spend every moment as a caregiver, your loved one doesn’t want to spend every moment being taken care of. They want to experience life with you beyond the things you do for them. To me, this is one of the greatest benefits of caregiving. It gives you the opportunity to experience the joys of being a family.

When my mom had a stroke, I realized my time with her would someday end. Facing this reality caused me to re-evaluate my priorities. I knew that I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. I knew that I wanted a career doing something meaningful. If I was going to spend 40 hours a week working, I needed to know that my work was enjoyable and making an impact on the world. This shaped the decisions I’ve made and led me to the life I have today.

Takeaway Tip: As caregivers, we burn out when we feel like everything is important and urgent. If you take the time to think about your values and priorities, you’ll have an easier time saying no to things that could drain you. When you’re asked to do something, ask yourself if it aligns with your values. If it doesn’t, you can choose to say no.

5. You will experience the normal rhythms of being a family.

When my mom lived in a nursing home, I felt like she missed out on a lot of the simple but meaningful parts of family life. Now she can sit on the back patio while I work in the garden and we can watch a movie together before bed.

We enjoy Sunday brunch and running errands together. We can talk about our days when I get home from work. These everyday moments are part of what make up a good life and being a caregiver has allowed me to enjoy more of them with my mom.

Takeaway Tip: Find a way to spend little moments with your loved one doing everyday activities that you both enjoy.

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Shifting Gears to Retirement: The Joys and the Challenges

By Richard Eisenberg

In his new book, "Shifting Gears: 50 Baby Boomers Share Their Meaningful Journeys in Retirement," Richard Haiduck drills down by asking retirees about the joys and challenges they've faced — and are facing.

game" for retirement, whether through work or volunteerism. "I think the sense of purpose and that sense of meaning is something that money cannot buy."

Author of "Shifting Gears," Richard Haiduck | Credit: courtesy of Richard Haiduck

Haiduck, a semi-retired boomer based near Palo Alto, Calif., has now shared some of their fascinating responses on the "Friends Talk Money" podcast I cohost with personal finance writer Terry Savage and Wealthramp founder Pam Krueger.

When I asked Haiduck, 72, how boomers tend to approach retirement, he said: "I think the general direction is a highly activist retirement, testing boundaries and exploring them."

As I note on the podcast, one group of women in their seventies Haiduck interviewed have learned how to play the ukulele. A couple now teach anger management in a maximum-security prison using Buddhist meditation principles. And one woman in her seventies climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa — after she had hip and knee replacements.

Who Has an Easier or Harder Time With the Switch?

Haiduck told "Friends Talk Money" that he found there's a certain type of person who has had a harder time shifting gears to retirement than others."Those people who had an abrupt stop," Haiduck said.

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"In other words, on Friday they worked at the bank and on Monday they were retired, and they went from full-time working to full-time retirement." Most of the retirees he spoke with were unprepared financially, Haiduck said.

The boomers who found the transition to retirement easiest were the ones who did it gradually, as Haiduck did.

He spent much of his career as an executive for biotech companies and startups and then shifted, bit by bit, to being a consultant.

"It took me five years to retire," he said, saying retirement has turned out beautifully for him.

These days, Haiduck said, he's "retired with new interests." They include book writing (a lifelong dream), mentoring young social entrepreneurs ("the most rewarding work I've ever done"), reading voraciously and biking more than 3,000 miles a year. He's toying with idea of starting a podcast interviewing people about their retirement.

Savage, who has no plans to retire, said "finding purpose is the name of the

Her retirement role model: Tony Bennett, who paints and continues to perform at 94. "I think he's the world's best role model for retirement, continuing to do what you love to do, giving yourself the opportunity to do creative things that you might not have done before and enjoying life and giving back," Savage said.

Sometimes, Haiduck said, finding meaning takes a few tries. One retired man he interviewed described his experience finding a right volunteering fit: "I went through four different organizations until I found the one that made the most sense for me."

Another man who had intended to do a lot of traveling has instead turned to genealogy. "He said, 'You know, I never would have done this except for COVID. This may be more fun than what my original plan was. I'm having a ball and learning things about my family."

Savage and Krueger shared their top tips on how to prepare yourself financially for retirement. "You're gonna need more money than you think; work longer, save as much as you can for as long as you possibly can," said Savage. Krueger, who hopes to work into her seventies, had two recommendations: hiring a financial adviser and "close your eyes for just a second and imagine a day in retirement and see what that looks like to you and what that feels like. If it's going to require more money, plan for that vision."

Source: www.nextavenue.org Richard Eisenberg is the Senior Web Editor of the Money & Security and Work & Purpose channels of Next Avenue and Managing Editor for the site.

The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine

Ways to Read Health News Like a Scientist

We are bombarded by health news these days, often accompanied by provocative but misguided headlines. So, it can be difficult to navigate the quantity and quality of health information. But you don't have to be a scientist to read like one.

Here are five tips to help you read and listen to health news the way a scientist would so you can process the information appropriately to stay healthy: Tip No. 1: If the news comes as a personal endorsement from a television doctor on an entertainment show, an athlete, or a celebrity, treat it with a mountainsize grain of salt. You want to get your health news and information from trusted professionals in the health and science fields.

Tip No. 2: Be skeptical of headlines and teasers that overpromise. They are designed to get your attention, nothing more. Read the whole article or listen to the whole report so you can then see whether the "news" report is reliable.

Sometimes, even good sources of health news get carried away in their headlines.

Take this one from The New York Times: "The Secret to Longevity? 4-Minute Bursts of Intense Exercise May Help." That certainly got my attention. If I could get all the exercise that I need in a few daily 4-minute bursts, I want to know about it.

However, the key word in the headline is "may."

The actual article describes an experiment (health experiments with human subjects are called clinical trials) comparing deaths among healthy Norwegians who were 70 years old. The study compared groups who either did not change their exercise habits, did regular low-intensity exercise or did four bouts of four minutes of high intensity exercise twice a week.

As a consumer like you, I asked myself: "So the article suggests that short bursts of intense exercise only twice a week will make me live longer?" But as a scientist, I did what most scientists would do and consulted the original research that

inspired this article. There I learned that after five years, there was basically no difference in death rates between the groups. That was a bit disheartening after what the headline said.

By the way, good science journalism will direct you to the original work.

Tip No. 3: Note whether the research was done on humans, human cells in a dish or mice. Headlines, and even the titles of scientific papers, often neglect this essential detail. This problem has become so rampant that data scientist James Heathers started a Twitter account (@ justinmice) to flag studies that were done in mice but didn't, let's say, emphasize that point.

Now, several scientists have followed his lead on Twitter.

I should note that we have learned a lot of things from mouse studies, but best practices for human health are not among them.

Tip No. 4: Was the study observational or experimental? Most human studies are observational. They are much easier, faster, and cheaper to do than experimental clinical trials. This means their results will be in the form of a correlation between one thing — dietary or exercise practices, for instance — and some sort of health outcome. But correlations can arise for many reasons and can even be misleading.

For instance, in the 1990s, a number of correlational studies suggested that postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy had multiple health benefits.

However, when the first clinical trial was finally run, researchers found the opposite, terminating the study early in the interest of the participants' health.

Correlations are also at the root of the current uncertainty about whether vitamin D deficiency increases COVID-19 risks.

There hasn't yet been time for clinical trials, so all information about this is observational.

In reality, there are many complicating factors that affect your vitamin D level: your age, whether you smoke, your dietary habits and habitual exposure to sunlight, to name a few. Your body manufactures vitamin D when skin is exposed to sunlight, for instance, which raises a host of other complicating factors such as skin color, the climate and latitude where you live and whether you are an outdoors person or not.

Scientists are comfortable living with such uncertainty, but many others are not — they want a definitive answer.

Tip No. 5: Always note a study's details.

This is important whether the study is observational or experimental. The identity of its participants is particularly important.

For instance, in that Norwegian exercise study, all participants — even the controls — were healthy 70-year-olds who followed the Norwegian physical activity guidelines of 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity almost every day. How many 70-year-olds really do that?

The study's results might have been very different if the control group was sedentary or if some or all of the participants were obese, diabetic or had high blood pressure. The devil in any study is in the details.

The bottom line: pay close attention to the specifics of health studies. Doing so will make you a more sophisticated consumer of them and help you know whether to take the findings seriously — or not.

Source: www.nextavenue.org

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Master Gardener's Perspective

By Anne Thomas Carr

Memories of Grandmother’s

Flower Gardens

As a child, I loved walking among my Grandmother Thomas’ flowers. The colors and smells were exciting. She truly had a green thumb. Grandmother grew the old southern flowers, saved seeds, and cuttings. She would give me a small glass jar to collect 4 o’clock (Mirabilis jalapa) seeds. They were large round black seeds that were easy to find on the bushy plant full of trumpet-shaped dark pink flowers with a strong sweet fragrance. Blooms and seeds were on the same plant. I could cut any of the flowers I wanted and put them into glass jars.

favorite was the Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum asteraceae). It was the star of the yard. In fact, she established a large bed with numbers of varieties and colors that she started in a makeshift green house. My favorite was the large bronze pompom blossom that smelled spicy. She preferred the lavender blossoms. As the buds opened, they were cut and placed in tall, galvanized metal buckets for a trip to a local florist.

Through the season she was able to sell all the Chrysanthemums. Grandmother found a way to turn a hobby and love of flowers into Christmas shopping money.

From the spring bulbs and bushes of spring to the last Chrysanthemums of autumn, there were blooms. My favorite spring flower was the bright yellow Forsythia (Forsythia suspense) shrub that grew near the back door.

When she worked among her flowers, she always wore a wide brimmed straw hat, cotton print dress, old shoes with low heels in the lace up oxford style, and nylon stockings. Her gardening tool was a long oak handled hoe that she owned before her marriage in 1910. With the hoe I saw her trench prepared soil for seeds, plants, and bulbs. If a weed dared try to grow among her flowers, she would chop or dig it up with her hoe. I never saw her stoop to pull a weed when tending her gardens. She worked her magic with that hoe.

In the summer I was drawn to the very tall double Hollyhocks (Mallow alcea) in shades of pink and red. A second favorite were the brilliant blue delphinium (Ranunculaceae) flowers. There were multi-colored sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) on a fence. I would pick them to wear as earrings. There fragrance was heavenly.

Today I am the proud owner of her garden hoe. The metal blade is only half

When autumn rolled around, her

of its original width due to decades of sharpening. I use it today and think of my Grandmother Thomas and her beautiful flowers. She was truly an inspirational gardener.

Some people inherit property, money, or fine possessions. My inheritance was a well-used garden hoe with priceless memories. Grandmother lived to be 93 years old, married about 60 years, had 12 children, and 25 grandchildren. I believe that her flower gardens were her expression of beauty to everyone.

Anne Thomas Carr, a Master Gardner since 2018 and a member of Capital City, Central Alabama and Autauga Master Gardener Associations, lives in Pike Road, AL. For more information on becoming a master gardener, visit www.capcitymga.org or email capcitymga@gmail.com.

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Do these 5 things

by Michele Weldon

and you’ll be happier as you age How you deal with everything that life throws at you is the key to everyday joy and meaning.

Mary Pipher has a radical idea: that you can age with joy.

A clinical psychologist and cultural anthropologist out of Lincoln, Neb., Pipher is perhaps best known for her 1994 book, a guide to girldom called Reviving Ophelia: Saving The Selves of Adolescent Girls.

She’s done the same for her own demographic in her recent book, Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing As We Age. Think of Women Rowing North as a GPS for navigating your later years. And while Pipher, says she wrote it specifically for women crossing from middle age to old age, there is much in the book that is useful for any of us.

Women face a lot as they get older: harmful cultural stereotypes, ageism, misogyny, to name a few. But Pipher urges us to remember we have the capacity to make it a better journey.

“Women in their sixties and early seventies are crossing a border,” she writes. “And everything interesting happens at a border.”

Here are the five important insights from her book that may help you navigate your own journey through getting older.

1. See the most of what you have in front of you.

“Attitude may not be everything, but it is almost everything,” Pipher writes.

We don’t always have control as we age, she reminds us, but we do have choices over how we deal with it.

Yes, it is the timeless half-full look at our existence, that is not about settling for less, but about seeing the most in what you have in front of you.

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“Happiness,” Pipher says, “depends on how we deal with what we are given.”

Books, book groups, travel tour groups, writing, grandchildren, friendships, and family can all be assets to cultivate so that we survive the hard times better.

the taint of despair. “Especially when we act together, we can create power out of thin air. “ Acknowledging “our goals can be greater than our energy levels,” Pipher writes, our

“Friends are emotional health insurance policies,” she writes, and female friends are the best return on investment for women, helping to define us.

2. To fight despair, take action.

Our bodies wear out. We have afflictions, heartbreak, hardships, physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion from the realities of aging such as caretaking, grief, and unwanted limitations.

One paradox, Pipher notes, is that at times those who have a terminal illness may see their post-diagnosis lives as particularly joyful.

desire for action should not be seen as another burden.

“None of us has the responsibility to singlehandedly save the world, but we can all do our best under the circumstances,” Pipher writes.

“Pain drives us deeper and makes us kinder,” Pipher writes. “It also toughens us up.”

3. Reframe the narrative.

So many of us know people who tell the same old, same old sad stories, rooted in tragedy, loss and pain. Husbands die, children move away, get angry, disconnect, relationships with friends end, illness or isolation are the new realities.

“Part of what allows us to deeply appreciate our lives and savor our time is our past despair,” Pipher writes.

Yes, these stories can all be very true and an accurate account of our existence. But is it the only story?

Never diminishing or abolishing the negative, Pipher advises instead to do a “subject change” in order to shift into positivity.

Instead, we can “train ourselves to think in stories that allow us to flourish,” Pipher writes.

Volunteering, activism, even taking care of grandchildren can offer purpose and dilute

The true story of hardship and obstacles can be re-told as a story of resilience and of lessons learned, a way to reshape ourselves.

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“Grant ourselves mercy,” Pipher writes.

And while we are reframing our own stories, we can also reframe the story of aging that society enforces and that minimizes everyone of a certain age.

“We can take responsibility for educating other people about the negative stereotypes and the reality of our lives,’ Pipher says.

4. View death with less fear.

The older we get, the more we deal with death. A death positive movement is making hospice more accessible and accepted as is the idea of telling the whole truth to patients who are dying, keeping them informed of what is happening to them.

More people speak about and prepare openly for the end of life. While every death is sudden, it doesn’t have to be feared for ourselves or for those we love.

“Losing a loved one is rather like being in a bad storm, often we discover surprising reserves of strength and courage,” Pipher writes.

This is not to say we shall not mourn each loss on our own timeline and at our own pace, but as we will each face dying, we do not have to look at it with fear.

5. Forgive yourself.

As we age, we gain perspective, hopefully a forgiving one of ourselves. It is not about denial, but it is about honesty.

You can be more self-aware and become more authentic as you grow older. She advises to say no when it serves you and to “say yes to your own needs” when you can.

Keeping a “circle of kin strong and vital” while maintaining partnerships and friendships that allow you to be your true self will help you appreciate who you are in the greater world, allowing others the chance to shine as well.

Pipher writes, “We need to sort out what we truly desire and then go for it.”

Source: www.considerable.com

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Ask an Elder Law Attorney

By: Raley L. Wiggins | Attorney at Law | Red Oak Legal, PC

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

The English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning penned those famous lines around 1845 in a sonnet dedicated to her future husband, Robert Browning. The sentiment has been quoted so often it has become a part of our popular culture, seen in everything from Hallmark cards to Bugs Bunny cartoons.

While most of us are familiar with the opening stanza of the poem, I suspect that few of us can recall all fourteen lines of the sonnet’s iambic pentameter. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, take a moment to read the entire poem: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of being and ideal grace.

I love thee to the level of every day’s Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for right.

I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.

This poem is a love letter, written in an era where people sat in contemplation by candle light with nothing to distract them but books, lively conversation, or perhaps even pen and paper. Not a modern, cheap, disposable ball-point pen mind you, but a finely-tipped fountain pen which applies ink to paper via a method that is essentially a controlled leak. The ink, once applied to paper, would have to be blotted dry to avoid smears and smudges.

When was the last time you sat down, shut out the distractions of modern society, and wrote a letter to someone you loved? Not an email, not a text, not a Facebook post or Tweet, but an honestto-goodness paper letter?

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We rarely take the time to express our feelings to our loved ones the way the future Mrs. Browning did when she wrote the lines quoted above. While we may

Once we leave this earth, an estate plan is also an opportunity to give gifts of property to the people we care about.

They may be sentimental gifts, like family heirlooms, or they may be monetary Estate Planning and Asset Protection Workshop gifts. They may even For more information and to register please contact our office be gifts of by calling (334) 239-3625 or email Dana@redoaklegalpc.com. education, This educational workshop presented by local attorney Raley ensuring that L. Wiggins covers wills, trusts, powers of attorney, advance children or grandchildren directives, living wills, probate administration, protecting assets go to college. from creditors, bankruptcy, divorce and remarriage, nursing You might homes, long-term care and Medicaid qualification. Registration is even leave required. For more info visit www.redoaklegalpc.com. a gift of motivation— conditioning not write many letters these days, an such gifts on achieving certain goals, like estate plan can be a final expression of a minimum GPA, for example. love, a love letter of sorts, to the people we care about most.

Every person’s estate planning goals will of course be unique. Every family is Think about it: the one person who will unique. That is why you, and only you, not be around to benefit from your estate can adequately craft a final expression of planning is you. Getting your affairs in love to the people you care about. Most order is not a selfish act, it is a gift to your love letters are written by the young, loved ones. And I’m not just talking about but you shouldn’t assume that estate monetary gifts. planning is only for the old, the sick, or the dying. To the contrary, the best time For example, what if you were in a terrible to draft your final love letter to your car accident, and your family had to family is while you are strong of body and make the decision whether to continue sharp of mind. to keep you alive using machines or other treatments that would serve to prolong This year, skip the flowers and chocolate, your life, but that would not cure you. turn off the TV, shut down the cellphone, In those conversations, the topic usually and write a letter to someone you love. turns to what you “would have wanted.”

Without written instructions, your family Raley L. Wiggins is left to guess whether you would want Attorney at Law, Red Oak Legal, PC to be kept alive indefinitely, or whether 334-239-3625 | info@redoaklegalpc.com 322 Catoma Street, Montgomery, AL 36104, you prefer to be allowed to die a natural www.redoaklegalpc.com death. (If you’re familiar with the famous Terry Shaivo case from the 1990’s, her family spent several years debating whether Terry “would have wanted” to be kept alive using machines, even though she was permanently unconscious).

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Travel Experiences with Jeff Barganier

Day-Tripping to LaGrange, Georgia Bellevue

Biblical History Center

LaGrange, Georgia is a day-trip with lots to see and do; and wonderful places to eat. Only an hour and a half from the River Region, the town’s a skip, hop and a jump off I-85 North.

And there’s a little something for everyone. In the square, you’ll find an amazing statue of American Revolutionary hero Marquis de Lafayette. It’s a must see before antiAmerican communist revolutionaries find and destroy it.

Hills & Dales Estate completed in 1916, is a 13,000 square foot home designed to flow gracefully into its gardens—a series of dwarf boxwood parterres planted by Sarah Ferrell, which have adorned the terraces of the hill for more than 175 years. It’s considered one of the best-preserved 19th century gardens in the country. The classic home, designed by renowned architects Neel Reid and Hal Hentz, has silently watched over these beloved gardens for a century. Guests are invited to visit, enjoy the grounds and learn more about the family legacy of stewardship. The estate—preserved by the fourth generation of the Fuller E. Callaway family—is open to the public for the education and enjoyment of the community. As you stroll the welltrodden paths, descend the terraces, sit in the seclusion of the rose bowers, or pause to gaze up at the magnificent

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Marquis de Lafayette

home, you’re always in the presence of Sarah Ferrell and the Callaway women who made Hills & Dales a home and its gardens a national treasure.

world to house a long-term collection of artifacts from the Israeli Antiquity Authority in the Biblical Life Artifacts Gallery.

The Biblical History Center (formerly Explorations in Antiquity) helps people encounter the ancient biblical world through its history and culture.

Through authentic archaeological replicas, Biblical meal presentations, daily life artifacts in the Biblical Life Artifacts Gallery, lectures, and other personal experiences, ancient Middle Eastern life comes back to life. Biblical History Center provides engaging ways for visitors to experience the daily life of the ancient world. In the Time Tunnel, guests learn about the worship practices of pagans, Jews, and Christians by exploring replicas of excavated houses of worship. The Archaeological Replica Garden houses 23 life-size replicas of structures found in excavation in Israel, Malta and Jordan. The popular Biblical Meal is a full four-course meal with food items that were available in the ancient world. Children have the opportunity to bake bread just like ancient nomadic peoples in the Shepherd’s Bread Experience, and/or participate in an archaeology-style Kid’s Dig that teaches about the past and the world of archaeology. Biblical History Center is one of only eight museums in the

LaGrange Art Museum aka The Best Little Art Museum in Georgia, is housed in an iconic 1892 jail building, a stone’s throw from the idyllic LaGrange square, eateries and shops. Created in 1963 by a group of local artists and art patrons, the permanent collection of LaGrange Art Museum began when a hometown boy of national prominence, Lamar Dodd, donated a painting. The museum is filled with dynamic exhibitions by renowned and local artists. Collections of high caliber and visually-tantalizing artwork adorn the galleries, making the museum a treat for visitors. Admission is free.

Bellevue is a stately antebellum home built between 1852 and 1855

by Benjamin Harvey Hill for his wife, Caroline Holt Hill. It is a significant example of the “domesticated temple” form of Greek Revival-style architecture popular in the antebellum South. Many dignitaries, including Confederate President Jefferson Davis, were entertained there. Located in historic downtown LaGrange, Bellevue became the home of the LaGrange Woman’s Club in 1942 when the Fuller E. Callaway Foundation presented The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine

the home to the club. Bellevue is a National Historic Landmark.

The Legacy Museum on Main is located in the heart of historic downtown LaGrange. It is home to a permanent exhibit gallery which features the

Charlie Joseph's

history and development of West Georgia. The Charter Foundation Rotating Gallery spotlights temporary exhibits featuring collections that range from the archives collections to nationally recognized traveling exhibits. Permanent exhibits at Legacy Museum feature items ranging from ancient artifacts, like a soapstone bowl believed to be 11,000 years old, to more “recent” historic artifacts from LaGrange’s rich textile and railroad history.

Nutwood Winery sits on ten acres of land filled with 200-year-old pecan trees. Enjoy time with friends and

family in the 6,000 square foot tasting room with a full wine bar and ample seating. Specialized cheeses and meats are available for purchase and pair perfectly with the venue’s selection of wines. The winery welcomes all ages as it provides activities and areas for kids

this beloved restaurant is covered with a Coca-Cola mural making it a great spot for a photo op after lunch.

Taste of Lemon restaurant is Southern comfort cuisine at its finest. Located in the former Second Methodist Church

Hills & Dales Estate

to play. Relax in the cool indoors of the tasting room, outside on the porch or under the trees while tasting complex and crisp wines. Whether you’re a well-traveled wine lover or a newbie, this spot is a must when in LaGrange.

Charlie Joseph’s has been serving up world famous hot dogs since 1920, and is known for its large collection of Coca-Cola memorabilia. Its walls are lined with items that cause one to feel nostalgic for the days when a bottle of Coke was just a quarter. Enjoy southern classics like slaw dogs, Brunswick stew and juicy burgers at this iconic LaGrange eatery. The outside wall of

Nutwood Winery

constructed in 1892, the structure is unique and original. And the food is rumored to be outstanding. Taste of Lemon serves up lunch in a meatand-three style. Poppy seed chicken, country fried steak and salmon croquettes are routinely on the menu.

Vegetable sides usually include green beans, okra, sweet potatoes and turnip greens. The mac and cheese and pineapple casserole are to die for!

Karvelas Pizza is a short walk from the square and is just darn good pizza. www.karvelaspizzaco.com/lagrange www.visitlagrange.com/things-to-do

Jeff S. Barganier is a freelance writer and manages Cindy Barganier Interiors LLC in Pike Road, Alabama. (www.cindybarganier.com) He travels far and wide upon the slightest excuse for something interesting to write about. Contact him at Jeffbarganier@knology.net. Follow him on Instagram @jeffbarganier.

Visit www.jeffbarganier.com

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LIVE MUSIC - Cameron DuBois @ Taste in Hampstead Since the 1960’s, the small Northwest Alabama town of Muscle Shoals has been one of music’s most mystique locales in the south, producing a swampy R&B-infused vibe of rock n’ roll dubbed the Muscle Shoals sound. That’s exactly where Montgomery, Alabama native and 27 year-old emerging country-soul-rock singer & songwriter Cameron DuBois has spent a lot of her time after first developing her craft in Nashville. However, the multi-talented independent artist found herself along those muddy banks of the Tennessee River in Muscle Shoals, where legendary musicians like Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, Paul Simon and The Rolling Stones also found an avant-garde version of their original sound. “I’m a country girl at heart, but I also have an appreciation for Soul and R&B music,” Cameron admits. “ I have always been a fan of the earthy rhythm that came out of Muscle Shoals in the 60s and 70s and its impact on modern music.” Performing live Friday February 5, 7-10 pm at Taste in Hampstead. www.camerondubois.com. and https://tastemgm.com

AJBF Jazz Jam Session @ Commerce Beerworks Commerce Beerworks is proud to present the AJBF Jazz Jam Session Series in partnership with the Montgomery D.B.A. & Alabama Jazz & Blue Federation!

The AJBF Allstars will provide the backing for some of the hottest players around. Visit Commerce Beerworks’ Facebook page for more information, www.facebook.com/Commercebeerworks/ Thursday, February, 18, 6:30PM – 10:00PM. Commerce Beerworks, 166 Commerce Street. Free Event

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Birmingham Botanical Gardens is pleased to announce it's popular Native Plant Conference The Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens is pleased to announce the return of our popular Native Plant Conference! Recognized as one of the Southeast's premier native plant events, this biennial conference highlights the amazing resilience that native plants provide in our gardens. All presentations, roundtables, and trivia will be virtual. On-site, small group field trips will be available to supplement the virtual program with opportunities for in-person observation and study of Alabama's native plant species with local experts. Professionals and hobbyists alike will gain valuable knowledge and skills from tracks in conservation, design, and education. Please join us! www.bbgardens.org

Ultimate Alabama Bucket List: Hiking trails Alabama’s great outdoors can be enjoyed any time of year and hiking is a great socially-distanced way of getting out of the house during a pandemic. There are dozens of great hiking trails in the state and you can likely make a case for many of them – whether it’s vistas, rock formations, waterfalls or flora and fauna that interest you most. Here are some hikes that belong on your Ultimate Alabama bucket List. Click https://vimeo.com/498451848 to see the full article on the Alabama NewsCenter website.

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Local Financial Advisor Offers Maximizing Your Social Security Benefits Webinar

Susan Clayton Moore, J.D.

The problem with maximizing Social Security benefits is how complicated it has become and is likely to remain so for the next several years. On Wednesday, February 24th 2021 from noon to 1:30 p.m., Susan Moore of Moore Wealth Management, Inc. (MWM) will conduct a complimentary and without obligation “Maximizing Social Security” webinar. The workshop will review how Social Security works and will include a discussion on President Biden’s proposals to reform Social Security. There will be both a live and recorded version. If you would like to be included in the webinar, please call the Moore Wealth Management office for further information or reservations at 334.270.1672, or email sarah@moorewealthmanagement.com

ASF Insights Play Club

Get closer to the artistry of playwrights by joining ASF's new Play Club, part of ASF Insights. Read up to four scripts and participate in a live online seminar for each with an expert (actor/director) and a scholar on the playwright and material. Choose as many as you like. Dates for online seminars are as follows: "The Trip to Bountiful" — Horton Foote, Feb. 11, 2021 | 7 p.m. CST, Led by Greta Lambert & Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder…

"Jitney" — August Wilson, Feb. 25, 2021 | 7 p.m. CST, Led by Ron OJ Parson & Ethan Henry…"Cat On a Hot Tin Roof" — Tennessee Williams, Mar. 11, 2021 | 7 p.m. CST, Led by Chase Bringardner & Topher Payne…"Trouble In Mind" — Alice Childress, Mar. 25, 2021 | 7 p.m. CST, Led by Donnetta Lavinia Grays & Joy Vandervort-Cobb. Space is limited to just 40 members for each play, so register today! There is no cost to join, but members must commit to obtaining and reading the scripts. Members should have access to an internet-connected device (computer, tablet, or phone). Registration is online and first come, first served. Learn more at www.asf.net.

Master Gardener Association Presents Free Lunch & Learn Programs Capital City Master Gardener Association (Call to Confirm in case of COVID Cancellation) presents Lunch & Learn 2021 the 1st Wednesday of Every Month from 12-1 pm. Please bring a sack lunch. They meet at the Armory Learning Arts Center, 1018 Madison Avenue, Downtown Montgomery. Programs for the next two months are: Wednesday, February 3rd, Destructive Insects, Anthony Yarbrough, Master Gardener; Wednesday, March 3rd, Creating a Cut Flower Garden, Lucy Edwards, Horticulturist, ACES. For information, please contact the Montgomery County Extension Office 334.270.4133. Also visit www.capcitymga.org.

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Retirees More Than Doubled Their Debt in 2020 Many Americans are living beyond their means because of the lack of income sources. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, retirees’ average post-tax income from all sources is about $39,591 annually, which doesn’t even cover typical spending ($47,259). The $7,700 difference between income and expenditures means many are falling behind despite living relatively modestly, as most retirees live below the standard of living, they experienced prior to retirement. The average worker, for instance, spends more than $63,000 annually. Instead, retirees are spending less than they did before retirement while still spending more than they earn. In fact, nearly 60% of retirees said they struggle to pay for necessities and bills. More specifically, those who said they can’t always cover expenses have trouble paying for: Medical bills (47%), Groceries (43%), Credit cards (37%), Mortgage / rent (32%), Insurance (29%), Debt repayment plans (22%), Car payments (19%), Student loans (11%).

To cover those bills, retirees are going into debt. The average retiree said they have about $19,200 in non-mortgage debt. Retirees increased their debt by 104% in 2020 alone, compared to an increase of only 13% for non-retirees. Although they’re holding on to less debt than non-retirees, who have an average of about $44,000, retired Americans have been hit harder financially the past year: The average retiree took on an additional $9,779 in debt 2020, increasing their debt by 104%. Non-retirees, on the other hand, accumulated an additional $5,035, only increasing their debt by 13%. Some of that increased debt is due to more people carrying credit card debt. In fact, the percentage of retirees carrying credit card debt has increased over the last decade, including a 48% increase between 2019 and 2020. Source: Clever Real Estate 2020 Retirement Survey, November 24, 2020

Sweetheart Special - Valentine's Train, Wine & Sweets Pairing!

Depart the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum Depot for a rail excursion to Ozan Winery & Distillery!! You'll arrive at the vineyard and get a taste of Yella Whiskey, then a short walk up the hill to the tasting room to start your adventure. Guests will receive a souvenir wine glass and a pre-selected sampling of wines paired with their individual plate of "sweet treats"! Taste favorites like Chardonnay, Peach and Pinot Noir, among others! All wines and spirits will be available for purchase by the bottle for you to take home!

Visit www.ozanwine.com for details.

Tell Your Friends

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Renfroe's Market_Adams Drugs_Sommer's Place_Fresh Market_Whole Foods Tomatino's_MCA Fitness_Vintage Cafe_Derk's_UPS Stores_Steak Out_Steaks & Wine The Vintage Olive_Capital City-Ace Hardware_Orange Therapy_Down the Street Chappy's Deli_Health Wise Foods_Eastbrook Flea Market_John Lee Paints Home Care Assistance_Doug's 2_Baumhower’s Restaurant_Jan's Beach House San Marcos_Chris' Hot Dogs_Lek's_SaZas_Mexico Tipico_La Zona Rosa

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Voices of Change @ MMFA

Photographer Yousuf Karsh (Canadian, born Armenia, 1908–2002) utilized portraiture to capture the essence of extraordinary men and women. Karsh’s early feelings of helplessness as a child who witnessed the genocide in Armenia, later spurred him to seek out those who obtained power in their chosen paths. He brought a compassionate eye to his rich and detailed photographs of cultural icons, many of whom were instrumental in sparking changes and spurring societal transformations around the world. The MMFA holds 100 photographs by Karsh in our Permanent Collection.

On view in this new outdoor Art Walk are 10 of his portraits representing figures who have made an impact on our world through their leadership and ideals, words, and actions. In addition to the images, MMFA staff and volunteers contributed insights and reflections on these remarkable figures who were voices for change in our society. For more info visit www.mmfa.org

The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine

Caregiver of the Month Spotlight:

Yotundra Smith

Yotundra is one of the hardest working and most reliable caregivers that we have. She is effective, efficient and goes over and beyond to care for clients.

She has accepted many shifts beyond her regular schedule to assist the company where we needed help. Yotundra is extremely compassionate and caring, with a desire and eagerness to make a difference in the lives of the clients that she cares for. We’re so glad to have Yotundra on our team as she plays her position well. Keep up the GREAT work, Yotundra!

Thank you for being a valuable member of our team, Yotundra… Keep up the great work!

For more information visit www.homecareassistancemontgomery.com

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BOOM! COVER PROFILE

Willie & Terrie Durham Love, Patience, Compromise

This month’s cover profile is a couple who has accomplished much since moving back to Montgomery nearly 20 years ago. Willie and Terrie Durham have been married for 36 years and after completing a career in the US Marines, Willie and Terrie moved back to Montgomery, where Willie launched his State Farm Insurance career with the encouragement of his wife. They now work together in their State Farm Agency, Terrie managing the office while Willie manages the sales. They are committed to their church, their business, and their community. Willie has served in various organizations including the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce and the Montgomery Sunrise Rotary. It was a pleasure to get to know Willie and Terrie and we think you’ll enjoy getting to know them too.

BOOM!: Please give us a brief biography, i.e. where you’re from, what led you to the Montgomery area, careers, marriage, family, etc.?

graduation from Jeff Davis, I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.

Willie and Terrie: I’m originally from Montgomery and grew up in public housing in Gibbs Village, raised by Willie and Terrie cutting their wedding cake both Parents.

My Mom worked as a cook at Varon’s your State Farm Restaurant for approximately 20 years Insurance Agency and when they closed she worked at in 2005. Describe ALFA in the Cafeteria for about 20 years the process of until retiring to take care of my father. launching your new My father worked for approx 48 years business? Why at A/C Construction until he had to insurance? retire due to his health. Terrie’s mother worked various factory jobs, JP Stevens Willie and Terrie: and Brockway Glass until retiring to After retiring open her own Home Day Care business. from the Marines, Her Father worked various factory Terrie thought jobs Coca Cola, Rheem and Cummings I would do well Engine shop before retiring. After in the insurance

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BOOM!: Willie, after spending 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, you returned to Montgomery and soon after started

industry, she worked as an insurance underwriter for Southern Guaranty insurance. She had an opportunity to interact with a lot of agents throughout the state of Alabama and she thought my background in the Marines, my experience in sales and my discipline would allow me to do well in the insurance industry. So she was very instrumental in supporting me and encouraging me to go into the insurance industry.

BOOM!: Willie and Terrie, please describe the many services your State Farm Agency offers and some of the important benefits your clients receive?

What does the future look like for you and your company?

Terrie and Willie, a day at the State farm Agency

Willie and Terrie: State Farm Insurance has a lot of products to provide its clients. At the Willie Durham

The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine

hall, but we didn't come in contact Agency we primarily focus on attended, New Home Missionary much until a party during our senior automobile insurance, because we Baptist Church in Mount Meigs, to gain year, which believe favor with her father to let him know was after that every that I had honest intentions. It was I moved home has a not much later I would go on to get from Gibbs driveway or baptized at that same church and our Village and parking lot, faith journey would begin from that transferred so we lead moment. Christ is the center of our to Jeff with our core lives. We would go on to get married Davis HS. I product, it at that Church. After retiring from recognized allows for us the Marines and settling back here her and she to talk about in Montgomery, Terrie and I would allowed me the other serve at that same church. She is to have her products we the President of the Deacons Wives telephone provide. My Ministries and I’m the Vice Chairman of number, agency is a The Deacon Board. The foundation for The Durhams island hopping from a cruise although full service us is Jesus Christ and his teachings. It she never answered the phone after agency which includes automobile, has helped us to maintain our marriage numerous phone calls. renter's, and homeowners insurance, for 36 years But one day when we also do boats and recreational and it helps she finally answered vehicles such as four wheelers and us to be my call, that was my ATV’S. We also provide general liability patient with opportunity. That was insurance for businesses. Of course each other in 1982. And we dated we offer life insurance, as well as short and loving our whole senior year and long-term disability. So we're a each other in high school and then full service agency. We like to say… even when got married in 1984. So We're able to take care of clients from we are not so when it comes to love, I the cradle to the grave! Our outlook loveable…now would say our secret to for the future is continuing to have Terrie is always success is be persistent a great team to help us market, sell loveable but and know what you and provide exceptional service to the she has to look want and go after it. clients that we have. beyond some We've been married 36 of my faults years!

BOOM!: Since Valentine’s Day is around :) Christ is the corner would you share with our patient with us BOOM!: Faith has been readers your love story, how you and we have to an important part of met and some of the secrets to your be patient with Terrie and Willie enjoying Downtown Montgomery your lives, please share marriage success? each other. with us some of your faith journey and The way we try to do business is with how faith has Willie and honesty and integrity. We don't put guided your lives Terrie: We profit over our principles. So faith is our and the role it first met at moral compass that guides us and it's plays in operating Lanier HS, as our true north. your business? sophomores.

I recognized BOOM!: You grew up in Montgomery, Willie and Terrie: Terrie at please describe the progress, Faith is very Lanier, but changes, and the future potential of important to she was Montgomery and the River Region?

Terrie and me. oblivious to When she was who I was.

Willie and Terrie: We both grew up a senior in high I continued in Montgomery and returned after school, I attended to see Terrie serving in The Marines for 20 years. the church she walking We decided to come back to our home Willie and Kolby and her family down the city, because this is where our parents The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine

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were. We Just as Christ the benefits the Montgomery Area believe in is patient Chamber of Commerce offers not only this city… with us, we the local business community but it’s the try to be everyone who lives and works in our city where patient with community? we want each other. to live and Our son is 21 Willie and Terrie: The chamber as where years old and an organization is designed to help God has he is just like businesses grow their markets! The called us. any other Chamber focuses on recruiting So we young adult businesses so that our citizens can believe trying to find have good quality jobs. Also, they help that if his way and retain businesses to stay here in our we want we're patient area that other cities would love to try this city with him as to recruit. The chamber also focuses Terrie and Willie Ready for The Derby to be a well. on our military missions here with progressive city, we all have to roll up Maxwell and Gunter AFB. We were our sleeves and pay some civic rent. So BOOM!: What are some of your favorite successful in getting the F 35. If the this is where we live, this is where we travel experiences? Favorite vacation chamber is successful in recruiting and work. And this is where we worship. So spot? Any travel dreams planned? retaining businesses, we believe that we have an obligation to try to make our citizens will be able to have good this city the best it can be!

Willie and Terrie: As a U S Marine and quality jobs. So when our kids go off as a State Farm agent, we've had plenty to college, they don't have to move to BOOM!: With a busy life, how do you of opportunities to travel, literally other cities for opportunities, those like to spend time with family and around the world. We love to cruise same opportunities would be here, but friends? as a family. So for about five years not only for jobs, we also want a good consecutively. Our quality of life, Willie and Terrie: My life is busy. But I Spring Break as a especially for try to also have a balance. Again, this family was to cruise young people is where we live, work and worship. on Carnival. We've who want to Terrie understands and she knows I’m been to numerous be able to civic minded and very involved. She's places. We took have things extremely patient. However, I have to a Mediterranean to do with be respectful of her time as well and cruise to Rome. their families. have a balance. I try to include her as We've been to The Chamber much as possible in any civic activities Cozumel Mexico wakes up every that we have outside the home. We also several times. Our day, focusing enjoy going to college and pro games, goal is to one day on its mission movies, concerts, comedy shows...and be able to take an and they want we exercise together!

Alaskan cruise.

Montgomery We've been to to be a place BOOM!: You received the Families Vancouver, Canada, that not only of the Year Award from the Family Washington, DC and survives but Guidance Center of Alabama in 2019.

Boston which are thrives! The Please describe what that was like for some of our favorite Montgomery the two of you and your son, Kolby to spots. Also, we had Area Chamber "It's only once a year" be honored in such a way? an opportunity to go of Commerce to San Francisco. We love to travel and does a great job and I was honored to Willie and Terrie: It's always an honor can't wait for this pandemic to be over serve as its Chairman! when someone recognizes your family. so we can resume traveling again.

Terrie, Kolby and I are grateful to BOOM!: Do you have any hobbies have been recognized as family of the BOOM!: You have served the or other activities that grab your year. That was a huge honor to be Montgomery Area Chamber of attention? nominated. Our FAMILY is just like most Commerce, most recently as Chairman other families, we have our challenges. in 2019. Please share your view on Willie and Terrie: Terrie and I have

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The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine

similar hobbies. We both enjoy reading and traveling. We also enjoy eating so because of that we have included exercising in our daily routine:) We both are people of faith, so we serve others as much as possible through various church ministries. Kolby, our son also works in the church doing the audiovisual activities to help with the choir and the pastor's presentation.

BOOM!: Many people over 50 experience a renewed sense of purpose, new goals, or maybe new careers, especially if they’ve experienced the empty nest syndrome of their kids moving on.

How would you describe this sense of renewal in your life? Any advice for the rest of us seeking renewal?

How do you view the idea of retirement?

Willie and Terrie: So I really don't know how to answer this question. I feel as though 50 is the new 30. And 70 may be the new 50. So I think I have some time to go before retirement but If you enjoy doing something and you have your health I’d say continue to do it as long as you can, especially if you’re making a difference. That would be my answer to that.

The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine

and when you’re old you’ll spend all your wealth trying to get back your health”. So I would encourage everyone to take better care of themselves! So that you won't have to spend all your money trying to recover your health when you’re older!

BOOM!: How have you been dealing with the COVID 19 challenges?

Terrie and Willie, ready for the night

BOOM!: As you’ve aged, how have your priorities changed?

Willie and Terrie: Yes sir our priorities have definitely changed. With age should come wisdom….I would say I’ve learned that we should take better care of ourselves! Our health is probably the most important thing we have. Its been said, “When you’re young you sacrifice your health to gain wealth

Willie and Terrie: Terrie and I have to be understanding with our employees, because some of them have school age children and the schools are going back and forth on whether it be in person or virtual. So you have to be patient with them, while they're getting the kids logged on or having to make additional visits to the school to get work. Also, we have to be patient with our customers. Some of them have been impacted by the economic downturns and jobs have cut back their hours if not terminated their employment. So people’s ability to pay their bills have been delayed.

Finally, we want to make sure all of our

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customers and employees are in a safe environment. So we've had to purchase additional PPE personal protection equipment to make sure everybody is safe.

I'd rather look for the solutions.

I realize that one person can't make all the difference, but we can make a difference.

So if we want this

BOOM!: How do you like to relax and wind down from a full day’s activities?

Willie and Terrie: Coming home to my recliner and getting in the chair and catching up on what's going on in World Events. My secret is I'm a political junkie, I love politics, I would never want to serve in an elected position, I just love the art of negotiation and getting things done to help others! So I enjoy watching the evening news to see what's going on in the world.

Game Time with Willie and Terrie

Everybody can't score the touchdown.

Some people have to block but, in the end, we all win, and we all celebrate the victory! I'm a also a member of the Montgomery Sunrise Rotary, Commissioner Montgomery Housing Authority, Child Protect Advocate as well as other non-profits.

BOOM!: Willie and Terrie, give us three words that describe your marriage?

Willie and Terrie: Love, Patience, Compromise.

community to be a good community, then find something that you can do to make this area better. If I can use a sports analogy…

Everybody can't be the quarterback, but the center is as important because they hike the ball to the quarterback.

BOOM!: Willie, you were quoted as saying “If we’re going to have a good community, everyone should pay some civic rent. Roll up your sleeves and instead of seeing problems see what part you play in the solution.”

Could you elaborate more on what this means to you? How do you get involved in community, civic or other service activities?

Son, Kolby, Terrie and Willie

Willie and Terrie: Again, I think it's important that we see all the challenges that the community has and it's easy to pick those out, but

The Durhams: Kolby, Terrie, Willie

We want to thank Willie and Terrie for sharing some of their story with us in this month's cover profile. If you want to connect with Willie and Terrie, you can email Willie at willie@williedurham.com or call his State Farm Agency, 334.272.9100. You can also visit www.williedurham.com. A special thanks to Shellee at Total Image Portraits for providing this month's cover photography. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions about our cover profiles, including nominating someone, please send them to Jim Watson at jim@riverregionboom.com.

Tell Your Friends

BOOM! Available Here and 200 other locations!

Renfroe's Market_Adams Drugs_Sommer's Place_Fresh Market_Whole Foods Tomatino's_MCA Fitness_Vintage Cafe_Derk's_UPS Stores_Steak Out_Steaks & Wine The Vintage Olive_Capital City-Ace Hardware_Orange Therapy_Down the Street Chappy's Deli_Health Wise Foods_Eastbrook Flea Market_John Lee Paints Home Care Assistance_Doug's 2_Baumhower’s Restaurant_Jan's Beach House San Marcos_Chris' Hot Dogs_Lek's_SaZas_Mexico Tipico_La Zona Rosa

Read the digital version from your phone, tablet, ipad or computer, www.RiverRegionBoom.com 46 BOOM!

February 2021

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The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine

The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine

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By Dr. Connie Zweig

For My Grandchildren: A Letter of Love and Legacy On everything from finding purpose to setting goals, a grandmother offers lessons of encouragement and wisdom Editor’s note: This essay is an excerpt from the author's forthcoming book, "The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul," which will be published in September 2021.

You own my heart. This love has been a surprise — and the most precious gift of my late life. I was not a Mommy. So, I did not expect to be a Grandma. But I married Neil and, when you came into the world, I became Grandma Connie — and my heart swelled with the sight, sound, smell and touch of each of you. This surprising love has forced me to grow, opening my heart wider and wider, as you grow, too.

and can be rekindled with play.

You Are a Light And I see your one-of-a-kind-ness. No one has ever been like you before, and no one ever will be. No one has your smile or your voice or your fingerprint.

And no one can take your place in the world, where you are wanted and needed to do your part. You are a light — and your job is to let it shine.

I see your radiance — and don't want to do anything to squash it. So, I try to meet it with my own diminishing energy, to stay up with you when you run and play and bike and scooter.

I see your beauty.

Your value is in what you are, not what you do or what you own.

I see your curiosity about everything and your passion to learn letters, to recognize them and put together words. So, I try to be with you in your learning, as inspired and excited as you are. Your curiosity is a clue that can lead you on a lifelong treasure hunt.

I see your play — "the sun's up, it's time to play!" — and the joy in your faces when we go on our Sunday adventures, when we take our special family trips, when we celebrate your birthdays and holidays. And your joy stirs a joy in me that is youthful, innocent and vibrant.

For the child in us is alive at every age

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And I want you to see in me that the full span of life is rich and meaningful, that we never stop playing, learning and loving. I want you to feel in me an unconditional loving presence, an embrace of all of who you are, a hand to hold to keep you safe, a lap that's warm and cozy.

As you continue to grow and become teens and adults, you will find a world that's not all safe, people who are not all warm and cozy. You will face a planet in a climate crisis and a society with rich and poor people, who live very different lives.

You will be disappointed, hurt and angry sometimes, as all people are. You may have your heart broken, struggle with health problems or financial problems.

But my hope is that you will take my love with you. Like a locket next to your hearts, you can carry my love as a feeling of your innate lovability. You can carry my positive gaze as a memory of your innate value.

As you find your way to a great education and a satisfying career, as you discover how to give and receive love, you will remember that there are boys and girls who are not as fortunate as you, not as loved or safe or happy as you are. And I hope that, when you're ready, you will turn and offer your hand, your love and your positive gaze to them — and return all that you have received.

Don't let others define you and limit you. Some of you are being raised Jewish, others Christian, others agnostic — all right in one family. But the values that I'm sharing here transcend those differences; they are shared ideals that transcend religion, race, gender, geography and age. And they can lead you to a life of meaning and purpose.

Life Does Not Happen on Text Don't let technology distract you from real human connection. Life does not happen on text, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or WhatsApp; it happens face to face, eye to eye, skin to skin. It happens outdoors in the sun and rain, woods, and oceans.

Research is telling us that those teens who spend more time at home looking at screens than going out with friends and family feel more lonely and unhappy, The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine

not more connected. Their brains are over-stimulated, and their bodies are under-exercised, so they struggle with being attentive and sleeping well. So, remember to use your iPhones and iPads to serve you; don't serve them. Don't let your devices be the last thing you see before bed and the first thing you see when you wake up.

a volunteer, an attorney, a journalist, a candidate for office.

significant social causes that can offer you a purposeful life.

It may mean striving to figure out how your devices work. If this is your striving, then explore technology — robotics, artificial intelligence, social media — and steer them to be used for the common good.

Always strive to connect to something greater than yourself — whatever form that takes for you. And you will find a meaningful life.

Become A Compassionate Role Model It may mean striving to connect with the Great Mystery, something beyond your small self, behind the layers of life that we can see or touch. If this is your striving, then study religion, spirituality and philosophy and find a contemplative practice that teaches you to sit quietly, alone, and hear the whisper of your soul.

You may, like the great mystics before you, penetrate the veils covering our illusions and come to know your true source and destination.

The Future Is You The future is being shaped now, as I write, in the hearts and minds of you children and in all children everywhere — rich and poor, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, white, Black, Latino, Asian. The future lies in your feeling nurtured or abandoned, safe or afraid, confident or insecure, hungry or satiated.

It may mean striving to understand how life began, to unlock the mysteries of the universe, of human history, of our brains or cells. If this is your striving, then explore science — astrophysics, quantum physics, anthropology, neuroscience, physiology or microbiology. And make your unique addition to the vast body of knowledge that science has built.

It may mean striving to understand why people do what they do, how they are motivated, why they hurt others and how they recover from hurt. If this is your striving, then study psychology like Neil and me.

It may mean striving to understand the beauty of the natural world and to support the elegant web of life that connects us to plants, animals and all living things. If this is your striving, then study botany, zoology, sustainability and climate science.

Strive to Become Your Own Ideal It may mean striving to inspire people through creativity. If this is your striving, then explore the visual arts, performing arts, poetry and music.

It may mean striving to make a difference to others, to ease their suffering and thereby contribute to the greater good. If this is your striving, then find a passionate cause — climate change, racism, sexism, homelessness, hunger, gun violence, hunger, poverty, education, refugees, animal welfare — and make it your own. Take the resources and gifts that you've been given and become an advocate, an activist, a teacher, a doctor, The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine

As adults, then Elders, strive to become your own ideal. Become the generous, compassionate role models you had or sought out. Become the grandparents who Neil and I tried to be for you — or become even better than we were.

I had my shortcomings as a Grandma. I ask for your forgiveness for my absence at important moments, my impatience with your anger or tears, my overeagerness to shape you to my own ideals. I was always imperfect — and I'm leaving you an imperfect world.

My generation's unfinished business falls to you. I fought for racial equality, watched moments of humanity waking up, then watched in sorrow as some in our nation went back to sleep. I fought for gender equality, watched moments of humanity waking up, then watched, heartbroken, as some in our nation went back to sleep.

And I fought for environmental justice, watched moments of humanity waking up, then watched in horror as our nation, gripped in a stranglehold by oil companies, denied climate change and refused the call for a sustainable planet.

So today, tragically, we hand down these fights to you, a challenging legacy but

The future lies in the role models you observe — your parents and elders, heroes and heroines. What do they strive for? What is the meaning of a successful life to them?

The future lies in the spiritual and moral values being transmitted to you — kindness, generosity, empathy, service, personal development and caring for the earth. How do your teachers and leaders live these values? Do they practice a lifestyle that embodies them?

The future lies in the vision we transmit to you.

When I was a teen, long before you were born, I watched TV when an astronaut sent back to us a photo of the Earth from space: We saw, for the first time, a tiny blue ball, floating in darkness, no borders, no labels. And I watched a moment of humanity waking up to the reality that we are all in the same boat, sharing the same small habitat and bound to the same fate. Today, climate change is a fierce reminder of that vision: The earth is one living, breathing organism that feeds and sustains us, responds to our choices, and cries for your care.

So, the future is you: Each one of you is a fragile and powerful force for a more promising future for everyone.

I bless you, as you fill me with blessings.

Source: www.nextavenue.org Dr. Connie Zweig, a retired psychotherapist, She is currently writing The Inner Work of Age: Shifting From Role to Soul.

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Smart Health - Nature's Way - Tracy Bhalla

Lemon Oil

Lemon has to be one of my all-time favorites – it has so many uses, BUT you do have to use it responsibly.

It is phototoxic (along with many, but not all, other citruses), this means that if you apply it to your skin and then go out in the sun, you could suffer from severe burns at the application site. As I said, use responsibly! You can apply it at very low dilution levels, 1-2% in a carrier oil, directly on the skin, but unless you really need to, why risk it?

Lemon has so many other uses, so let’s focus on those.

First it just smells so fresh and, well, lemony! It is known to uplift the spirits, so when you’re feeling a little low, put a few drops on a tissue or in a diffuser and let that lemon scent pull you out of the doldrums so you can face the day with a smile on your face.

It is a proven anxiolytic – that is it is scientifically proven to reduce anxiety, so if you’re anxious anyway or just worried about a particular thing or event, take a good long whiff of lemon oil and feel those worries just melt away.

It is also an awesome cleaner. The super high concentration of d-limonene in lemon essential oil is what gives it this quality. In addition, it is proven to be anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant; all good qualities to have in a cleanser of any kind. It helps support the immune system, protects the liver, and generally supports good health. Add to that the fact that it smells so great and why wouldn’t you want to replace those toxic cleaners and use this instead??

My favorite recipe for just about any

hard surface – think bathrooms, kitchens, stainless steel…

1 cup baking soda 2 tblsp water 15-20 drops of lemon essential oil (Citrus limon) Mix together, adding the water slowly so it doesn’t fizz up. Keep in an airtight container. Use on a damp sponge as needed.

I have successfully cleaned our stainlesssteel toaster with this after 10 years of neglect (!)

Here are the Before and After photos:

So the first photo shows the toaster part way through the process – the point at which my husband was in disbelief at how amazing the toaster was looking (he was ready to buy a new one!) As you can see, the bar on the left is brown/black with residue, as were all three. In this photo you can see the right-hand bar has been cleaned already; the middle bar has had the cleansing paste applied and the left hand bar is still waiting to be cleaned.

After the paste is applied, just leave it for 10-20 minutes to let the lemon oil do its work. Then take a damp cloth and gently

but firmly rub it off. The results are clear in the last photo! It looks like new and just with three, all-natural ingredients.

I will be posting a short video of the process on my blog this month – www.LogHouseAromatics.com Finally, lemon oil is also a good appetite suppressant. Although grapefruit oil is possibly the most well-known, many of the citruses can act in this way. It is thought this is due to their ability to lift one’s spirits. As food has many emotional connections and we often overeat when we are worried or tense or generally not feeling great about ourselves, so it makes sense that if those feelings are overcome then it is easier to say no to that slice of cake and yes to the apple instead.

You can also try adding Peppermint (Mentha x piperita), Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus), Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), and Black Pepper (Piper negrum), along with lemon, lime and/or grapefruit to a diffuser blend to help suppress your appetite. Any combination of the these will work for you, either on a handkerchief, in an inhaler, or in a diffuser. Any way works.

So, to conclude, Lemon essential oil has many wonderful applications, and it is also relatively inexpensive, particularly as you only need a few drops at a time.

As always, please be careful where you buy from. Use a reputable essential oil provider, don’t expect something you pick up in TJMaxx to have the same potency as something you get from NYR Organic for example. It may smell nice, but it is unlikely to have the other qualities, it just has fragrance added. us.nyrorganic.com/shop/tracybhalla

Tracy Bhalla, independent consultant with NYR Organics and founder of LogHouseAromatics.com; after 25 years of using homeopathic remedies, it was time to take charge and complete my Aromatherapy Certification, which I achieved April 2020 and since founded LogHouseAromatics.com as a source for useful essential oil and February 2021 RiverRegionBoom.com BOOM! general natural health information and a place to purchase certain products. email: nyrbhalla@gmail.com I am here to answer anyRegion’s questions you may have.

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By Greg Budell

The Mayor of BOOMTOWN

CRASHMAS MEMORIES "A true story from the Greg files"

2020 was good to the last suck. What a year!

Five days before Christmas, I had the family truckster (as Clark Griswold would say) loaded for the 660-mile drive to visit my daughter in Fort. Lauderdale.

I’d begun packing days ahead. Gifts first. Tucked and covered. I have a checklist of several dozen items that must be packed. Red Christmas vest.

Check. Seafood lasagna. Check.

Seafood lasagna? It’s a wonderful mozzarella cream sauce lasagna packed with shrimp and crab meat and my daughter has loved it her whole life.

When I visit, it’s our traditional dinner on night one. I just find it easier to make a day early (tastes even better after it sets a day) and pack it in a large cooler (email me for the recipe).

All of this preparation is designed to allow a quick escape at 3AM CST. If all goes well, and it usually does, it gets

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me into Ft. Lauderdale around 2:30 (I lose an hour crossing into Georgia). I stay at a dear (no pun intended) friend’s house, grab a nap and make the final 50-mile journey to Janelle’s townhouse feeling refreshed.

At 3AM on this past 12/21, I reviewed the check list and backed down the driveway on time!

Taking no chances, I picked my way carefully out of our northeast

Montgomery neighborhood because deer are often out at that hour. I’ve seen them. I relaxed when I reached Atlanta Highway, and was soon motoring smoothly southbound Hwy 231.

I was in a festive mood, making great time but observing the 65MPH speed limit.

Seriously.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, my field of vision was filled with a Deer Damages large deer! I slammed on the brakes but there was no chance of avoiding collision. The sound of exploding plastic was no different than striking another car. I screeched to a halt, my

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heart pounding, eyes poached wide open.

The deer must have survived (they often do) because I saw nothing of the creature on the road or to the side.

I needed to check my Rogue to see if I could continue traveling, so I slowly began moving forward. My headlights seemed to be working. As I gained speed, I heard a slapping sound on the side of the car with no clue what was causing it. Believe me, I felt worse about hurting the deer than I did my car. My immediate fear was the slapping sound being caused by some part of the deer beating the car in revenge.

I drove several miles, enduring that sound, almost certain I’d be returning home. Luckily, the car was packed all the damage was outside. There was no seafood lasagna in the AC vents from screeching brakes.

At 3:45 I saw a gas station/convenience store and pulled into the lot. Troy is not exactly the city that never sleeps so I was thrilled to find anything open.

The slapping sound was a piece of plastic bent off the right fender. The bigger issue was “continue or not”? A very southern voice from behind me said “nasty critters, aren’t they?”.

I turned around and miracle of miracles- stood a man wearing a mechanic’s uniform! “Lemme help ya out here mister”. He’d seen it happen and followed me to offer help. He used a box cutter to saw the slapping plastic piece off. The headlights and turn signals worked. Most importantly, the hood was firmly locked in place and in no danger of flying off. I saw that happen on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago.

The green hood of a Yellow Cab flew up and spun like a guillotine. Fortunately, it missed everyone and everything.

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My mechanic friend said I should be good to continue. He wouldn’t even let me buy him coffee to say thanks.

Still shaken, I needed to tell a friend so I texted Rich Thomas, the one guy I knew would be up at 4AM. I still couldn’t get over how quickly it happened and told him how horribly I felt about hitting an animal.

I was almost to Georgia when daylight was finally illuminating the pastoral landscape. My morning show team would be starting up at 6 so I pulled up the NewsTalk app and tuned in for the comfort of my friend’s voices. Sure enough, they were talking about my deer experience and the first thing I hear?

“Somewhere near Troy a deer family will be setting one less plate this Christmas”.

Thanks for assuaging my guilt, gang!

231 in broad daylight.

When I drove past the accident spot, I realized how everything happened so quickly. The ravine separating the north and southbound lines is deep. A deer concealed in the gully could easily leap out with no warning. No driver would have a chance. I also learned that these collisions can be fatal to the deer and driver.

I felt somewhat lucky it wasn’t worse.

When I got home, Donnie had already ordered the bumper, fender and other parts and had them painted.

On the Monday after my return, he had my SUV staged for repair in the morning and by 6PM that evening it was detailed and ready!

Great coordination while I was out of town! Best of all, the Rogue looked showroom new inside and out.

I may rethink the 3AM departures for future trips. That stunning instant of the deer strike still haunts me.

Two minutes Showroom Ready after that Hallmark Moment I received a text The total repair cost a little over from my buddy Donnie Turner. He $3,000. owns Montgomery Paint and Body and has been a great, long term sponsor of Amazing how much damage can start the show. “Send me some pix as soon with one buck. as you can!”.

He was listening! At my next stop in Tallahassee, Florida I took and sent a dozen shots from every angle. After 9, I contacted my insurance agent and when I arrived in Ft. Lauderdale (on time!) I filed a claim.

The Rogue held up fine through a memorable 5-day Christmas visit, and the subsequent drive home. I timed things so I’d be returning north on Hwy

(If you have a comment on this column, email me at gregbudell@aol.com. It's still fun to hear from new people!)

Greg Budell lives in Montgomery with his wife, Roz, Stepson, Sho, and dogs Hershey and Briscoe.

He’s been in radio since 1970, and has marked 16 years in the River Region. He hosts the Newstalk 93.1FM Morning Show with Rich Thomas, Jay Scott & Jessie Lynn, 6-9 AM Monday-Friday. He returns weekday afternoons from 3-6 PM for Happy Hour with sidekick Rosie Brock. Greg can be reached at gregbudell@aol.com.

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