1
3
Sponsored by Vivian O'Nay
Fashion with the Ladies at Vivian O’Nay! Fall Fashion Ideas for Women Over 50
September calls style that makes a statement.
to keep her legs covered while she still aims to find things flattering and fashionable. Jumpsuits are perfect for all body types and ages!
This Fall once again a few of the ladies at Vivian O’Nay will be bringing the readers of BOOM! a column with updates on current trends. Each month we will feature a different woman from Vivian O’Nay to highlight her own personal style combined with the trends which are “in” at the moment. This month our owner, Charla Baumgardner, is sharing her take on fashion over fifty as we head into this fall season. This month our owner, Charla’s own signature style Charla Baumgardner, is sharing her combines classic and edgy elements take on fashion over fifty. with flowy fabrics and longer They are an cuts. You can always catch her in a pair of eye-catching wedges and skinny jeans year-round! She staple which loves kimonos paired with graphic tees, is sure to set long beaded necklaces, and piling her you apart from bracelets high. She isn’t a big fan of dresses normal every day wear. on herself so when she gets all dolled up
you can find her in a jumpsuit or a longer skirt instead.
One piece of advice we always got from our parents was to never throw away old items because they will come back around. Now she knows Mama truly is always right! One of her favorite trends right now is pairing Dr. Martens with skirts. The pair she has on (pictured) is her own vintage ones from the 90s! We are seeing women of all ages pairing casual shoes with dresses and skirts as we transition into the fall season. The two elements pair perfectly to make feminine and grunge work together simultaneously creating a fashion forward look. So many other old trends are also making their way back into fashion. Some of our favorites at the store are white boots, high waisted jeans, scrunches, and adda bead style bracelets and earrings. Jumpsuits are also a style from the 60s and 70s which we began seeing more frequently a few years ago. They are only increasing in popularity as time goes on! Charla loves wearing them (pictured) instead of dresses because she prefers
4 BOOM!
September 2020
Graphic tees are also increasing in popularity for the pre-fall season. We love them because they have the ability to speak to your own personality. They offer something for everyone whether you prefer attention catching and funny or subtle and picturesque. Vintage Band Tees are also a huge hit for people of all ages! It’s so fun to see people walking around wearing tees from throwback legendary artists like ACDC, the Rolling Stones, and Def Leppard. The options are truly limitless! We love to see them paired with a denim or leather jacket as the weather changes. They also look great knotted or tucked with a skirt or dressed down with leggings or jeans. Face Masks are the newest fashion statement after Alabama mandated they be worn indoors. In the South we are so used to smiling at our neighbors and friends but now your face mask has to do that for you! While we must wear them - why not have fun with it? The varieties in material and patterns are endless and we are seeing popular patterns like
RiverRegionBoom.com
cheetah, snake, tye dye, and even gameday everywhere. With so many options now available we feel comfort is truly key. Our favorites include breathable materials and adjustable ear straps. The newest addition to mask wearing is something clever- mask chains! This is the same concept as a chain for your glasses. They can be worn as necklaces when not wearing a mask or you can wear it attached to the ear loops to hold it around your neck while it’s not on your face. We love the gold and silver chain versions (pictured) because you can still wear it as an accessory when this is Covid thing is over and it can take a look from casual to glam. Charla also is always adorned with classic accessories to compliment her style. Her every day staples are a good pair of simple hoop earrings and an abundance of different bracelets. Her current obsession is Brighton! We just began carrying the line at Vivian O’Nay. They boast an extensive collection of stylish products that accessorize women from head to toe including earrings, bracelets, necklaces, sunglasses, and handbags. They have the biggest selection of ideal staple items to pair with the latest trends! Fall is the perfect time to break out your old vintage pieces for “Round Two” combined with new styles you haven’t tried before. While women over fifty know who they are and are authentic to their style, there’s no reason why they can’t be daring and go outside of their comfort zones. Baby Boomers are used to breaking norms, bending rules, and never letting people tell them what they can and cannot do - why should fashion be any different? Until next time…feel your style! Visit Vivian O'Nay and find your fashion sense, they're located at 3500 Wetumpka Highway, Montgomery, AL. You can call 334.290.5268 or visit www.vivianonay.com The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
5
Senior Services Alabama Department of
Our vision is to help society and state government prepare for the changing aging demographics through effective leadership, advocacy, and stewardship.
Taking part is your civic duty.
Completing the census is mandatory: it’s a way to participate in our democracy and say
“I COUNT!”
Your privacy is protected.
It's against the law for the Census Bureau to publicly release your responses in any way that could identify you or your household. By law, your responses cannot be used against you and can only be used to produce statistics.
www.alabama2020census.com 6 BOOM!
September 2020
Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) program
right services can be Launched in 2003 daunting for individuals and funded by the and their family Administration on Aging members. Through (AOA) and the Center for “One Door Alabama,” Medicare and Medicaid multiple Alabama state Services (CMS), the and community agencies Aging and Disability coordinate to ensure Resource Center that people can access (ADRC) program was information and get Commissioner - Jean W. Brown created by the Alabama one-on-one counseling about options Department of Senior Services available across all agencies serving (ADSS). The program is administered Alabama’s communities. by Alabama’s thirteen regional Area Today all thirteen AAAs are certified Agencies on Aging (AAAs). The ADRC ADRCs covering every county in the program was created to be a one-stop state. Not only are the ADRCs the shop for older adults, people with entry point for resource information disabilities, and caregivers seeking and benefits screening, they also act information and assistance about as an entry point for professionals, long-term support services (LTSS), caregivers, family members, and benefits, and other resources that will friends seeking resources and help people live with independence assistance on behalf of clients and dignity in their own homes and or loved ones. Anyone seeking communities. assistance is screened utilizing a universal screening tool that allows After Alabama was recognized the person seeking assistance to nationally as an ADRC leader, in 2015 have their information captured the Administration for Community immediately without needing to Living (ACL) awarded the Alabama repeat the information if later, Medicaid Agency the competitive “No additional resource counseling is Wrong Door” grant so that Alabama needed. Referrals for such items as could continue offering unbiased medication assistance, Medicare/ LTSS and benefits counseling to older Medicaid counseling, transportation, individuals, people with disabilities, homecare assistance, meals, and and caregivers in the state. Through support for caregivers are made on a planning process with ADSS, the behalf of the individual needing help. new initiative was named “One Door The ADRCs provide follow-up and Alabama.” “One Door Alabama” offer short-term case management builds upon the ADRCs to continue to those who request assistance with streamlining access to LTSS options completing application(s) for services for older adults and people with and benefits. disabilities at any age. Finding the
RiverRegionBoom.com
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
Below are just a few personal stories from our ADRCs: • “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” Most people remember the commercial. It seems like a great slogan. The stark reality is that falls happen every day. Many seniors live alone; and without an Emergency Response System (ERS), these individuals could be without help for hours…or even days! Through the generosity of its community’s donations, one ADRC has met that need by purchasing both wireless and landline ERS units. In order to be considered for an ERS, an individual in need can reach out to the local ADRC for a complete assessment. This ensures they will receive all the benefits available to them. After the assessment has been completed, if eligible, they are issued an ERS unit at no charge, if available. An employee with Covington County In-Home Service was new to her position. When learning about the various programs and resources, including ERS units, she immediately knew of two clients in great need of a unit. Assessments were completed quickly, and the units were ready to be delivered. A Medicaid Waiver Case Manager working in that area was able to deliver the units to the employee. She in turn delivered and set up the ERS units for her clients. A month later one of her clients had to use the ERS unit in the middle of the night and was very thankful to have had it. • An individual contacted his local ADRC stating that he and his wife needed food. They had struggled for a long time and couldn’t “hang on” any longer. He informed the ADRC worker that his spouse was The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
in very poor health and said he had promised years ago in their wedding vows that he would always be there for her. He stated that promise had become harder and harder to keep. The client is a former minister and said that although the community had been helping them as much as possible, he didn’t want to burden them. The client and his wife were screened for ADRC benefits and as it turned out, the couple qualified for several programs. The biggest benefit they were qualified to receive was the Medicare Savings Program, which pays for the Part B Medicare premium. This program alone saved them $270 per month. This couple was extremely thankful for this help. • SRx (Senior Prescription Assistance) has a client who receives help with obtaining a medication. Her air conditioner, was not working and she could not get it repaired. The SRx program provided her with a fan and placed her name on the “holding for a window air conditioner” list. After just a few days, this client received a donated air conditioner from the Southern Alabama Regional Council on Aging. She was extremely grateful to once again have air conditioning.
Our vision is to help society and state government prepare for the changing aging demographics through effective leadership, advocacy, and stewardship.
Taking part is your civic duty.
Completing the census is mandatory: it’s a way to participate in our democracy and say
“I COUNT!”
As related in these few examples, ADSS and the thirteen ADRCs diligently strive to provide support to individuals so that they have the necessary tools to make informed decisions and maintain independence in the community of their choice. If you need assistance, no matter where you live in Alabama, call 1-800-AGELINE (243-5463) to reach an ADRC Specialist for your LTSS options and benefits counseling needs.
www.alabama2020census.com R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
7
8 BOOM!
September 2020
RiverRegionBoom.com
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
9
BOOM!, The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
Contents
September 2020
Facebook.com/RiverRegionBoom
Volume 11 Issue 2
You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”
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
4 Fashion with the Ladies at Vivian O’Nay! 6 Alabama Department of Senior Services-Helping Seniors, Call Today! 12 Publisher's Column 14 Getting to Know You The Crossings At Eastchase page 46
16 Ways to Keep the Memory of Your Parent Alive
Features 24 Your Guide to Aging in Place
46 Looking for Love During COVID-19
48 Burke County North Carolina with Jeff Barganier
50 Are You Ready for Your Second Act?
Departments 34 This and That Interesting Stuff
page 38
52 Greg Budell "I WANT MY LIFE BACK" page 11
18 How To Keep Your Retirement On Track... Susan Moore 22 AUM OLLI Has Plans for Fall 2020 26 TREES By Karen Cochran 28 The Workout Drug By Leigh Anne Richards 30 4 Things You Don’t Know About Estate Planning Ask an Elder Law Attorney
page 40
page 18
page 36
page 48
page 24
33 French River Cruise 34 Labor Day Boston Butt Sale by the Greek Community 37 BOOM! Reader Discounts 40 BOOM! Cover Profile
page 33
page 4 page 14
page 52
page 50
Free Subscriptions @ w w w. r i ve rre gio n b o o m.co m
54 Beat the Heat 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 2020 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.
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
11
Publisher’s Letter
Are You Ready? 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
Contributing Writers Jeff Barganier Tracy Bhalla Greg Budell
Karen Cochran Bo Goodson Patricia Heaton Bob Holmes Tami Kamin Meyer Susan Moore Leigh Anne Richards Raley L. Wiggins
Cover Photography Total Image Portraits www.totalimage.com
Advertising
Jim Watson, 334.324.3472 jim@riverregionboom.com Please Recycle This Magazine, Share with a Friend!
Facebook.com/RiverRegionBoom
Are you ready? Ready for the competitive juices to start flowing again? As an American man, I look forward to the competitive nature of our American culture. Ever since they cancelled the March Madness basketball tournament I’ve been living with disappointment. I so wanted to see Bruce Pearl deliver more winning for the Auburn Basketball Program, but no, we had to hide in our homes and watch sports reruns. That didn’t help. SEC Football will be back this month‌that is if its leadership doesn’t lose Jim Watson, Publisher its courage by paying way too much attention to the Covid Fear Mongers in jim@riverregionboom.com Media. But there’s another competitive contest they cannot take from me, the Presidential Election. When you have a dog in the fight every contest is more interesting because winning and losing is how we settle our differences in America. Having just watched the two parties make their best case for why they should lead us for next four years and maybe beyond, it seems more than clear who should win the elections on November 3rd. I’ve been in sales for most of my life and I know a good presentation when I see one, plus I am too old to have lost my commonsense skills, so my choice is clear. I hope you spend time thinking just what America will be for your children and grandchildren after November 3rd. I’m voting for Make America Love Again. I may even have some MALA red hats made to share with my friends. Text me if you’ll have the courage to wear one !
đ&#x;˜‰
This month’s cover profile is Bo Goodson. Bo is best known for his real estate experience and his ability to teach people how to become real estate professionals. But Bo also teaches bible studies at Frazer, loves to sing, and play guitar and hang out with his partner Gail Ball and their 2 special dogs, Katie Faith and Anna Grace. I hope you’ll enjoy Bo’s story this month, it’s worth sharing too, he’s a special kind of man. Of course, we have plenty more good reads. Like, tips on helping your parents age in place, no easy task. Jeff Barganier trekking off to North Carolina scouting out a great location for the Fall. And Patricia Heaton sharing ideas about helping you start your second act, you ready for yours? How about love? There’s many people of our age who are still looking during the Covid 19 meltdown and they’re doing pretty well coping with the restrictions, inspirational I’d say! Greg Budell reminisces about his old life, before Covid19 and he just WANTS IT BACK! Leigh Anne Richards starts a 2-part column about exercise being “The Workout Drug�, there’s no denying the science, we just need a drug that will make us do it consistently!! Our financial columnist, Susan Moore is offering a free webinar this month about how not to outlive your retirement money, if that ever crossed your mind, please reach out to Susan’s team, and sign up, invite some friends. If you’re buying heath food, supplements, etc. there’s a coupon for Health Wise Foods to get an extra 10% off your purchase, seniors already receive a discount, so this just makes the visit a little sweeter. Tell them BOOM! sent ya’. If you haven’t started receiving the digital version this is a great month to begin. Please subscribe yourself or others at www.riverregionboom.com, IT’s FREE! Please consider all our advertisers when you have needs, they’re all on the right side of positive aging and would love to do business with each of you. Please share your thoughts on this issue or any other ideas regarding BOOM! I love to listen. Make America Love Again, MALA Hats and Masks for everyone!
Jim
334.324.3472 cell/text jim@riverregionboom.com
Free Subscriptions
w w w.r ive rre gio n b o o m.co m 12 BOOM!
September 2020
RiverRegionBoom.com
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
13
A BOOM! FEATURE
Getting To Know You
The Crossings At Eastchase Luxury Senior Living Community
We want to welcome you to The Crossings at Eastchase, where you live matters! This is a brand new, full-service, luxury senior living community offering residents a rich, engaging lifestyle. Spend your carefree days the way you want to at our fresh and inviting senior living community. We offer a full continuum of care that includes 90 independent living apartments, 73 assisted living apartments and 32 memory care apartments.
way, they can stay productive and engaged much longer. Our approach to senior living combines elements of the Masterpiece Living approach and our signature hospitality and care services. By providing our residents with physical, mental, social, and spiritual elements that have been shown to promote overall health and wellness, we offer each and every resident the individualized support they need. The Crossings at Eastchase enables residents to live longer, healthier, more fulfilled lives.
The Crossings offers views of verdant green spaces combined with unbeatable access to the Shoppes at Eastchase. At this prime location in East Montgomery, you will find an abundance of top-rated shopping and dining, coffee shops, entertainment, and so much more. Our community is pet-friendly too, super social, and our chef-prepared meals are not to be missed!
It is an honor and privilege to serve you. Call or stop by today to schedule your personalized discovery and learn more about all of the exclusive benefits afforded to our Charter Members, we can’t wait to meet you! Semper Fidelis! Joel A. Burdette, LtCol, USMC (ret) Executive Director The Crossings at Eastchase 2551 Eastchase Lane, Montgomery, AL 36117 phone 334.322.5985 www.crossingsateastchase.com like us on Facebook too!
The Crossings at Eastchase is like an exclusive social club, complete with a brand-new, full-sized movie theater, salon, on-site healthcare services, fullservice fitness club with senior-centric offerings and a plethora of game and activity rooms with cards, chess, and billiards. Our vibrant community also features a full-service pub serving wine, beer, cocktails, and appetizers as well as dining opportunities in our bistros or fine dining options in our restaurant-style dining rooms. Don’t let outdated ideas about age limit your ability to live a full, rich life.
14 BOOM!
September 2020
Call Today, for Your Personalized Discovery 334.322.5985 Joel A. Burdette Executive Director
The Crossings
At The Crossings at Eastchase, we believe when residents age the right
RiverRegionBoom.com
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
15
Ways to Keep the Memory of Your Parent Alive
(Julie Hall, who calls herself “The Estate Lady” has helped thousands of people with the challenging process of managing their deceased loved one’s possessions. In this excerpt from her new book, Inheriting Clutter: How to Calm the Chaos Your Parents Leave Behind, Hall offers recommendations for a few ways to keep your late parent’s memory alive.)
Ideas to Keep a Parent’s Memory Alive Distribute cuttings. Sally loved her African violets and took great pride in caring for them in their colorful pots on the ledge of the big bay window in her living room. After she passed away, one of her daughters pulled off several dozen cuttings from the plants and started them in a bowl of water. Once the cuttings developed roots, the daughter planted each in a little clay pot with Mom or Grandma handpainted on the side and gave them to all her siblings and their children. Share favorite recipes. Another creative daughter went through her mother’s recipe box and picked out about a dozen signature recipes her mom was known for, made a small recipe book and gave it to everyone in the family. Keep the fishing trip alive. Harold used to take his two sons on a fishing trip in remote Ontario every spring. The spring after his death, those sons planned a fishing trip with their own sons and daughters and spent at least one evening around the campfire, telling fish stories about their dad. Create a memory book. Select several dozen pictures of late parents scan them onto the computer and put together a lovely memory book that gets circulated among his siblings. Give a lifelong gift. Many families contribute to charities and causes in memory of their parents. And you don’t have to be extremely wealthy, one family pays for a scholarship for one underprivileged child to be able to go to a YMCA day camp in their city — with the name of the parent attached to the scholarship. Recreate your parents’ presence. There are a lot of ways to do this. One daughter remembered that every time she was around her dad, she loved the smell of his Old Spice aftershave lotion. So, she kept a bottle of Old Spice around, and every now and then, it would remind her of her father.
16 BOOM!
September 2020
RiverRegionBoom.com
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
17
How To Keep Your Retirement On Track... in a World of Low Returns
As a retiree, are you at risk for outliving your income? A serious question for serious times. Recently, several key assumptions traditionally used in retirement income planning are being challenged by leading financial industry experts. Are retirees who made those traditional assumptions still okay? For example, lately several famous market observers, including John Bogle¹, the founder of the Vanguard Group, have warned that investors should reduce their expectations for their stock market investment returns to 4% a year. Ray Dalio², founder of one of the largest and most successful hedge funds in the world, also recently warned that “investment returns will be very low going forward.” In addition, several leading studies have challenged the validity of the traditional “4% rule.” Developed back in the 1990’s when interest rates were higher for CDs and bonds, the rule stated that if a retiree kept their withdrawals limited to 4% of their initial retirement portfolio balance, that it should provide a sustained income for thirty years of retirement. However, Wade Pfau³, a professor of retirement income at the American College of Financial Services and Michael Finke of Texas Tech University, found that given the sustained current level of low interest rates that the level of acceptable initial withdrawals needed to be limited to 2.85% to provide an income for thirty years of retirement. The Stanford Center on Longevity recently published a study that recommended that retirees should focus on sources that were not exposed to stock market risk to cover essential expenses, i.e., Social Security
18 BOOM!
September 2020
Financial Thoughts with Susan Moore
By Susan Clayton Moore, J.D.
Principal of Moore Wealth Management, Inc.
or an annuity of one type or another. It found that if income to cover essential expenses was exposed to stock market risk that the emotional cost of worrying about meeting expenses during a stock market downturn would prompt many investors to make illadvised investment decisions. On Wednesday, September 30, Susan Moore of Moore Wealth Management, Inc. will be conducting a complimentary webinar on methods of how to not outlive your retirement income. The workshop covers a number of issues including factoring in the above-mentioned changes to traditional assumptions, key risks (i.e., sequence rate of return and inflation), and various approaches to mitigating the risks of outliving your income. If you would like to be included in the webinar, please contact Sarah at 256.234.2761 or sarah@ moorewealthmanagement.com. Susan Clayton Moore, J.D., is a financial advisor and wealth manage of Moore Wealth Management, Inc.., with offices in Auburn, Montgomery, and Alexander
RiverRegionBoom.com
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 with regard to 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. ¹https://www.financial-planning.com/opinion/ jack-bogle-forecasts-lower-stock-and-bond-returns ²https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-1011/investment-returns-will-be-very-low-goingforward-ray-dalio-says-gold-could-prove-pr ³https://www.onefpa.org/journal/Pages/The%20 4%20Percent%20Rule%20Is%20Not%20Safe%20 in%20a%20Low-Yield%20World.aspx
Will You Outlive Your Retirement? Sign Up Today for Complimentary Webinar! How Not To OUTLIVE Your Retirement Call Sarah at 256.234.2761 sarah@moorewealthmanagement.com
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
19
Source: This story first appeared on CNBC. Minda Zetlin is a freelance writer covering business, money and leadership. She is also the co-author of “The Geek Gap”
20 BOOM!
September 2020
RiverRegionBoom.com
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
21
AUM OLLI Has Plans for Fall 2020 The administration of Auburn University at Montgomery, in conjunction with the staff of AUM OLLI, has decided that only online classes for Fall 2020 will be the best policy for maintaining the health and safety of OLLI members. Thanks to the creativity and flexibility of our dedicated instructors, AUM OLLI will offer opportunities for the members to continue learning new things and challenging themselves.
offerings include appearances (online) of authors talking about their new books (courtesy of NewSouth Books), Brain Bowl, gardening, a writing workshop, and a cooking class concentrating on spicing up your food. The Tai Chi for Pain Relief is also being repeated as an online course. Bonus opportunities include two book discussion groups and lunch presentations, with the schedule for more sessions still developing.
AUM OLLI will offer a rich variety of courses in the fall, all via ZOOM. The reading discussion classes include: studies of short stories, the cost of food, art (thanks to the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts), and World War II. Additional
To benefit OLLI members statewide, Auburn University, the University of Alabama, and the University of Alabama – Huntsville have created OLLI SHARES, a collaborative initiative in which each of the three schools offers
22 BOOM!
September 2020
RiverRegionBoom.com
three courses that are open to OLLI members throughout Alabama. A listing of these courses is available on the AUM OLLI website along with a detailed schedule and course descriptions of the offerings through AUM OLLI. Visit our website at www.aum.edu/ OLLI to join the organization and register for classes. Take advantage of the “safer-at-home” policy to learn some new things and meet new people.
JOIN TODAY! Tell your friends!
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
23
Your Guide to Aging in Place Have your parents let you know that they want to stay in their own home, no matter what? That wouldn't be surprising. According to AARP, 87% of adults over the age of 65 want to stay in their current home and community as they age.
Older adults are most at risk of falling, burning themselves, or poisoning.
This can be difficult as an adult child because you want to make sure that your parent is safe at home. Many adult children fear that their aging parent will be at high risk for loneliness and isolation. Other frequent concerns are falls and not being able to drive as they age. Recent events may also have you thinking about whether staying in their own home is safer for your parent.
Part of your discussion with your parent will be how to adapt the home to prevent these risks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that people over the age of 65 are at high risk for falls. Falls are the number one cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries for seniors in the United States. There are simple and effective ways to prevent falls. Review with your parent fire safety and make sure that a phone is easy to access. Check that appliances, electric cords, and outlets are in good working condition. Install a smoke detector and check the batteries twice a year.
This list can help you and your care team support your loved ones in staying where they love the most, right at home. 1. Learn how to talk to your parent about aging in place. It is never too early to have this often-difficult conversation with your parents! Start talking to them as soon as possible about planning for care as they age in place. Together you can put a plan in place that makes sure that your parent is safe at home. Ask your parents about what is important to them. Listen carefully to the answers. Your parent needs to feel heard and that their wishes have value. They may state they want their privacy respected, or that they feel worried about keeping up with the outside maintenance of their home. The laundry may be overwhelming them, or they may hate the thought of eating alone every day. Your parent might let you know that they don’t feel safe driving, or you may even see signs that your parent shouldn’t be driving. Knowing what your parent worries about and what they want will help you plan for their care. Together you can then make up a plan to address your parent’s safety and independence at the same time. 2. Address safety concerns. You will want to look at these three basic safety needs for your parent when they are aging in place.
Poisonings are often related to carbon monoxide, improper medication use, and cleaning products. Tips for safety include: installing a carbon monoxide detector, talking to your pharmacist about having medications labeled, requesting medications blister packed. 3. Prepare for emergencies. The events of 2020 have taught us that there are many unexpected turns in life. To successfully age at home, you and your parent need to have a plan in place for emergencies. During an emergency, you will want to know that your parent’s basic needs are going to be met. Ask yourself the difficult “what if” questions. What if Dad falls and can’t get to the phone? What if Mom is unable to get in to see her doctor for a prescription renewal? What if something prevents me from bringing in groceries? Talk about these scenarios and what ideas you have to be able to deal with them. Put together a kit of emergency supplies that include: clean drinking water, 3 days’ worth of non-perishable food, flashlight and
batteries, first aid kit, personal protective equipment such as a mask and gloves, extra medications. Talk to your parent about where important documents are kept and how you will get in touch with them during an emergency. 4. Have a plan to accommodate changes to their daily routine. To help your parent age in place, you will need to look at their regular activities of daily living and how their abilities may change. Activities of daily living include: eating, bathing, dressing, the ability to keep moving. Talk to your parents about options for meals. You might consider grocery delivery. You can have meals delivered through a program like Meals on Wheels, or you can hire an in-home caregiver to assist with meal preparation. Often your parent’s home will need changes to make bathing, dressing, and mobility easier. These are renovations that should be done as soon as possible. A bathroom can be a dangerous place for falls. You can help keep your parent safe by: having handrails professionally installed, making sure that your parent has non-skid bath mats, using a shower chair with a handheld shower-head, installing a raised toilet seat or frame. By making some home design changes, you can improve your parent’s quality of life and level of independence. Re-modeling their home can make it easier to bathe, dress, and move around the house. 5. Meet the need for companionship. If your parent is living alone, they are at risk for loneliness and the health consequences
This article is sponsored by Home Care Assistance, for more info visit > www.homecareassistance.com 24 BOOM!
September 2020
RiverRegionBoom.com
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
that follow. Senior loneliness and isolation can often cause: lower brain function, inflammation, chronic illness. Talk to your parent about a plan to make sure that they stay connected with others. Arrange to see them on a regular basis. If you are long distance caregiving for your parent or unable to visit, then set up regular phone or Skype conversations. An in-home caregiver can help your parent utilize technology to help them stay connected. You might need to enlist the help of family members, friends, and community members. Ask them to stop in and visit with your parent on a regular basis. Companionship is necessary for the relationship but also provides another safety measure. When you have somebody seeing your parent every day it is reassuring.
sure that you and your parent is aware of what this will cost. 9. Avoid scams. Seniors are often the targets of financial scams. These scams will often prey on a senior’s fears and insecurities. Talk to your parent about being aware of these types of scams: Medicare/ health insurance scams, false health claims, funeral and cemetery scams, anti-aging products, telemarketing or phone scams, internet fraud, investment schemes, homeowner and reverse mortgage scams, lottery scams, a loved one needing help scam. Remind your loved one to never give out personal information to a person who
calls you or in response to an email. Talk about keeping information private such as: Social Security number or bank or credit card numbers. Your parent may also be worried about paying bills when they can’t get to a bank, or about filling out the vast amount of health forms. 10. Access your community support. Successful aging at home involves setting up a support system. This can include family, friends, and neighbors, as well as local community and government resources. Home care programs can help to fill in the blanks in your support system.
6. Support your parent in staying active. Staying physically fit and mobile is your parent’s greatest strategy for aging in place. Regular exercise helps older adults maintain the strength of their bones, joints, and muscles. Exercise can reduce the risk of falls and improves recovery time when ill or injured. Physical activity also helps to: reduce memory problems, treat depression, prevent dementia and mental decline. Help them to think outside of the box by suggesting at-home activities such as: online exercise classes, Youtube dance videos, connecting with grandchildren via video chat for a game of Simon Says. 7. Know the Options for Care. The best approach when talking with your parent is to ask what they feel is their biggest concern. Many seniors will be comfortable with the idea of hiring a cleaner to come in for housekeeping once a week or having meals delivered. Discuss with your parent about talking to a reliable home care provider. The care provider can set up a client care manager who will discuss what care options are available. 8. Talk about what it will cost. Many people assume that aging at home will be less expensive than moving into a facility. Depending on your parent’s needs this may or may not be true. Talk to a trusted home care provider about what costs you can anticipate now. This could include home renovations and safety modifications. Next, take a realistic look at how long your parent could be living at home and how their care needs may change. Discuss the possibility of needing 24/7 care or hospice care. Make The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
25
Master Gardener's Perspective
I started the Master Gardener class in February 2020. Many of my friends and contacts have asked me “so allknowing master gardener intern, what do I do about my this or that problem in my vegetable garden.” My reply: “Well, I don’t know much about that. I am not into growing vegetables much. I’ll look into it and get back to you.” Their reply back to me is usually something along the lines of “What??? I thought you said you were taking classes about gardening. What do you mean you are not into growing vegetables?” When talking about “gardening,” the majority of the people I encounter automatically default to gardening = growing vegetables. While growing vegetables is, definitely gardening, there are many other areas in gardening or related fields the Master Gardener course covers. I love trees. Have you ever just stood under a massive 80-foot tree and looked up at it? From a little seedling all the way to something you cannot even wrap your arms around…all from sunlight, dirt, and water. Of course, any Master Gardener intern will tell you there is more to it than just sunlight, dirt, and water. After all, you can’t forget air! Okay, okay…. there is still really a lot more to it than just sunlight, dirt, water, and air. But if you go out in the woods, the native trees are growing in the existing earth with no help from humans. These massive quiet living things that most people pass by with no thought of, give us so much. With all they give us,
By Karen Cochran
TREES
they can also take or create unwanted problems. Ever see someone cutting down a beautiful magnolia because they just cannot deal with cleaning up another mess in their lawn? We have all seen pictures of fallen trees that have destroyed homes and cars. And yes, even falling
and killing people. In the Master Gardener program, planning what kinds of trees to grow for the climate and soil type is part of the class. How does it handle droughts? Any insect issues? (Ever hear of these little guys called pine beetles?) Diseases? But also, why do you want to grow the tree…for example: aesthetics, fruit, shade? How big will it get? Will it eventually become a hazard to your home? These are just a few of the topics regarding trees.
about “Trees,” Alabama Extension has webinars about trees. Below is a link to see what tree topics are coming up and how you can participate! https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/ landscaping/raising-trees-webinarseries/ While there is so much more to know about growing trees than can ever be addressed in the class, the point is that the Master Gardener program is not a one-size-fits all endeavor. For example, I have met people who are interested in ONLY lilies. What? Yes, that is it…only lilies? But google how many kinds of lilies there are and how you can even hybridize your own! All of a sudden, saying “only lilies” doesn’t seem so “only” anymore. Gardening has so many meanings to different people and within it, you can find your passion. The Master Gardener program will not make you an expert in any one field, but it will give you a great overview of many areas of gardening and teach you more than what you knew before starting. For me, I will continue to focus on trees, and leave the vegetable growing to the pros. You will find me at the farmers market or in the produce section of the grocery store for my vegetables. Karen Cochran, an intern in the 2020 Master Garden Class, lives in Pike Road. For more information on becoming a master gardener, visit www.capcitymga.org or email capcitymga@gmail.com.
If you are interested in learning more
Free Subscriptions
w w w. r i ve r re gio n b o o m.co m 26 BOOM!
September 2020
RiverRegionBoom.com
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
27
The Workout Drug (Part 1)
I am submitting an article that was given to me by a member at MetroFitness. It is packed full of info, so I give all credit to Bob Holmes for writing this. I am sharing with you because I could not write it any better. Enjoy Part 1 on the workout drug and next month we will have Part 2 on Exercise and Inflammation as part of the workout drug series.
Exercise is good for you. That’s hardly news: People who exercise tend to have longer, healthier lives. But until recently, researchers have tallied its benefits only in narrow slices: Exercise lowers your cholesterol and blood pressure; it keeps you from getting fat. Now it’s becoming clear that those known slices don’t add up to the full pie. “When people totaled up those effects, they only account for about half the benefit,” says Michael Joyner, an exercise physiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. To solve that mystery, researchers are now digging deeper into the mechanisms that underlie the benefits of physical activity. They are finding that exercise is both powerful and wide-reaching,
28 BOOM!
September 2020
affecting not just muscles and the cardiovascular system, but almost every part of the body, from the immune system to the brain to the energy systems within individual cells. And as scientists understand more precisely
to the brain, which could help prevent cognitive decline. For example, studies have linked exercise to a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s.
Now researchers are making a more explicit connection between exercise and brain health. They are discovering that the full benefit of exercise comes not from mere physical movement but from by Leigh Anne Richards actual physical fitness, the body’s cardiovascular health. A longterm study of Norwegian military recruits, for example, found that their aerobic fitness at age 18 was highly predictive of their risk of dementia which levers exercise pulls to improve in old age. And Swedish women who our health, clinicians are on the verge of were highly fit in middle age had an being able to change their practice. The eight times lower risk of dementia over goal is to think of exercise as a medicine the next 44 years than women of only — a therapy that they can prescribe in moderate fitness, researchers reported specific doses for specific needs.“It’s in 2018 in Neurology. like your own personal regenerative medicine,” says Joyner. Another recent study, led by K. Sreekumaran Nair, an endocrinologist Brain Gains at the Mayo Clinic, found that after just Scientists have long known that some of the benefits of exercise are a simple 12 weeks of a high-intensity exercise matter of plumbing. Exercise makes regimen, participants’ brains showed blood vessels bigger and keeps them increased glucose uptake and higher functioning smoothly, which makes them metabolic activity, particularly in regions less likely to plug up and cause a heart that usually show decline in Alzheimer’s attack or stroke. There have been hints disease. High-intensity exercise was that this may also mean more blood flow found to have a similar effect on the
RiverRegionBoom.com
Fitness over Fifty
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
parts of the brain most affected by Parkinson’s disease, in research led by Marcas Bamman, an exercise physiologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Benefits of Brawn Exercise doesn’t just build bigger blood vessels; it also builds bigger muscles. That benefits health in a number of ways, from minimizing the risk of diabetes to enhancing the body’s immune response to ills such as cancer. Muscle is the largest consumer of all the glucose that floods into the bloodstream after a meal. More muscle means quicker removal of this glucose surge, says Bamman — and therefore, less exposure to the harm caused by elevated blood sugar, a serious health issue for people prone to diabetes Just getting the minimum recommended amount of exercise (7.5 metabolic equivalent (MET) hours per week) reduces mortality risk by 20 percent compared with no exercise at all. Exercising a little more than that minimum continues to reduce the risk, but such benefits taper off after about three times the recommended minimum. (MET is the ratio of a person's working metabolic rate relative to their resting metabolic rate, 1 MET is the rate of energy expenditure while at rest, walking at 3 to 4 miles-per-hour is considered to require 4 METs.) The muscle-building aspects of exercise also help reverse a key change associated with aging: a decline in the function of mitochondria, our cells’ energy generators. This decline, often seen in sedentary individuals, can leave the mitochondria unable to completely burn the cellular fuel and that can lead cells to generate more oxidants, the oxygen-rich, reactive molecules that damage proteins and DNA. Muscles are chock-full of mitochondria and exercise can help avoid this oxidative damage. Nair’s studies show that aerobic exercise, alone or in combination with strength training, improves people’s mitochondrial function, reduces the production of oxidants and forestalls oxidative damage. Highintensity aerobic exercise also encourages mitochondria to produce more of the proteins they use to burn fuel.
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
Muscle has another important role: Its abundant proteins serve as reservoirs of amino acids for the rest of the body. Usually, when other organ systems need amino acids, says Bamman, “those are drawn from muscle.” That’s especially important when someone is sick because the immune system needs lots of amino acids to make antibodies that fight infection. (Very important during these COVID times). The biggest benefit from building muscle, though, may come from the signaling molecules it pumps into the blood. Bente Klarlund Pedersen, an exercise physiologist at the University of Copenhagen, identified the most studied of these signaling molecules back in 2000, and later coined a term for them: myokines. Since then, she and other researchers have found hundreds more, many of which are activated by exercise. These molecules, which are released in response to muscular exertion, help regulate muscle growth, nutrient metabolism, inflammation and a host of other processes. “I think for most people it’s difficult to understand why muscle work can influence my liver or be good for my brain or bones,” she says. Myokines serve as the link between muscle activity and these other organs. One of the most important myokines is interleukin-6. Released in response to muscular exertion, IL-6 has several effects, including suppressing hunger and enhancing the immune system’s response to cancer. Another signaling molecule, cathepsin B, triggers beneficial changes in the brain, including the production of new brain cells. Other signaling molecules can help moderate depression. There is not a single organ in the body that is not affected by exercise. Next month we will continue Part 2 on the workout drug. Sources: Knowable Magazine Annual Reviews- Health and Disease, Bob Holmes, 12/18/2019
Leigh Anne Richards, MEd, Certified Personal Trainer, Group Exercise Instructor, General Manager- MetroFitness. For any questions or comments, contact Leigh Anne at LAMetrofit@aol.com
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
29
Ask an Elder Law Attorney
By: Raley L. Wiggins | Attorney at Law | Red Oak Legal, PC
4 Things You Don’t Know About Estate Planning 1. “Stale” Documents
Every adult age 19 or older should have a durable power of attorney. This is a document that appoints another person (called your “Agent”) to manage your financial and business affairs on your behalf, particularly if you are no longer able to manage them yourself. The same is true of an Advance Directive, which is essentially a Power of Attorney for Healthcare that appoints an agent to make medical decisions for you if you are no longer able to make them for yourself. Most powers of attorney do not expire on a given date. Instead, they are usually effective until you either revoke the document, or you die.
will names a guardian for your children, and those children are in their 30’s or 40’s, that’s probably a good sign that it’s time for an update.
The number one problem that will “break” your estate plan is the failure to consider how ownership of non-probate property will pass Protection Workshop after your death.
Attend Free Workshop Estate Planning and Asset
Wednesday, September 23: Hosted by Red Oak Legal, PC: 1:30-3:30 pm at 322 Catoma Street downtown Montgomery. This educational workshop presented by local attorney Raley L. Wiggins covers wills, trusts, powers of attorney, advance directives, living wills, probate administration, protecting assets from creditors, bankruptcy, divorce and remarriage, nursing homes, long-term care and Medicaid qualification. Registration is required. Call 334-625-6774 today to reserve your seat or register online at www.redoaklegalpc.com.
As a practical matter, however these documents are only useful if the bank, hospital, physician or other third party will accept it as valid proof of the agent’s authority to act. For example, if you walk into a bank with a power of attorney that your mother gave you in 1981, the bank is more likely to scrutinize the document more carefully than they would if it were dated 2012.
Other reasons to update your estate plan may include marriage and divorce (of you or your children), the birth of new children or grandchildren, or the death of a spouse or other family member. Likewise, acquiring more wealth can be a reason to update your plan.
That’s what I call a “stale” document. Technically it’s as effective as the day it was signed. But practically you may run into some problems if it was typed on ancient, yellowing paper thirty years ago.
In sum, estate planning is a process, not something you do once, put in a drawer and forget about it. It needs to be updated from time to time to reflect your current financial and family situation, and your current wishes.
2. It’s Not a One-Shot Deal
3. Your Estate Plan Might Not Work
I often see clients who have previously drafted wills or other estate planning documents. But these documents are often seriously out of date. Unlike the powers of attorney discussed above, your last will and testament doesn’t really get “stale.” It’s a document that is essentially meaningless until your death. The law says that a will only “speaks” at death. This is because you can revise or revoke your will at any time while you are alive, so long as you’re competent to do so. I cannot tell you how often you should update your will, but I will say this: if your
30 BOOM!
September 2020
become the property of the surviving coowner at your death.
When I teach estate planning workshops to the public, I make a point to explain that your will may have very little to do with who actually inherits your property at death. In fact, it may have nothing at all to do with who gets what. That is because some kinds of property passes “outside the will.” For example, life insurance will pay the beneficiary named in the policy, regardless of what your will says. If you have a retirement account like an IRA, you probably designated a beneficiary to receive the proceeds at your death. Similarly, many jointly owned bank accounts and pieces of real estate will automatically
RiverRegionBoom.com
4. You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know
When it comes to estate planning, don’t trust the advice you get down at the beauty shop or the coffee shop. The fact is every situation is different, and just because something worked for one person doesn’t mean it will be the same for you. I do estate planning work every day, and I’m always learning something new. Just recently I was surprised to learn that in most cases burial plots do not pass to the beneficiaries under your last will and testament. Instead Alabama law says that the plots go to the people who would have inherited your property if you had died without a will (unless you specifically reference and make a gift of the burial plots in your will). Most folks aren’t thinking about who will get the leftover cemetery plots after their deaths, and it’s commonly overlooked. But the lots can be valuable, and it can lead to a great deal of confusion over who gets to own them after you’re gone. Remember, estate planning is something we do for our loved ones—after all they’re the ones who will have to pick up the pieces after we’re gone. So dust yours off from time to time and make sure it’s up to date.
Raley L. Wiggins Attorney at Law, Red Oak Legal, PC 334-239-3625 | info@redoaklegalpc.com 322 Catoma Street, Montgomery, AL 36104, www.redoaklegalpc.com The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
Do you have a plan? FREE EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOP
Estate Planning, Asset Protection & Medicaid Eligibility
CALL US OR REGISTER ONLINE TODAY!
Join local attorney Raley L. Wiggins to discuss wills, trusts, powers of attorney, advance directives, living wills, probate administration, protecting your assets, bankruptcy, divorce & remarriage, nursing homes, long term care and Medicaid qualification.
Seats fill up quickly! Reserve your seat today:
(334) 625-6774 redoaklegalpc.com
“No representation is made the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal Rservices performed other lawyers.” ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co mby September 2020 The River Region’s 50+that Lifestage Magazine
BOOM!
31
32 BOOM!
September 2020
RiverRegionBoom.com
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
33
i
This & tHAT
Labor Day Boston Butt Sale Offered by Greek Community For the last 70 years Montgomery’s Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church has sponsored the Capital City’s largest Labor Day Barbecue — despite occasional obstacles posed by blistering temperatures, threatening tornadoes, and even hurricaneforce winds and rain. But unlike threats posed by the weather, this year’s Coronavirus pandemic necessitates that the Church curtail its annual holiday event to insure the safety of everyone involved. “We will be cooking and selling 300 Boston butts this year — instead of barbecue plates, or additional meats,” said Gus Katechis, a church member and co-chair of this year’s holiday barbecue event. “We’re scaling back to minimize any potential Covid risk to the general public and to our very small group of on-site workers, who’ll be in the pit, preparing and cooking the meat.” The cooked and wrapped Boston butts will be available for $35 each, through ticketed preorders. Any Boston butts not sold during the preorder period will be available for purchase on a first-come, first-served basis during pickup hours, from 8:00-10:00 a.m. on Labor Day. The sale takes place on the church grounds, at the corner of Mt. Meigs Road and South Capital Parkway. Drive-thru pick-up is available, and workers will wear protective face coverings. All Boston butts must be picked up by 10:00 a.m. on Labor Day. Preordering isn’t required but it is definitely encouraged. To order tickets online visit: https://mailchi.mp/ed8929b5244e/boston-butts. Tickets may also be purchased at Chris’ Hotdogs in downtown Montgomery, and through Greek Orthodox Church community members. “It may not be a full-blown Greek Barbecue, but with what we’re doing, at least our supporters can have the pit-fired pork they’ve always had on Labor Day,” Katechis added. “We’ll use the same Greek rub we’ve always used and cook it the same way. Some of our customers have been with us almost every Labor Day since 1948, and we surely don’t want to disappoint them.” Camp stew and Greek pastries will not be sold this year due to the close contact required to prepare these annual favorites. “God-willing, we expect to have those special items for sale next year, at the church’s 73rd Labor Day Barbecue,” Katechis said. “Not even a pandemic can stop this Greek community from cooking barbecue on Labor Day,” Katechis added, grinning. “But we’re being smart about it because we love doing this for our city.”
ALABAMA WOMEN: PORTRAITS OF PERSISTENCE The Archives has enhanced its new virtual exhibit with short films that showcase some of Alabama’s many remarkable, trailblazing women. Created by our staff, these films tell compelling stories of the lives and achievements of women who shaped our Alabama's history. We will be adding more in the coming weeks. Additional educational resources that are already linked to Alabama course of study standards and ready to use by teachers. www.alabamahistoryhome.org/portraitsof-persistence
34 BOOM!
September 2020
RiverRegionBoom.com
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
BOOMERS, share your stuff with BOOM! We Love to Bring BOOMERS Together, send info and pics to jim@riverregionboom.com
Moore Wealth Management Conducting a Free Webinar "How to Not Outlive Your Retirement Income" On Wednesday, September 30, Susan Moore of Moore Wealth Management, Inc. will be conducting a complimentary webinar on methods of how to not outlive your retirement income. The workshop covers a number of issues including factoring in the changes to traditional assumptions, key risks (i.e., sequence rate of return and inflation), and various approaches to mitigating the risks of outliving your income. If you would like to be included in the webinar, please contact Sarah at 256.234.2761 or sarah@moorewealthmanagement.com. Susan Clayton Moore, J.D.
Montgomery Techlab to aid in growth of Alabama startups A public-private partnership has launched Montgomery Techlab, a new startup accelerator program focused on mobile app development. Montgomery city, Montgomery County, local economic development partners, IT companies and the MaxwellGunter community are partnering on the program, which is the next step in creating an innovation district that will advance the area’s defined technology culture and propel its tech and innovation entrepreneurial ecosystem. Montgomery Techlab is led by Marcus Shaw, executive director of Chattanooga-based The Company Lab and founding director of Montgomery Techlab. “The greater Montgomery region has several incredible assets that can stimulate growth in the region through innovation,” Shaw said. “The Montgomery Techlab will help galvanize academic, military and other community resources to stimulate and support the success of innovators and entrepreneurs in the region.” Montgomery Techlab will provide startups unique opportunities to work closely with industry leaders in digital services, to include mentoring, training, coaching, collaborative activities, budget building, trend analysis and testing. “This initiative will further establish Montgomery as a city that cares about building a culture of innovation,” Montgomery Mayor Steven L. Reed said. “Through this public-private partnership we can promote the growth of local, small and minority-owned businesses in Montgomery. By encouraging collaboration, the Techlab will nurture startups, entrepreneurs and industries to work together to achieve the full potential of their ideas.”
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
35
This & tHAT
i
More
Speak the Speech Project Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue. — Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 2. Inspired by William Shakespeare’s directive to “speak the speech” and our gorgeous garden setting, we invite you to use your voice to bring these famous speeches to life on stage! Visit our Shakespeare Garden (open seven days a week), pick a selection from one of Shakespeare’s famous plays, take the stage, and speak the speech! Each selection includes the original text, a modern translation, and a character description. Get your script in hand (on your mobile device) by clicking the Find Your Monologue button at https://asf.net/speak-the-speech/. Film yourself and share socially with #ASFspeaks + #SPEAKtheSPEECH. Writers Carole King and Karren Pell share stories from their newest book, Classic Restaurants of Montgomery. Published by History Press, the book traces Montgomery’s restaurant’s stories from Freeney’s Tavern, to Flemings, to the Majestic Cafe, to the Elite. Current classics such as The Vintage Year, Chris’ Hot Dogs, Hamburger King, Martin’s and Martha’s Place are there too. Montgomery has a fun and fascinating assortment of restaurants dating back more than two hundred years. Some landmark dining establishments, like Fleming's, are gone, but others, like Chris' Hot Dogs, are still serving their signature dishes. Such notable figures as Hank Williams, Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald, Elvis, Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. have all enjoyed delicious meals in Montgomery. Traditional favorites such as Pop's "Shake Ice," the Parkmore's Chicken in a Basket and the Elite's Trout Almondine now take their place alongside new offerings like Chef Eric Rivera's "Blended Burger." Local authors Karren Pell and Carole King reveal the culinary treats and the colorful personalities behind the best restaurants in the city. Available at www.amazon.com
August 2020 Caregiver of The Month
Joann Walters
Joann started with our company in May of this year. She was vibrant, friendly and full of life during orientation and that same spirit continues today. She has accepted jobs outside of her regular schedule and has never called out nor been late to a shift to date. Mrs. JoAnn treats each client with the utmost dignity and respect and gives 110% on each assignment that she accepts. She has been a positive asset to both our company and the clients that she serves. Thank you for all that you do JoAnn, we're happy to have you as a member of our team.
We are proud to have Joann on our team! For more information visit www.homecareassistancemontgomery.com
Free Subscriptions w w w. r i ve rre gio n b o o m.co m
36 BOOM!
September 2020
RiverRegionBoom.com
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
ACS CURE! VISION 2020
Mark your calendars! Year two of the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) spectacular annual fundraiser, CURE! VISION 2020, is rescheduled for October 8, 2020 at 6pm, and is shaping up to be the number one philanthropic event in the River Region. Even better, it’s virtual this year, which means that so many more people can participate, and greater emphasis can be placed on the ACS mission and those who benefit from the fundraising proceeds. Aside from raising the critical funds to support the ACS mission, the first priority is the health and safety of our volunteers and supporters which include cancer survivors and patients. Therefore, the CURE! Committee has worked to develop the best virtual event possible, which will be widely available to all interested parties and will be experienced in bold new ways. While circumstances dictate that the event will not happen face-to-face, ACS and the CURE! Committee still encourage people to join the celebration in a long-distance celebration like none other—exciting, virtual entertainment, extravagant auctions, and the opportunity to hear from local celebrities and guest speaker Attorney Jere Beasley. The money raised at CURE! VISION 2020 is used to fund programs and services offered to cancer patients in the community and to aggressively fund groundbreaking research. For more info visit https://acsmontg.ejoinme.org/cure or check them out on Facebook, www.facebook. com/American-Cancer-Society-Cure-Montgomery-Al-134610732089/
MMFA Creative Conversations Creative Conversations brings together Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts staff, artists, and members of our community and beyond in a casual setting to discuss their work, reflect on the Museum’s collection and exhibitions, and dialogue about current issues. We encourage you to tune in live, ask questions, and engage creatively from the comfort of your own homes. MMFA Curator Dr. Jennifer Jankauskas and Educator Elisabeth Palmer will chat with Ubuhle Co-Founder Beverly Gibson about this community of women, their beadwork in the exhibition Ubuhle Women, and how they are staying creative and positive during the lockdowns in South Africa. Please visit mmfa.org to submit questions in advance. Creative Conversations: WHO AM I Artist Talk with 21 Dreams and ASU. Wednesday, Sept. 9, 5:30 PM, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Facebook Live. To celebrate the WHO AM I exhibition’s virtual relaunch comes the much anticipated artist talk featuring exhibition artists including Sunny Paulk, Toni Tony, and Carole Carson. This exhibition is presented by 21 Dreams in partnership with the Alabama State University Department of Visual Arts. Creative Conversations: Whimsy in the Garden. Wednesday, Sept. 16, 5:30 PM, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Facebook Live. Artists Patrick Dougherty and Jamey Grimes will join us in this Creative Conversation to discuss their creative processes and new sculptures – one made of sticks and one installed in water - in the MMFA’s Caddell Sculpture Garden. Please visit mmfa.org to submit questions in advance. Creative Conversations: Coin Design with Elana Hagler Wednesday, Sept. 30, 5:30 PM, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Facebook Live. At the end of the day, take a moment and tune in as MMFA Educator Elisabeth Palmer sits down with local artist Elana Hagler to discuss how the process of designing coins differs from her usual drawings and about her experience working in the United States Mint’s Artistic Infusion Program. Please visit mmfa.org to submit questions in advance. For more info visit www.mmfa.org
10
% Off Your Purchase
Please present coupon or mention you saw it in the BOOM! Digital Issue. Offer Expires 9/30/2020
Receive an additional 10% off if you are a Senior Citizen, Military or 1st Responder.
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
BOOM! Business Partner: Health Wise Foods
334.277.9925 O 5147 Atlanta Highway, Montgomery R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
37
This & tHAT
i
More
Montgomery Zoo announces Bison Block Party to be held September 19. Win big! Help Zoo’s conservation efforts. On Saturday, September 19 @ 10am, the Montgomery Zoo will hosts it first ever Bison Block Party. This inaugural event allows participants to have a chance to win big, while helping animal conservation efforts at the Montgomery Zoo and throughout the world. Buy a ticket. Try out your luck. See where the patty drops – bison poop that is. One of our missions at the Montgomery Zoo is to provide an affordable, educational, safe, and enjoyable wildlife experience to all our guests. However, we also have a much larger responsibility to the wildlife of the world. Unfortunately, today there are over 40,000 animal species considered either endangered or threatened. It is our responsibility to help educate and bring attention to the plight of these animals, and provide opportunities for our local community to provide support and help. We are a local zoo with a global impact. Currently, we are involved and/or partnering in several animal conservation projects. These partnerships aid in animal care, conservation, and wildlife research; while also bringing endangered animals here to the Montgomery Zoo. A few of these projects include: Madras Crocodile Bank in India, helping Gharials (a critically endangered Indian crocodile); Komodo Dragon Species Survival Plan, which helped bring Merlin, our Komodo dragon to the Zoo; King Cobra Species Survival Plan; Galapagos Tortoise Conservancy; Giraffe Conservation Foundation; Tiger Conservation Campaign; International Elephant Foundation; and Zoological Association of America (ZAA) Conservation Organization Fund. In addition, the Montgomery Zoo hosts multiple conservation events to bring awareness, educate, raise funds, and have a little fun while providing for all of these very worthwhile causes. We invite you to help the Montgomery Zoo impact the wildlife here and around the world. To participate in the Bison Block Party, participants may purchase tickets for a donation of $25 per block. Participants may purchase a single block or multiple blocks. TICKETS ARE LIMITED! ONLY 200 blocks will be sold. All participants must be 18 years old or older to participate. Tickets may be purchased online at www.montgomeryzoo.com, at the Zoo, or from one of our employees. All ticket purchasing will conclude at 5pm, Thursday, September 17. Participants do not have to be present to win, but why on earth would you want to miss all the fun? On the day of the event, Saturday, September 19 at 10am, Tank and Sioux, our two bison, will mosey out on their sectioned off display. The first one to take a poop, the square it lands in declares the winner. Proceeds will be split 50/50 between the winner and the Montgomery Zoo Conservation Endowment Fund. The Bison Block Party will be an excellent opportunity to have a little fun, contribute to conservation efforts, and put a little extra money in your pocket. For more details, rules, and to purchase a ticket, please visit www.montgomeryzoo.com.
Family Sunshine Center Ranch Roundup It is time for the annual Ranch Roundup fundraiser! This year we have two ways to support FSC, with both an in-person and an online party. The in-person event will be held at the Lido Pool at Hampstead (4925 Lake Edge Street, Montgomery, AL 36116), with all the fun, food and entertainment we have had in the past. Of course, we will be following all physical distancing and safety precautions, including limiting the number of tickets, so get yours today. In addition, we are going to simulcast the event online, so you can play along if you chose to stay home. The virtual event will include all the excitement of the $10,000 draw down and prizes, plus some special guests. Picture Yourself at the 2020 Ranch RoundUp! Whether you join us in person or online, you can participate in the $10,000 draw down to support The Family Sunshine Center. Thursday, September 17, 2020, 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm. Purchase tickets at http://familysunshine.org/get-involved/support-ourprograms/ranchroundup/. For more information contact Mary Katherine Moore at 334.206.2121 or mkmoore@familysunshine.org.
38 BOOM!
September 2020
RiverRegionBoom.com
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
39
BOOM! COVER PROFILE
Bo Goodson, "Teacher" This month’s cover profile is a man who knows your neighborhood and how to sell your house. Bo Goodson is the owner of The Goodson Group, a real estate and property management company. Bo has been in the local real estate business longer than most and still loves helping people sell their home or make a career move selling real estate. Bo also loves to teach and has been operating one of the River Region’s best real estate schools for preparing to get a real estate license or keeping current with continuing education programs. As a real estate guy, Bo love’s Montgomery and the River Region but knows how important it is for our city to have a quality education system. It’s the most important concern when families are buying a house. Bo’s partner, Gail Ball shares her experience in helping him create a successful real estate business but perhaps most importantly, Gail shares her two dogs, Katie Faith and Anna Grace, Bo’s weakness for sure! We recently spent some time with Bo and Gail, Katie Faith and Anna Grace too, the pleasure was all ours and we think you’ll enjoy getting to know Bo as much as we did. BOOM!: Please give us a brief biography, i.e. where you’re from, education, what brought you to the Montgomery area, did you raise your family here, schools, married, family, etc.? BO: My Grandfather owned a grocery store, Goodson Grocery, on Highland Avenue for many years. My immediate family moved to Chicago after my Father was offered a position in my Uncle's food company, Custom Food Products. I lost my Father during my last year in high school and my Mother, Brother and I moved back to Montgomery. I found myself helping my Mother when my Brother left home to go to college. After graduation from high school, I attended college with my Brother. I got married after college and soon started having children. I have four girls and one boy. My girls are all married to great husbands and my son is a Marketing Executive. I have 10 Grandchildren and that is not the final number. BOOM!: You are a real estate broker and the owner of The Goodson Group. Please share with our readers how you got started in the real estate business and what kinds of services you offer clients? What have been some of the biggest challenges operating The Goodson
40 BOOM!
September 2020
Bo and his Partner, Gail Ball
Group? How would you describe the current housing market in the River Region? Is it a buyer or sellers’ market? BO: I started attending real estate classes while playing in a band for extra money and working as a purchasing agent for
RiverRegionBoom.com
a company in Gunter Industrial Park. I also was attending AUM in Pre-vet school. I was busy and remember being tired all the time. I started full time as a real estate agent in 1977. I worked for several fine firms and became a Broker-Associate. I had always wanted to work for myself and own my own company. I decided to work on MY dream. In 2004, I opened my own firm. I was so excited. I had been teaching real estate courses and had a school at my previous real estate company. The school attendance and my sales and listings were increasing. I had a few rentals from previous sales clients. Gail Ball agreed to come with me and help me start the business. We hired other agents to work with us and I trained them to be the best. Our real estate office, our school and the property management company made us the source for real estate knowledge. Our biggest challenges came from the economic downturn of 2009 that stretched into 2015. Sales of properties took longer to get to closing. Foreclosures and company layoffs affected everyone. Hard work by our staff and Gail Ball (Co Broker) enabled us to survive. It has profited the owners The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
of rental properties that were under water (more invested in property than current paper value) in 2009 to keep their properties and earn One of Bo's passions, music therapy with his guitar an income from house or manage their investment and begin to see their their own property property as an asset that they could sell investments. We for a profit in the future. teach Continuing Education courses Our real estate market started expanding for established in late 2015 and by 2019 changed from agents including a buyer's market to a seller's market. By Contract Writing, early 2020, with the decrease in numbers Negotiation, Pricing of houses on the market, demand went Property, Code of up by 12%, while supply of house was Ethics, and Property down 14%. Management to meet their license BOOM!: You operate The Bo Goodson requirement. Real Estate School and many of our readers have thought about becoming real estate agents. Please share how The Bo Goodson Real Estate School helps people create a successful real estate career? Do you offer continuing education and other training programs?
requirements now limits the "live" class size. Students come to learn how to go into the real estate business, but 40 percent of our students want the information to better prepare to buy a
BOOM!: Many people over 50 are looking for new investment opportunities. What role does The Goodson Group play when it comes to real estate investing?
BO: We provide the means to successful rental property buying and investment management. We manage over 100 homes for owners of property that enjoy the convenience of having someone else handle the everyday requirement of investment ownership. Our clients rely on our ability to attract the kind of tenants that pay on time and take care of their property like they would themselves. The rental market is booming right now. Our agents are aware of the investment opportunities. They know rental rates, and areas that rent well. Our management team Bo with two of his very best friends, specializes Katie Faith and Anna Grace in getting The prehouses ready to rent with cleaning, license and remodeling needs. We market our classes rentals through over 400 plus websites. meet every BOOM!: How have you been dealing Thursday with the COVID 19 challenges with your night in business and personally? our office classroom BO: We practice social distancing from 6 - 9 whether showing properties, assisting p.m. Some buyers and sellers with the process of of our real estate and in our school. We wear students BO: Our real masks or shields when showing and are Gail and Bo getting ready for Easter just want estate school careful about interaction. We make sure to sit and flourished the home is unoccupied. We have had learn; while others are eager to inject while training current realtors and Open Houses and the people come in their concerns and interest. It is an up to people aspiring to become agents. large numbers and in sets of one, two or date real world examples class. We also Our current facility will accommodate three to view the property. We are doing have on-line courses. up to 40 students, but the current videos of houses for all clients whether The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
41
investing, buying, or selling. We have rented to our military using this method too.
almost better to stay home. Taking her with us is precarious too. We cannot take Katie and leave Anna either. That does not seem fair. We take short trips with them when Anna is up to taking a trip. In my bucket list is a to trip to my ancestral home of Ireland, and my spiritual home of Israel.
BOOM!: What are you most passionate about?
BOOM!: If you were not in the real estate business what kind of work would you like to do?
BO: Real estate is not Family get together: Bo's son Mark Goodson, Gail Ball, Shannon Goodson Carter, upmost on Leah Goodson, Terese Goodson (sister-in-law), and Bo my lists of passions. I BO: Playing guitar and singing at home am extremely passionate about teaching at night and writing gospel songs is how God's word, praying and singing praise I wind down. I am a bit of a workaholic, songs in church and Sunday School class so down time is something rare. I like and knowing Godly men in my men's to spend as much time as I can with my Bible study group. I am passionate partner and Co-Broker Gail Ball and her about education and educating buyers two dogs, Anna Grace, a 3 lb. yorkie, and and sellers and teaching buyers and Katie Faith, a vivacious red poodle. sellers how to buy and sell effectively. I especially love watching the growth in BOOM!: What are some of your favorite individuals, couples, class attendees and travel experiences? Favorite vacation agents as they follow the process and get spot? Any travel dreams planned? the training they need. BO: I love the Gulf beaches and a trip BOOM!: How do you like to relax and with just Gail would be great. You see, wind down from a full day’s activities? Anna Grace has health issues and leaving her has presented such anxiety that its
42 BOOM!
September 2020
RiverRegionBoom.com
BO: I have loved real estate for 42 plus years, but I also love speaking and training large groups. I sometimes wish I had more time to do more speaking engagements for large numbers.
Favorite family restaurant, My daughter Ande, her husband Graham, leah, and Terese and 4 grandchildren
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
BOOM!: Technology is a big part of our lives, what’s your relationship with technology? How does technology play a role in your business?
caring people and a beautiful scenery. Green pastures and flowing lakes and rivers abound in our wonderful state and town. I really want to stress the seriousness of a good Public
to seek Montgomery as their new home. Education would be a good first start. My youngest daughter is an elementary school teacher in Phoenix, Arizona where the public schools are terrible, so she teaches at a charter school. A school system is the first priority in home buying decisions. BOOM!: As you’ve aged, how have your priorities changed?
BO: In 2011, I had a heart attack. Thankfully, I was able BO: Technology to survive that attack and is the leader in return shortly thereafter to our business. a regular routine. I love my You cannot work. Real estate has been my manage life for the last 40 years, but without it now. relationships are much more Our system of important to me now. Family bookkeeping interactions have become works without Bo receiving the Realtor Emeritus award more meaningful. I value every books. We rely for 40+ years in the business person I meet with whether on electronic Education for a minute or a lifetime. deposit and transfers, plus the advent system. There Going through life threatening of digital contracts and signatures have is a great need events will increase the value revolutionized our business. More for better you place on your relationship and more real estate companies are education with God, your loved ones doing "paper-less" transactions and opportunities (whether human or canine) documentation. 90 percent of home for our and your contacts. buyers start looking at a home via Bo with Gail and Katie Faith youth. Our the internet. We utilize our website youth really are our future. I have BOOM!: Give us three words that advertising and internet advertising seen towns and communities flourish describe you? through social media platforms and beyond expectations due to their school reach thousands. All platforms are an systems. Our new residents coming into BO: Religious, kind, hard working. amazing journey with no reality ending. Montgomery need to have many reasons BOOM!: Do you have any hobbies or BOOM!: What is it other activities that grab your attention? about living in the Montgomery/River BO: I love my guitars. I love gospel music, Region area that singing, and playing music. you like? What do we need more of? BOOM!: Do you have time to be involved in community, civic or church activities? BO: I thoroughly enjoy living in BO: I am involved in my church. I have Montgomery. I a men's class that meets every week. enjoy getting to These are some of the finest men I know. know my neighbors I have a Sunday School class that I love. and the friendly I substitute teach for the class, too. It's attitude of everyone time consuming to prepare to teach, but I meet and know. I learn so much. Montgomery is completely a BOOM!: How do you like to spend time southern town. The Bo with 4 0f his 5 children at the Goodson Family Farm, L-R: Leah Goodson with family? south is friendly and Bridges, Terese Goodson, sister-in-law, Bo, Ande Goodson Taylor, Shannon gracious, filled with Goodson Carter, Mark Goodson. (missing Rebecca Goodson Beaulieu from Phoenix, Az) The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
43
Bo with his team, minus 6 people out on sales calls.
BO: My children live in Virginia, Tennessee, Illinois, and Arizona. They come with their families and take over my house. I love sitting with one of them and playing my guitar. I play duets with my son and grandson. On my 70th birthday they all came with their families. It was hectic, but completely enjoyable.
Bo teaching his real estate classes at The Goodson Group
that I am still able to do what I enjoy doing so much.
Renewal comes with transition. Transition comes with anxiety about the future and summons up a commitment. Gail’s family live in Alabama. I spend a I see many students in some sort lot of time with her sisters 5 children, of transition. They are faced with a grandchildren, and great grandchildren. commitment Gail has 2 decision, girls and 4 a financial grandchildren decision, and an too. It’s lots emotional one. of people for Stay focused holidays. Gail and work hard. has a great Have patience granddaughter with yourself on the way, and diligence to McLain Boykin. move toward We are all your new goal. looking forward Why make a to her. It is lots decision that of people for Bo spending time with Gail's family requires change holidays. I am a without a firm member of that family and love each one commitment? I remember starting in of them. real estate in my early 30s with 4 small children with each one having different BOOM!: Many people as they age seek demands on my time. I was taking new experience, a renewed sense of someone to YMCA camp or to aerobics purpose, new goals, even new careers, classes and trying to sell and list houses. how would you describe this sense of It was a course in time management. renewal in your life? Any advice for the Sometimes I wasn’t sure where I was rest of us seeking renewal? What’s the needed next. future look like for Bo Goodson and The Goodson Group? How do you view the The Goodson Group is expanding our idea of retirement? sales force and continuing our education classes for active realtors and new BO: After the heart attack, I had a great agents that want to start a new career in sense of renewal. I thank God everyday
44 BOOM!
September 2020
RiverRegionBoom.com
real estate sales, land sales or property management. All of us need a goal to shoot for that will keep us on track. Enlist your families help. Make them a part of your decision and goals. Retirement is not something I have had time to consider. The best I can say is it probably is in my future, although it has been said that I will be putting a for sale sign in a yard or meeting a client when God decides that MY new home is in heaven. I hope. We want to thank Bo for sharing his story with us in this month's cover profile. If you want to connect with Bo, or have a real estate question email him at bogoodson@charter.net. To learn more about The Goodson Group visit www.thegoodsongroup.com or call 334.551.0225. A special thanks to Bo's partner Gail for sharing her home (and dogs) with us for the cover photo shoot. If you have questions, comments or suggestions about our cover profiles, including nominating someone, please send them to Jim Watson at jim@riverregionboom.com.
Free
Subscriptions www.RiverRegionBoom.com
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
45
Looking for Love During COVID-19 Despite the pandemic, older singles are still hoping for connection By Tami Kamin Meyer
When government leaders instituted stay-athome orders and other quarantine rules in the spring, more than just hairstylists and restaurants were suddenly shuttered. People’s love lives were instantly shelved, too, as the lack of places to go and concerns about the virus overshadowed the desire to couple.
five dates at either a park or outdoors at a restaurant. Sparks did not fly during any of those socially distanced meetings, but Jane said if they had, COVID-19 would not have kept her from kissing.
her 37-year marriage ended in 2017. She lived alone for the 18 months prior to her divorce, giving her time to adjust to her new and strange reality. She began online dating six months after her divorce was finalized. Still, humans crave interaction, so online dating exploded in popularity. The numbers tell the tale. In research conducted April 22-24, 2020 by Morning Consult, a data intelligence firm, 31% of the 2,200 American singles surveyed who use a dating app reported “somewhat more” use of online dating apps during quarantine. And 22% revealed they were utilizing dating apps “much more” than they had pre-pandemic. Nearly half of those who use a dating app said they logged on every day. The Challenges of Dating During Quarantine Jane (not her real name), 59, who lives in Ohio, found herself single when
46 BOOM!
September 2020
“I was thinking ‘where does a fifty-sixyear-old go to meet people?’ Online dating seemed like the only viable option,” said Jane.
Kate Kaufmann, 68, likes to say her divorce was “completed” in 2016 following a 34-year-marriage. Soon thereafter, the Oregonian joined, then quit, Match.com, thinking it was too soon to start dating. In 2018, she spent three months on eHarmony, where she was emotionally misled by a would-be suitor. In June 2019, Kaufmann returned to online dating. She joined OkCupid, where she met a man she dated for six months. She rejoined the site in January 2020 when the two of them broke up.
Over the past three years, Jane has tried five dating apps and has met over Despite her reliance on the internet 106 men in person. She for assistance finding a was in a relationship when partner, Kaufmann has Ohio issued its coronavirus not been on a virtual date quarantine orders on during the pandemic. “I March 29, so the new don’t even know what that rules didn’t impact her life means,” she admitted. much. However, when that Since quarantining became relationship ended, “it the norm, she has met two was back to the drawing men face-to-face. board” of online dating, she said. “Everyone wore masks, Ohio lifted its stay-atwhich feels odd. It adds home orders on May 29. another layer. No one Kate Kaufmann, 68 Since then, Jane has met knows the protocols
RiverRegionBoom.com
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
nowadays. I can’t even picture how it works to get to [becoming close],” she said. For her, kissing during COVID-19 is an absolute no-no. While she does not find dating during the pandemic satisfying, Kaufmann has no plans of quitting. Still, not every dating boomer agrees that physical interaction during COVID-19 is wrong, despite overall concerns about contracting the virus. Tim (who asked that his last name not to be used), who has been divorced four years, has taken two women out since Ohio’s stay-at-home orders were lifted. The 55-year-old Columbus resident said despite regularly donning a mask when he can’t social distance outside or in a store, he would consider having sex with a woman he met online. “If I trusted her, and knew she wore a mask in public regularly, I would even sleep with her,” he said.
scammer often uses to delay an initial meeting, pandemic notwithstanding. Meet face-to-face in a public venue within a week of an initial online encounter, said Resnick, “so the fantasy doesn’t keep building.”
They keep their love alive in a variety of ways appropriate for a pandemic. For example, they enjoy a dinner date over Skype every Saturday night. They each sit at their respective dining room tables and eat the same menu. Thursday nights are reserved for Netflix movies, which they watch simultaneously, then discuss afterwards. Virtual tours of museums throughout the world and virtual cooking classes have also proven enjoyable. Online Safety Tips for the Pandemic and Beyond Eric Resnick fields dozens of questions from clients about dating every day. As owner of Profilehelper.com, Resnick has been helping singles write their dating profiles since 2005. That adds up to over 25,000 profiles on every dating site imaginable (unless the site promotes adultery). Dating sites appeal to a wide range of audiences, from the general (like Bumble) to the niche (like Farmers Only). Still, “ninety percent of the dating market is probably on ten” sites, namely Match, Bumble, Hinge and OkCupid, said Resnick.
Creative Virtual Dates Norma Bryant Howard, 73, is a Louisville divorcee. She began hosting a weekly podcast on her Facebook Norma Bryant Howard, 73 page about boomers and dating in January 2020 because “I discovered there were so many women However, there is a nefarious side who had totally given up on the to the online experience. As dating sanctity of having a loving connection apps gain in popularity, so do the with a high quality man,” she said. Her opportunities for schemers to ply their program, ‘The Princess Secrets: Dating craft. Advice and More for Today’s Baby Boomers” is presented live on Fridays Resnick cautioned daters aged 50 at 7 p.m. ET. and older to be mindful of would-be partners who might be frauds because On a personal level, Howard has been singles in that demographic are “the in a long-distance relationship with her most regularly targeted markets for boyfriend for nearly nine years. Due to scammers.” concerns about the virus, the couple has only seen each other twice since He urged boomers to stick to locals March. when it comes to online dating. That’s because distance is an excuse a
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
According to Resnick, scammers prey on men and women differently. Widows over 60 are prime targets, with a popular ruse being the “hero scam.” In that scenario, which usually occurs early in an online interaction, the scammer claims to have experienced a small emergency that can be resolved with less than $200 worth of assistance from the victim. “You solve their problem, you feel like a hero and they know they’ve got you,” Resnick said. Female scammers usually take longer to percolate. A favored scheme is less about a crisis and more about a “large opportunity, like property development. It’s a scam of opportunity and emotional blackmail,” said Resnick. Despite the inherent risks associated with online dating, it is COVID-19resistant. Resnick said, “Now is a great time to try it because it gives you the opportunity to meet like-minded people without” the additional pressures of sexualizing the relationship. Source: www.nextavenue.org Tami Kamin Meyer is an attorney and freelance writer based in Columbus. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, MarketWatch, Better Homes and Gardens and Cannabis & Tech Today. She is the Social Media Chair of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. @girlwithapen
Free
Subscriptions www.RiverRegionBoom.com
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
47
Travel Experiences with Jeff Barganier
Burke County North Carolina Start thinking mountains and colorful leaves!
As fall approaches, it’s time to start thinking mountains and colorful leaves! Burke County, North Carolina, only an eight-hour drive from the River Region, is called Nature’s Playground. The county seat of Morganton is a quaint town from which to launch an outdoor adventure. The best place to stay is the Morganton Hampton Inn just off I-40, 50 miles east of Asheville. This Hampton is fairly new, wellmanaged and convenient to many of Burke County’s outdoor treasures like Linville Gorge, Table Rock and Hawksbill Mountains, three of North Carolina’s most recognizable landmarks. Like me, you may wish to start your first morning by indulging the Hampton’s exemplary breakfast buffet. Woof down a generous portion of fruit, followed by yogurt, an omelet, large waffle drenched in butter/syrup, one banana, and a pomegranate-guava smoothie. Then walk-off breakfast with a stroll up the hill behind the hotel past the splendid Morganton Medical Center—as you may need emergency care. I actually did eat all of the aforementioned before hang gliding in Burke County’s Thermal Valley ... and nearly threw up at 2000 feet. (See BOOM! January 2020.) But I couldn’t help myself. It was all so delicious. So, go ahead, and figure on skipping lunch.
Table Rock, North Carolina
Burke County. One can hike all the way to Asheville or take a short hike to the attractive Fonta Flora Brewery at Whippoorwill Farm for an excellent craft-beer and sandwich break. Or skip the hike and just check out the brewery! It’s worth seeing and has modern, clean bathrooms. It doesn’t serve food, but there’s usually a food truck on site that makes unique and excellent burgers.
Just for you, I’m ordering a crisp fall day with blue sky and peak-season color in beautiful North Carolina. Take an easy hike or bike ride in the Lake James State Park along the Fonta Flora Trail. This trail extends for 100 miles and crosses the Eastern Continental Divide. It’s wellmarked and snakes along Lake James in
48 BOOM!
September 2020
RiverRegionBoom.com
Color atop Table Rock
If you’re up for a more rigorous adventure, hike Linville Gorge, Table Rock, or both. The Linville Gorge Trail ascends to a scenic spot that looks way down on Linville Falls. Way down, okay? But then you’re pretty much done. Plus, it can get a little crowded up there on a busy weekend. Accordingly, my favorite is Table Rock. The path is rocky and makes for a slow trudge up the mountain. But once you reach the top, 3,680 feet, the 360-degree view is spectacular. Expect to make friends along the way as you pause and greet other hikers. I met the young Windmiller family from the Black Jeff on top of Table Rock Mountain area. Mr. Windmiller, a particularly dedicated and sure-footed young dad, hiked the entire trail up the mountain with his youngest daughter on his shoulders! Close to Linville Gorge is a popular road-side eatery known as Famous Louise’s. The menu offers something for everyone and the food is excellent. Louise’s has a quaint, mountainy atmosphere. I enjoyed it and will definitely stop again when in the area. Morganton also has some good restaurants. I don’t have a favorite there. But if you’re craving really great barbeque, drive 12 miles east on I-40 to Rutherford College and The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
Lake James, North Carolina
Windmiller girls
Hill Orchard and Cider Mill just south JD’s Smokehouse! They’re only open of town. This thriving family business Thursday, Friday and Saturday and are is nestled in the picturesque foothills always packed. People drive from far and wide to eat at JD’s. It’s that good. Historic downtown Morganton is worth exploring. Grab a to-go box from one of the downtown restaurants and have a picnic on the lawn of the old Burke County Courthouse in the Whipperwill Brewery, North Carolina town square. Check out the county’s colorful history at of the South Mountains and features the History Museum of Burke County. activities for all ages: you can enjoy a Stroll along the river at Morganton’s wagon ride through the orchard, pick Catawba Meadows Park. Or visit Apple your own apples, taste homemade
Famous Louise's, North Carolina
goods from the bakery, or browse through the Country Store. Maybe I’ll see you there.
Happy trails. For more info: www.applehillorchard.com www.blueridgeheritage.com/ destinations/linville-gorge-and-falls https://ashevilletrails.com/linville-gorge/ table-rock-mountain-trail www.facebook.com/louisesrockhouse www.facebook.com/ fontaflorawhippoorwill www.jds-smokehouse.com www.ncparks.gov/find-an-activity/trails https://thermalvalley.net/
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.
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
49
How Do You Know If You’re Ready for Your Second Act? Tips from 'Your Second Act' author and 'Carol's Second Act' star Patricia Heaton
You probably know actress Patricia Heaton from her TV sitcom roles on Everybody Loves Raymond, The Middle or Carol’s Second Act. That last show, recently cancelled, led Heaton, 62, to explore the subject of second acts by interviewing 16 people who’ve launched them and writing Your Second Act — a book with their stories and advice, plus her own tips. She’s in a second act herself, doing humanitarian efforts with World Vision, selling the Patricia Heaton Home line of housewares at Walmart and being a producer and author. How do you know if you’re ready for your second act? There are some telltale signs that it’s time to make your move: a sense of restlessness, general dissatisfaction, the awareness that there is more, a dreadful nagging on the inside. Or, very clearly: you feel that you have no other choice. Sounds a little like a midlife crisis. The problem with that term is the word crisis. A better word would be metamorphosis. You don’t have to have a crisis when you are focused on your calling. It’s a good idea to take some time to reflect so you can clearly see what those clues are and figure out how to put them together. I think understanding your motivations is a good place to start. Our greatest motivation strikes when the pain of staying the same becomes stronger than the pain of change. So, stop and think for a moment about your life and how would you feel if nothing changed for the next five years? What about the next 10 years . . . or the next 20? How does the thought of that make you feel?
50 BOOM!
September 2020
The other interesting thing about motivation is that you can fuel it by your actions. Which brings me to my next point: just take action, because action fuels momentum. When moving into a new season, it’s a good idea to make peace with your past and take the time to really mourn it if necessary. You have to allow yourself to mourn the person you used to be and acknowledge disappointments, missed opportunities, expectations not met. Then choose to forgive yourself and anyone else who comes to mind in the process.
six of us have married, birthed, adopted, struggled, prayed and laughed together for more than 30 years. I always know I can turn to them with and for advice. One of my friends, who has been an actress for many years, has transitioned into screenwriting. I now send her scripts to critique because she’s extremely perceptive. Another one, an artist, was also ready to make a change. She didn’t really know what she wanted to do next, so she set aside some time to do some soulsearching. As part of her self-exploration, she took the European pilgrimage El Camino de Santiago, or, in English, the walk of St. James. She still hasn’t settled on what she wants to do next but is more grounded internally and at peace with herself, her faith and this stage of her life. A few things you could try to help you decide whether to launch a second act:
Take a class. Just stepping out and learning something new will do wonders for you. Also, many state colleges offer free tuition to adults age 62+, so When we let go of what look online for options. didn’t work out and our Read books. Reading is a preconceived ideas and Patricia Heaton New Book wonderful way to expand the expectations, we make room mind, find inspiration, learn, and grow. inside for healthy things, like dreams for Marci Alboher, vice president of Encore. the future. org, has a wonderful book called The Encore Career Handbook that you may Sometimes life has this wonderful way find useful. of providing unexpected launchpads Journal. Your journal doesn’t have to be into our next season. One very common about your deepest emotions and private launchpad for a second act is loss. Perhaps thoughts. You can write goals. Journaling you experienced a layoff or divorce or the helps you slow down, really connect with death of a parent or a loved one. Maybe your inner drive and motivation. you had an illness. If you are in a season of loss in your life right now, don’t view that loss as an end; view it as a launchpad. Then, try to move forward and find meaning from it. One thing to keep in mind: Even though it’s your second act, you can’t stage it alone. A core group of friends with common values helps make it easier to navigate the unchartered terrain. I have wonderful friends that I’ve known for years, and we are all walking through this second act transition together. The
RiverRegionBoom.com
There’s no right or wrong way to frame up your second act. Start from a place of openness and curiosity and step out. And why not grab your friends and make a “second act” party out of it? Have a freerange inspiration session — share ideas, make vision boards, write goals, and hold each other accountable! Who knows? You may find someone who’d like to come along for the ride. For now, let me be the first to officially say . . . welcome to Your Second Act! The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
51
By Greg Budell
The Mayor of BOOMTOWN
"I WANT MY LIFE BACK" "A true story from the Greg files"
hours every day scouring for any and all Covid-19 information and after 5 months, I have come to realize the worst- I don’t know nuthin’.
This is not a column. It’s a therapy session. My experience in therapy is so vast I’ve learned how to get to the bottom of my own issues. Here’s the challengeI want my life back. I’m not alone. Many friends, associates and radio listeners have said the same thing. Going on 6 months now, we’ve led lives of limitation and obedience. Wear the mask or risk attack from someone who’s submitted to the fear. There are still long lists of things we’re “allowed” to do and not do.
I still want my life back. What’s missing? I’ve continued working 2 shows a day, every day. The alarm goes off at 2:22AM so the routine is the same. The shows are still fun to do despite news that makes no sensenews I couldn’t have made up just a few months ago. Greg, with morning show team members Jessie Lynn, Rich and Chase Thomas and Jay Scott- in a photo taken during the pandemic with NO casualties!
I haven’t had a “normal” day since we celebrated my daughter’s birthday in Florida March 12. The shutdowns and lockdowns were still days way. One moment from that dinner I remember specifically was sharing a nugget of wisdom I’d heard from “the experts”. “The coronavirus does not survive well in the heat. It’ll die down in the summer but will become an issue again in the fall, like the flu”. If heat killed the virus then everyone in South Florida would be safe, right?
52 BOOM!
September 2020
It’s what I’m missing after the mics are turned off.
Not only was the “heat theory” unadulterated baloney, they’re already warning us about the upcoming flu season! I was a happy guy at Janelle’s party. The next day I drove back to a Montgomery maelstrom of dark rumors about what was coming. And it came. Within a week, I was driving to work during curfew, Media ID in hand, hoping I wouldn’t be stopped as a lawless, after-hours germ spreader. As a NewsTalk 93.1FM host, I’ve spent
RiverRegionBoom.com
I exit the studio into a building that’s empty. Radio stations are tight social circles. I work with people whose company I enjoy and they’re now working remotely. My friends in sales and administration are not there. I miss the schmooze time with them. Former BOOM! coverboy and our boss, Rick Peters, had a grandbaby arriving not long after the lockdown so he wisely set
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
up at home. He’s not there for some idle chit chat at 2:45. His Frenchies aren’t there hoping for treats. I miss those few minutes. He did stop by our building a few days ago. It was great to see Rick, but we hadn’t sat and talked for months. Not normal. Like many businesses the new normal “remote workplace” may be permanent because it’s succeeded but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I don’t. I’m not a fan of “new normal” in general. Baseball finally came back, but the Montgomery Biscuits season was cancelled. Every Saturday night this summer I missed something and realized the Saturday night Biscuit games and fireworks were not an option. I can once again pop on the baseball network to catch major league scores in this bizarre season, only to see games played in sporting mausoleums with cardboard fans. Instead of exciting highlights, I get treated to the spectacle of multi-millionaire athletes lecturing me on social justice. America’s professional sports leagues seem to be on a suicide mission, abandoning entertainment to enshrine their fans in a cultural Hall of Shame. I’m hoping the delayed return of college football will put the game’s first, though the thought of the Iron Bowl being played in front of paper fans is unsettling.
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
Movie theaters are slowly re-opening but seeing a movie in a mask will have the social ambience of visiting someone in the hospital (and you still can’t do that right now, either). One day recently I realized I’d forgotten a cigarette lighter so on the way to work, I stopped at a Dollar General and briskly walked through the front door. Once inside, I froze. I’d forgotten my mask! Horrified customers dutifully separated by 6 feet holding items that had likely been touched by a dozen other hands before them, looked at me like I walked in naked with a weapon in hand. I about-faced and slunk out of there so humiliated, I went to a different store, rather than re-face that jury of my sneers.
I’m also missing something to look forward to. Governor MiMaw (term of enfearment) just extended the Safer at Home mandate until October 3rd! You can get a round trip plane ticket to almost anywhere for $10 to fly home for Thanksgiving. Who’s going to be there? Our parents and grandparentsthe most vulnerable- have been cooped up “for their own good”. I know more than a few seniors who’ve said “Enough! I didn’t survive my entire life to spend my last days in a choiceless vacuum of Matlock reruns.” Christmas? Instead of neckties, we’ll be gifting designer masks and fancy hand sanitizers. Stockings will be stuffed with rolls of toilet paper. Rooms formerly scented by the sweet pine of a Christmas tree will probably reek of Isopropyl.
Have you had that awkward moment with a friend where you go to shake hands like you have a thousand other times, only to reach the mutual Pause of Terror? If someone offers me a hand, I’m shaking it. So far, so good. I hate the doubt, though. I want that unabashed social contact back in my life.
It will get better my friends! New Year’s Day will eventually arrive and no matter how we celebrate it, one thing is certain. It won’t be 2020 anymore!
In 1969, the Honk Kong flu was a global pandemic. I remember nothing of it. Instead of shutting everyone in, we had Woodstock and went to the moon. In 2020 we’ve replaced concerts with riots- excuse me- “civil unrest”, events apparently immune to spreading COVID-19.
Greg Budell lives in Montgomery with his wife, Roz, and dogs Hershey and Briscoe. He’s been in radio since 1970, and has marked 15 years in the River Region. He hosts the Newstalk 93.1FM Morning Show with Rich Thomas & Jay Scott, 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
If you have a comment on this column, email me at gregbudell@aol.com. It's still fun to hear from new people!
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
53
Eating Smart with Tracy Bhalla
Beat the Heat with gorgeous ices We had a delightful trip to Italy in the summer of 2019 where we simply had to sample as many flavors of gelato as possible, it set me thinking (again) of making my own when I get home. This tends to be an annual ritual, and I have to say, there is no beating homemade. So, what is the difference between ice cream and gelato anyway? Well basically gelato is lighter than classic ice cream, as more milk and less cream is used. In classic ice cream it’s equal quantities of cream and milk, in gelato it's half the amount of cream to milk. Also, the Italians do have a passion for creating unusual and somewhat unique flavor profiles. Their hazelnut is to die for! If you are not a dairy lover, then maybe a sorbet will help fend off the heat. Basically, frozen sieved fruit and fine sugar, no milk or cream required. Very refreshing, particularly in the citrus flavors – lemon, lime, mandarin, etc. When my son was little, I used to make our own frozen lollipops – simply fill some lollipop molds with fresh fruit juice and freeze it. No sugar required! Perfect for children on hot summer days and perfect for parents so they know how much (or should I say how little) sugar they’re consuming. But back to the delicious gelato and ice cream – I have a couple of recipes to share with you that can be adapted to pretty much any flavor profile that suits your fancy. Let's start with a classic vanilla ice cream: Ingredients: 1 vanilla pod or 2 Tsp vanilla bean paste 400 ml heavy cream
400 ml whole milk 4 large egg yolks 125g caster sugar (superfine sugar) Instructions: 1. Halve vanilla pod lengthways (if using) and scrape out seeds. Add seeds and pod (or paste) to large, heavy based pan with cream and milk. Heat gently until bubbles appear round the edge. If using a pod, remove at this point. 2. Meanwhile beat yolks and sugar in a bowl until pale. Gradually mix in the hot cream mixture. Return to the pan. Cook over low-to-medium heat, stirring continuously until custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon (do not overheat or it will scramble). 3. Pour through a sieve into a bowl, cover with cling wrap; leave to cool. 4. Churn the mixture in an ice cream machine until frozen. Empty into a freezer proof container. Cover and freeze overnight. This recipe makes approximately 1.3 liters. 5. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN ICE CREAM MACHINE- put the mixture in a freezer proof container and freeze for two hours. Turn out into a bowl and beat with an electric whisk; return to the freezer. Repeat every two hours until the ice cream is the desired level of hardness. Many other flavors can be added to this – chocolate chips, chopped strawberries, blueberries, Heath bar chips, etc. Your imagination is your only limitation. Now for gelato, and we will look at pistachio because that is one of the most well-known flavors, but also because you never see vanilla gelato in Italy! Ingredients- (to make approx. 600ml) 300ml whole milk 150ml heavy cream 3 large egg yolks
75g caster sugar (superfine) 4 tbsp pistachio paste 1 tbsp vanilla extract Instructions: In a heavy based pan, heat the milk and cream until just steaming. In a bowl, mix the egg yolks and sugar until pale. Gradually mix in milk mixture. Return to the pan and cook over low-to-medium heat, stirring, until custard thickens. Meanwhile, in a large bowl mix pistachio paste and vanilla extract. Add hot custard mixture, stir, cover and cook. Transfer to freezer proof container, cover and freeze for 4 hours. Remove from freezer, break up with a fork, blitz with an electric whisk until smooth. Return to the container, freeze until solid. Actual pistachio pieces can be stirred in before freezing to give a nuttier texture. And of course, other flavors can be used instead – coffee, puréed fruit, coconut cream….to suggest but a few. Finally, a sorbet, for which you can use any combination of fruits you like, but here is a summer berry recipe: (makes approx. 750ml) Blitz 350g strawberries, 350g raspberries, 250g blackberries, 150g of superfine sugar and 2 tbsp. lemon juice with an electric whisk until smooth. (Works just as well with either fresh or frozen fruit, but if using fresh make sure it is as fresh as possible.) Strain through a sieve and discard seeds. Empty into freezer proof container, cover and freeze until solid. Break up with a fork and blitz again until smooth. Serve straightaway or freeze again. You may remember we discussed the pros and cons of the new trend of frozen desserts (ice cream without the dairy) previously and I would still recommend those if you are of the tendency to eat a whole pint on your own! However, the pure indulgent taste of homemade real ice cream cannot be beaten – just eat it in moderation! Enjoy and stay cool!
Tracy Bhalla, Independent Consultant with NYR Organics, website: us.nyrorganic.com/shop/tracybhalla email: nyrbhalla@gmail.com You can also visit Tracy’s blog
at Tracybhalla.com, Continuing my obsession with all things organic, I have been working with NYR for two years now, using skincare products myself for over RiverRegionBoom.com 2020 BOOM! September Thetheir River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine 54 25 years! Your skin is the body’s largest organ, it deserves to be well looked after. I am here to answer any questions you may have.
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
R ive r Re gio n Bo o m . co m
September 2020
BOOM!
55
56 BOOM!
September 2020
RiverRegionBoom.com
The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine