55 Plus of Rochester, #07: January – February 2011 by 55 Plus: For Active Adults in Rochester

Frugal Living: For Most in Rochester, the ‘In’ Thing to Do FR Social Security: Are You Ready? Weave Through its Complexities

55 PLUS

Issue 7 January / February 2011

For Active Adults in the Rochester Area

INSIDE

Why You Should Consider Taking Yoga Classes

JUDGE MARKS

Two Rochester Women Talk About Second Careers

The first female elected as a county court judge in Monroe County, Patricia Marks, 61, just announced plans to retire. In an interview, she talks about her career in the legal field — from prosecuting white-collar crime in the District Attorney’s Office to deliberating over cases involving multiple homicides.

Special: Meet the Ladies at Red Hat Society

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Areinvestment your accounts receiving the service they service. deserve? choices and dedicated personal Are you struggling to manage your portfolio on your own? Has your portfolio not lived up to your expectations? FAAdvisors NameCornerstone The Experience the Wells Fargo difference.Group If you Compliance-Approved Title Address and Suite Number are looking for a financialWells advisor that stands apart Fargo Advisorsfrom City Name, State Zip FA Name XXX-XXX-XXXX • 8XX-XXX-XXXX the crowd, come and see what makes us different. Compliance-Approved Title1200 Pittsford-victor road We Web or E-mail Address Address and Suite Number Pittsford, New York 14534 offer comprehensive investment advice, a broad range of City Name, State Zip (585)-249-1705 or 1-877-249-1711 Fargo Advisors, LLC, Member SIPC, is a registered broker-dealer and a separate non-bank 8XX-XXX-XXXX investment XXX-XXX-XXXX choices•Wells and dedicated personal service. affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company. Investment and Insurance Products: u NOT FDIC Insured

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January / February 2011 - 55 PLUS

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55 PLUS

January/February 2011

18 HealthWatch 6-7 Financial Health 8 Aging 10 My Turn 27 Golden Years 29 Long Term Care 36 Last Page 42

21 11 HOBBIES

• Group of 11 photographers, all of them older than 55, keep photo gallery going

15 TRENDS • Frugal living: For most, the ‘in’ thing to do

18 ACTIVITIES • Yoga a time-tested method to improve physical, mental health

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CONTENTS

SUBSCRIBE roc55.com Find Us Online at

21 SOCIALIZING • Meet the ladies at Red Hat Society

25 36 25 VOLUNTEERING • Retirees find rewards in volunteer work in Rochester area

32 COVER STORY • Judge Patricia Marks talks about her years in the legal field

36 CHANGES • Women use experience to enhance second careers

38 VISITS • Food, glorious food —Every area of NYS has its local favorites but some are world famous January / February 2011 - 55 PLUS

HEALTH WATCH Medicare’s Preventive Services to Get Better

tarting Jan. 1, as part of the new health care reform law, everyone with Original Medicare will have access to many preventive health services, and most of them won’t cost you a cent. No Cost-Sharing — Over the years, Medicare has covered a number of preventive health screenings like mammograms and colonoscopies with varying levels of cost-sharing (that includes deductibles, coinsurance or copayments). Cost-sharing for preventive services typically means that you, the beneficiary, pay 20 percent of the cost of the service (Medicare picks up the other 80 percent), after you’ve met your $155 Part B deductible. But starting in January, Medicare beneficiaries will no longer have to pay any out-of-pocket costs for most preventive services, including annual wellness visits which are being added to the program to help keep you healthy. Here’s a breakdown of the different preventive services that Medicare will soon be offering that will be completely free. Wellness Visits — In addition to the one-time “Welcome to Medicare” physical (which new beneficiaries can get but only within their first year of enrollment in Part B), free annual wellness visits with your physician will now be available. These visits will give your doctor the chance to maintain an ongoing personalized prevention plan for improving your health. Each exam will include body and blood pressure measurements, a review of your medical history including any medications you’re taking and care you may be receiving from other health care providers, an assessment of your cognitive condition, and establish an appropriate screening schedule for the next five to 10 years.

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Health Screenings — In addition to the wellness visits, here’s a list of the free health screenings and vaccinations Medicare will be offering its beneficiaries: • Breast cancer screening: Yearly mammograms will be offered to women age 40 and older with Medicare. • Colorectal cancer screening: This includes the flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy for all beneficiaries age 50 or older. • Cervical cancer screening: Pap smear and pelvic exams are available every two years, or once a year for those at high risk. • Cardiovascular screenings: Free blood test to check cholesterol, lipid and triglyceride levels are offered every five years to all Medicare recipients. • Diabetes: Twice a year screening for those at risk. • Medical nutrition therapy: Available to help people manage diabetes or kidney disease. • Prostate cancer screening: A digital rectal exam and PSA blood test is available to all male beneficiaries age 50 and older every year. You pay nothing for the PSA test, but you’ll have to pay 20 percent for the doctor’s visit. • Bone mass measurements: This osteoporosis test is available every two years to those at risk, or more often if medically necessary. • Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening: To check for bulging blood vessels, this test is for men ages 65 to 75 who have ever smoked. • HIV screening: Available to those who are at increased risk or who ask for the test. • Vaccinations: An annual flu shot, a vaccination against pneumococcal pneumonia and the hepatitis B vaccine are all free to all beneficiaries.

55PLUS Editor and Publisher Wagner Dotto

Associate Editor Lou Sorendo

Writer

Mike Costanza

Contributing Writers

Amy Cavalier Deborah Graf Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

Columnists

Jim Terwilliger, Susan Suben Bruce Frassinelli Harold Miller, Marilyn Pinsky Sandra Scott

Advertising

Marsha K. Preston, Ann Hare Marlene Raite

Office Manager

Laura J. Beckwith

Layout and Design Chris Crocker

Cover Photo

Chuck Wainwright 55 PLUS –A Magazine for Active Adults in the Rochester Area is published six times a year by Local News, Inc., which also publishes In Good Health–Rochester–Genesee Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper.

Health in good

Rochester–Genesee Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper

Mailing Address PO Box 525 Victor, NY 14564 Subscription: $15 a year © 2011 by 55 PLUS – A Magazine for Active Adults in the Rochester Area. No material may be reproduced in whole or in part from this publication without the express written permission of the publisher. Third class postage paid at Syracuse, NY. Permit Number: 3071

How to Reach Us P.O. Box 525 Victor, NY 14564 Voice: (585) 421-8109 Fax: (585) 421-8129 Editor@GVhealthnews.com

HEALTH WATCH Study: Many Men Between 75-95 Still Sexually Active

ife for men aged 75 or older doesn’t mean an end to sex, according to an Australian study. The researchers found that almost a third of these older men were sexually active at least once a year — including about one in 10 men aged 90 to 95. What’s more, many older men who are sexually active say they’d love to be having more sex. Others are forgoing sex due to health issues, low testosterone levels or simply a lack of partners. The study, based on a survey of Australian men aged 75-95, most of whom were married or living with a partner, found that younger seniors were busiest of all: 40 percent of those aged 75-79 said they’d had sex in the past 12 months. But even among those aged 90-95, 11 percent reported sexual activity with someone else over the prior year. “Although many people, including some clinicians, continue to believe that sexual activity is not important to older people, our study shows this is not the case. Even in the 10th decade of life, one in five men still considered sex important,” said study lead author Zoe Hyde, a researcher at the University of Western Australia. The findings appear in the Dec. 7 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. Several studies in recent years have tried to analyze sexuality in older people, who are sometimes assumed to have little or no interest in sex. The popularity of Viagra and related drugs seems to suggest that’s hardly the case, but solid numbers have been tough to find. However, one 2007 study in

the New England Journal of Medicine reported that a bit more than half of people surveyed in the U.S. aged 65-74 reported recent sexual activity, as did 26 percent of those aged 74-85. In the new study, researchers examined the results of a sexuality study of almost 2,800 Australian men who didn’t live in nursing homes or other health-care facilities. Among other things, the researchers asked the men if they’d had sexual activity with a partner — not necessarily intercourse — within the past year. Overall, close to 49 percent of men aged 75 to 95 considered sex at least “somewhat important,” and just under 31 percent had been sexually active with another person at least once during the previous year. The study linked a variety of factors to a lack of sexual activity among older men. “Increasing age, lower testosterone levels, a partner’s lack of interest in sex, or physical limitations, osteoporosis, prostate cancer, diabetes, use of depression drugs, and use of some blood pressure drugs (beta-blockers) were associated with absence of sexual activity,” the team wrote. Overall, Hyde said, the study suggests that health problems are the main reason why some older men aren’t sexually active. “But also lack of a partner and decreased interest in sex for some people are important factors, too,” she said. The researchers took special note of the connection between lower testosterone levels and less sexual activity. “However, it would

be too early to suggest testosterone therapy to improve sexual interest and activity in older men at this stage,” Hyde stressed. As for older women, studies have suggested that pain and lack of satisfaction are major issues for them, said Stacy Tessler Lindau, an associate professor who studies sexuality at the University of Chicago. “If men are having sex, they report satisfaction. That’s not necessarily true for women.” Lindau’s 2007 study found that only 17 percent of women aged 7585 reported having some sort of sex over the past year, compared to 39 percent of men. Were older men who were having sexual relations satisfied with how often it was happening? The new survey showed slightly more than half (56.5 percent) of those who reported having some kind of sex within the previous year said they were happy with how much sex they were getting. But 43 percent of them said they had sex less often than they would like. It’s not clear if the findings are applicable to the United States, but Hyde said the results are similar to those from other Western countries.

January / February 2011 - 55 PLUS

financial health By Jim Terwilliger

Social Security: Are You Ready? Learn to weave through complexities of benefit structure

hen to begin taking Social S e c u r i t y re t i re m e n t benefits is one of the most important decisions facing retirees. The decision for married couples is complicated by options that are unavailable to singles not previously married. A married couple having average life expectancies can expect to receive between $1 million and $1.6 million in lifetime Social Security retirement benefits, including cost-of-living adjustments. This translates to a total benefit value in today’s dollars of $750,000 to $1.2 million. Most couples would never guess that this benefit rivals or even exceeds their life savings in value. Further, it is an asset that adjusts with inflation and cannot be outlived. Coordinating benefits for couples is one of the most complex areas of Social Security planning. The rules are confusing and must be followed carefully to maximize benefits. Some basics — In addition to their own benefit, spouses can elect to receive a spousal benefit. A spousal benefit is equal to one-half of the other spouse’s Full Retirement Age (FRA) benefit but is subject to a 30 percent reduction if started early at age 62. There is no benefit to delay a spousal benefit beyond age 66 (FRA for folks born between 1943 and 1954). Spouses are not allowed to receive spousal benefits simultaneously. One at a time is it. Finally, in order for spouse A to receive a spousal benefit, spouse B must have filed for or be receiving his or her own benefit. Let’s consider some of the factors influencing the when-to-start decision. • Spouse with little or no earnings, 8

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similar ages: A spouse having little or no lifetime earned income is eligible to receive a reduced spousal benefit starting at age 62. However, it is generally advantageous to wait until age 66 (FRA) but not a month longer. Usually, it is better for the high earner to delay his or her own benefit until age 70 in order to enhance that benefit. The rationale is to maximize the survivor benefit for the household. There is a 50 percent chance that one of the spouses will survive until age 93. Regardless of who dies first, the survivor is entitled to the higher of their two benefits. The household is then guaranteed that maximum benefit for the remaining lifetime of the survivor. In this case, the higher earner will need to “file and suspend” in order for the lower-earning spouse to begin to receive spousal benefits. The “file and suspend” action cannot be triggered prior to age 66 (FRA). • Similar earnings and ages: The strategy here depends on a number of factors. The lower earner might start his or her own reduced benefit at age 62 or start a spousal benefit at age 66 (FRA) followed by a switch to his or her own benefit at age 70. If the latter, the higher earner would “file and suspend” at age 66 (FRA), then take his or her own benefit at age 70. • Significantly different ages: If the older spouse is also the higher earner, it is almost always better for that spouse to delay benefits until age 70. Again, the primary motivation is to maximize the survivor benefit since the younger spouse will likely survive. The younger lower-earning spouse might consider starting benefits at

age 62 if not working or age 66 (FRA) if working until then. These benefits generally would be the higher of spousal or own. If the higher earner is instead the younger spouse, the optimal strategy is not as straightforward. Here, a detailed analysis is needed, based on the difference in ages, income histories, and other factors. Caveats — The above examples are general rules of thumb but should never be used without consulting first with a trusted financial planner. Each household has circumstances that may impact the selection of an optimal strategy, including the spouses’ health, family histories, relative earnings records, other sources of income, cash flow needs, presence of children under age 18, etc. These examples are offered to illustrate that couples have choices and that spousal and survivor benefits must be considered in addition to one’s own benefits. Finally, while Social Security personnel are helpful in answering questions about the mechanics of various options, they are not equipped to help you determine optimal strategies. That is why I now integrate Social Security planning into retirement planning when working with clients. It is crucial. In the final column in this series, we will explore how formerly married retirees (divorced and widowed) can take advantage of options available to them. James Terwilliger, CFP®, is vice president, Financial Planning, Wealth Strategies Group, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Company. He can be reached at 585-419-0670 ext. 50630 or by e-mail at jterwilliger@cnbank.com.

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January / February 2011 - 55 PLUS

aging By Marilyn L. Pinsky

Volunteer With AARP’s Tax Aide Program There are many kinds of volunteer opportunities – from tax volunteers to greeters as well as well as communications and technology coordinators

re you looking for just the right volunteer position that uses your particular skills and availability? Check out AARP’s Tax Aide program. This program began in 1968 with only four volunteers who served 100 people in that tax season. Today the AARP Tax Aide program has attracted more than 34,600 volunteers and has helped more than 47 million people file their tax returns. AARP Tax-Aide is a confidential, free and quality service supported by friendly people in local communities across the nation. This service is available to low- and moderate-income taxpayers of all ages with special attention to those aged 60 and older. IRS-certified volunteers are trained to assist in filing basic tax forms. A variety of service options are available at nearly 6,500 locations nationwide: 1. On-site tax assistance and preparation, from late January/early February to April 15; 2. 24-hour tax assistance on the Internet all year. Since 1980, the program has operated under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as part of its Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program. AARP Tax-Aide sites are operational from late January/early February through April 15 each year. During that time, taxpayers can find the site closest to their home by visiting www.aarp.org/taxaide or by calling toll-free number 110

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888-AARPNOW (1-888-227-7669) or tax assistance on the Internet is available all year round. Increasing Community Involvement—AARP Tax-Aide was one of AARP’s early efforts to use volunteers to ensure important services were available to older people. Today, the more than 34,600 AARP Tax-Aide volunteers are made up of individuals of all ages, races, ethnic groups, income levels and educational backgrounds. AARP Tax-Aide offers a myriad of volunteer positions such as: • Regional coordinator • State coordinator • Administrative specialist • Partnership and communications specialist • Technology specialist • Training specialist • District coordinator • Communications coordinator • Instructor • Tax volunteer • Local coordinator There are many kinds of volunteer opportunities — from tax volunteers to greeters as well as well as communications and technology coordinators. One might be right for you! Review the volunteer descriptions below then complete and submit the AARP Tax-Aide Prospective Volunteer Form (www. aarp.org/apps/Volunteer_with_ AARP_Tax_Aide/). Like working with numbers? AARP Tax Volunteers interact with clients by filling out tax returns. Even if you don’t have accounting

or tax preparation experience, becoming a tax volunteer may be right for you. Like working with people better than working with numbers? Greeters make sure the clients have all the necessary paperwork before meeting with a tax volunteer and manage the flow of clients being served. Have a knack for computers and technology? Technology coordinators manage computer equipment, work to ensure taxpayer data security or provide technical assistance to volunteers at multiple sites on technology issues. Love getting the word about community services? Communications coordinators promote AARP tax-aide to potential clients from February to April and recruit volunteers in the fall for the following tax season. Good at managing people and programs? Leadership positions at the local and district levels manage volunteers, synchronize plans with other volunteer leaders, and assure smooth program operation. Get the joy and satisfaction of helping others by applying to join the AARP TaxAide volunteer team today! Your expertise will be appreciated more than you can imagine. AARP Foundation volunteers will receive equal opportunity and treatment throughout recruitment, appointment, training and service. There will be no discrimination based on age, disabilities, gender, race, color, ethnic origin, religion, or sexual orientation. AARP TaxAide is administered by the AARP Foundation.

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Passion for Images Group of 11 photographers — all of them older than 55 — keep photo gallery going By Mike Costanza From abstract photos to classical landscapes, Rochester’s Image City Photography Gallery has brought the works of local and out-of-town photographers to admirers of fine art photographs since it opened its doors. The gallery, which is in the midst of its fifth anniversary show, is an all-volunteer operation. Those on its board of directors, who are called “partners,” came to it from a variety of backgrounds, but share an interest in fine photographs and photography. Image City’s partners also share something else, as well—all 11 of them are 55 years old or older. 55PLUS interviewed five of the gallery’s partners to see what drew them to photography — and to the gallery.

Gary and Phyllis Thompson

Gary Thompson, president of Image City and one of its founding partners, was drawn to photography back in 1977. While on a family vacation in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, he took a photo of The Old Man of the Mountain, a series of cliffs on Cannon Mountain. When the photo was developed, he was disappointed with the result—in essence, The Old

Man of the Mountain appeared to have become a molehill. “I expected it to be about a third of the image,” the 71-year-old says. “It was about a twentieth of the image.” Thompson, who was a chemistry teacher at the time, bought a better camera, and set out to learn how to take photographs. Following the advice of more experienced photographers, each time he tripped the shutter he noted his camera’s shutter speed, the aperture of its lens, and the other details of the exposure. “The first 75 rolls, I did that,” he says. The experience helped him to develop his own style of landscape and seascape photography, one which focuses first upon the light in a scene, then upon the subjects within it. “It’s light that triggers what I want to shoot, and then I look for those things that work with that kind

of light,” he says. Even rainy days can draw him out, camera in hand. “Those are some of my favorite days, because I go shoot waterfalls and streams and things,” he says. “The rocks are wet, they polarize, they darken, the lighting is even, and you get wonderful images.” Thompson began showing and selling his works around 1980. He has also taught photography classes for a local continuing education program, and taken budding photographers as far away as Hawaii on photography tours. Phyllis, his wife, picked up a camera while on tour with him in 1998, and hasn’t stopped taking photos since. The two often go out together to the same sites to shoot, though not the same photographs. While Thompson usually shoots nature scenes devoid of people, she January / February 2011 - 55 PLUS

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may include them in her photos, and generally tends to focus more tightly upon her subjects than her husband. “The [other] partners, and any guests that come in, they can usually look at my work, and tell it’s mine,” Phyllis says. Phyllis, a 70-year-old retired special education teacher, is another of Image City’s founding partners. She and her husband were drawn to the idea of creating Image City back in 2004. “We wanted a place that we could show our work on a regular basis that was classy,” Thompson says. The couple began meeting with like-minded photographers and others late in that year, and the gallery opened on University Avenue in September of 2005. It holds 13 shows a year. “What we’re providing is the exhibition experience for people— the jurying, the sequencing of the images, the hanging, the reception, and the opportunity to rub elbows and exchange ideas with other photographers,” Thompson says. The gallery accepts works from local and out-of-town photographers for its shows.

Phyllis Thompson, a 70-year-old retired special education teacher, is another of Image City’s founding partners. She and her husband were drawn to the idea of creating Image City back in 2004. “We wanted a place that we could show our work on a regular basis that was classy,”

Sheridan Vincent

While the Thompsons have continued capturing images by more traditional means down through the years, Sheridan Vincent went high-

Gary Thompson, president of Image City and one of its founding partners, was drawn to photography back in 1977. 12

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tech about 10 years ago, drawn to the allure of digital photography. “I realized that you could start to do things to get better pictures than you could before,” the Image City partner says. Though he enjoys taking pictures with his digital camera, the 60-year-old seems just as drawn to processing the images in his computer. “I also enjoy the manipulation,” he says. That ability to manipulate images allows him to put together photos that wouldn’t see the light of day otherwise. For example, on one summer afternoon, Vincent headed to Rochester ’s Highland Park to photograph the pansy bed. “I had this beautiful Sunday afternoon, with blue sky and fluffy clouds, but there were no lilacs—the lilacs had not come out yet,” Vincent says. He photographed the bed, and then returned a week later when the lilacs were in bloom. Unfortunately, the area was crowded, and a temporary walking path had been placed leading up to the bed. Vincent photographed the bed again, and got onto his

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SheridanVincent, 60, says he enjoys new digital cameras and the manipulation of the photos he is able to do in his computer. computer. “I took the image from the week before and cloned in the lilacs a week later,” he explained. “Highland without the lilacs—it wouldn’t have been the right shot.” Digital imaging, and Vincent’s own skills with camera and computer, also allows him to “stitch” together images of a scene, creating wide panoramic images of it. Vincent’s shot of Rochester ’s High Falls District, taken as dark approached on a winter’s day, seems almost magical. He’s sold a number of his works, and received compliments for them. Vincent has also put his computer skills to work for Image City, as well. The Kodak retiree manages the gallery’s website, and is its treasurer and bookkeeper.

him chicken,” he says. “Wherever the chicken went, the cat went, and where the cat went, I went with the camera.” The resulting photos of a jet-black

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cat posed against the white and blue backdrops of the seaside village have an almost iconic quality. Neuberger, another founding partner of Image City, has a long history in photography. He took his first picture while a 16-year-old living with his family in a New York City apartment. “Right outside my window was a fire escape,” he says. He framed the fire escape against a backdrop of clouds, and tripped the shutter. “I called it, “Stairway to the Skies.” He continued taking pictures as he pursued a career as a research chemist studying film developing. “My knowledge of chemistry somewhat helped my aesthetic part of photography, but the photography helped make my job more interesting,” the Kodak retiree says. Generally, he has focused his cameras on sharply defined objects, or architectural subjects. “I look mostly for patterns,” he says. “I did a whole series of skyscrapers, and lampposts.” A trip to Prague yielded striking photos of that city’s red clay tile roofs. Even Neuberger ’s photographs of

Dan Neuberger

Some who have visited Image City may think of a dark, sinuous tail when Dan Neuberger comes to mind. The 81-year-old was vacationing with a friend on the Greek island of Santorini in 2007, when a cat appeared to them. “ T h e re w a s t h i s b l a c k c a t wandering around, and she gave

Dan Neuberger, 81, took his first picture while a 16-year-old living with his family in a New York City apartment. January / February 2011 - 55 PLUS

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George Wallace, 71, still keeps the very first Kodak Brownie he had when he started photographing. dancers seem to reflect the geometric relationships amongst their arms, trunks and legs. Neuberger ’s photos have won several awards, and appeared in galleries as far away as New York City. Right now, he’s on Image City’s curatorial committee. “We seek out exhibitors, look at portfolios, comment on portfolios, choose what to exhibit, and choose the sequencing of photos being hung,” he says.

George Wallace

Though George Wallace still has the Kodak Brownie box camera with which he took his first pictures, he wasn’t really drawn to photography until much later on in life. “When I got married, I had small kids,” the 71-year-old says. “I thought I’d like to be capturing those moments.” His work in the publishing industry presented other opportunities for using a camera, as well. “For 10 months, (of the year) I spent 90 percent of the time on the 14

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road traveling around the world,” he explained. “I’d go off to give conferences and things, and in my off time, I’d shoot stuff.” A trip to Japan resulted in a series of nighttime photos, and one to Australia gave him the chance to take about 200 shots of the Sydney Opera House. “Without realizing it, while I was doing that, I was probably honing my skills,” he says. He also took courses in photography, adding to those skills. Wallace retired from publishing after 17 years. A few years ago, at the suggestion of his wife, he submitted a group of photos of for one of Image City’s shows. “To my astonishment, they accepted half of them,” he says. Two years ago, Wallace joined the gallery as a partner. The experience has helped him grow as a photographer. “I think I’ve gotten a great deal better in the last two years, simply

by virtue of being with a lot of photographers, seeing what they do, listening to discussions, and being part of discussions,” he says. Asked what draws his eye to a scene, Wallace points out the qualities of “Room with a View,” one of the photos he submitted for that first Image City show. Taken at Farmhouse Casa Rustica, a house in the Tuscan hills where he and his wife stayed while vacationing, the shot shows his wife’s legs posed on a bed, the bed’s headboard, which bore a foreboding religious image, and a view of the Tuscan hills. “They kind of play off each other, and with a little bit of humor,” he says. Wallace’s works have been shown and sold around the Rochester region. He serves on Image City’s curatorial committee, mans the desk when the gallery is open, and helps with administrative tasks. He is also a member and past president of Camera Rochester, a local camera club. Teaching, chemistry, publishing— Image City’s partners seem to come in all the colors of the rainbow, but that may be the strength of the group. “They all bring something to the table,” Gary says. “It really is a wonderful team.” His wife puts it a bit differently. “It really is a family situation.”

If You Go Image City Photography Gallery Address: 722 University Ave. Rochester, NY 14607 Phone: (585) 271-2540 Open Wed-Sat 11a.m.-7 p.m.; Sun Noon–4 p.m.

55+

trends

Frugal Living: For Most, the ‘In’ Thing to Do By Margaret McCormick and Amy Cavalier

re you thinking of retirement? Or wondering if you’ll need to work, and scrimp and save for the rest of your life, as a result of lower or lost wages, the sagging economy and “Great Recession?” Words like frugal, pennypincher, tightwad and cheapskate used to be considered insulting. Now it’s smart, maybe even hip, to quote Benjamin Franklin’s wise words: “A penny saved is a penny earned.’’ You wouldn’t be alone in doing so. A Gallup poll released earlier this year found that 62 percent of Americans would rather save money than spend it, up from 48 percent a decade ago. Here are some ways to save money and get good bang for your hard-earned bucks.

Home Are you in good health, with an extra room or extra space in your house? To reduce expenses and gain companionship, consider renting a room to someone else in your age range. If you don’t know the person you are renting to, you will need to take precautions such as background check, references, security deposit,

etc. Check with your municipality and consult a lawyer. AARP Bulletin reports that home-sharing arrangements are on the rise, including family members rooming together or groups of people organizing in so-called intentional communities. A Bulletin survey found that 32 percent of people over age 50 are living with their parents, their adult children or both. Another 15 percent say it’s “likely” that they’ll begin living with parents or children in the next year. But that’s not an option for everybody. Sandra Chaite-Batty, director of housing for Fairport Baptist Homes, says there are a wide variety of living options for seniors of all incomes on and off their campus, from patio homes and townhouse apartments to studios, one-bedroom apartments, and even a cooperative living arrangement where residents have a private bedroom, but share bathrooms and common living areas. Residents have access to many services, yard, snow and 24-hour emergency maintenance, some transportation, and meals if they want to pay a little extra. There are several housing options, some of which can be priced according to income, according to Chaite-Batty.

For more information on Fairport Baptist Homes call (585) 377-6560, or visit www. fairportbaptisthomes.org.

Clothing Buy summer clothes now at end-of-season sales as retailers focus their attention on fall and winter and you can save a bundle of money. Shopping at secondhand/thrift stores and consignment shops can also trim hundreds of dollars from your annual clothing tab. Prices tend to be higher at consignment shops but the clothing and accessories are of higher quality, too. The number of resale shops has grown during the Great Recession—7 percent in the last year alone, according to the National Association of Resale and Thrift January / February 2011 - 55 PLUS

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trends

Shops. You will find consignment shops from one side of Monroe County to the other. To the east, there’s Second Time Around on West Main Street in Webster, and to the west, there’s Next to New on Union Street in Spencerport. Find a location nearest you. While you’re there, browse the racks for considerable savings on well-known labels as Chicos, J.Jill, Talbots, Ann Taylor, BCBG, Flax and others. For a comprehensive list of consignment shops in Monroe County, visit www.rochesterconsign. com/services.html. Want to make some money and gain space in your closets? Purge your closets of clothes you no longer wear and sell gently worn, well-cared-for pieces at a consignment shop. Due to space limitations and shopper preferences, shops are selective about what they take in. Most shops charge an administration fee, and the consignor receives a percentage of the selling price. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell clothing, don’t forget the online marketplace. Check out the previously worn fashions at sites like eBay and Craigslist and put some of your own castoffs up for sale. Or just browse. Window-

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shopping doesn’t cost a cent.

Food Everyone knows to buy in bulk, to stock up on chicken when it’s 99 cents a pound and stash it in the freezer. For good buys and good health, eat seasonal and local and become a fixture at your farmers’ market. In season, there are dozens of markets in Central New York. Know when your favorite fruits and vegetables come into season and buy at the height of the season. When every vendor has blueberries, bell peppers and sweet corn, there are deals to be had. Buy big (three dozen ears of corn, for instance) and ask for a discount. Shop at the end of the day, when vendors might reduce prices so they don’t have to cart their goods home.

We’ve got the No. 1 market in the nation right in our back yard. Voted No. 1 market in its class by the American Farmland Trust this year, the Rochester Public Market is open year round from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. It’s located at 280 Union St. Call 4286907 for information. Support a local farmer and save on produce by buying a CSA (community supported agriculture) share. Maxwell Creek Farm Share is a community-supported agriculture farm in Sodus. In return for an annual membership fee to cover the production costs of the farm, CSA members receive a weekly share of 30 main harvest crops, seasonal fruit/berries and culinary herbs during the growing season. A share this year cost $525 for 13 weeks, which is estimated to feed two people. For $100 less you can pick

trends

55+ it up at a pre-approved location, and if you’re willing to drive the 30 miles to Sodus and pick it up each week, a season of produce will cost you $350. A share for four is even cheaper, so split the cost with your family or a neighbor. It’s too late for a Maxwell Creek share this year, but not too early to think about next year. For more information, go to www. maxwellcreekfarmshare.com. For more information on other community/CSA farms in Central New York, go to www.localharvest. org.

Entertainment Add up the money you spend on books, magazines, music, movies and cable TV and chances are it adds up to a lot. You’ll be richer immediately if you pull the plug on your cable, which can cost $1,000 a year or more. You’ll miss it at first, but there are alternatives. How about dinner at home— prepared from scratch, by you—and a movie from the library? The Monroe County Library System has dozens of branches and thousands of titles including recent movie releases and current TV fare like “Dexter” and “Mad Men.” The waiting list and wait time can be long, so it could pay to check out what’s available by going on its online catalog at www3.libraryweb. org, and if you see something you really want, call your local branch. They can put the item on hold for you when it becomes available or order it from a different branch for a small 50-cent fee. They’ll call you when it’s in. You will find great meal deals in your mailbox in the Val-Pak and Super Saver which gets mailed to most households in Monroe County. You can also go online and check out those coupons, or sign up for Groupon.com or Restaurant.com for special deals on local restaurants and more.

Travel Even people on a mission to save money need a change of scenery on occasion. A number of senior centers in Rochester’s suburbs offer day trips and overnight excursions for residents and the general public. Check out your area’s recreation brochure and you’ll probably notice a special section designated to trips and activities aimed specifically toward adults 50 and over. Penfield Recreation Department, for example, offers trips to Geva Theatre in Rochester, to nearby landmarks, and even casinos, which you can visit with all that money you’re saving. The best deal of all: You get to meet new people and leave the driving to someone else. For more information, go to www. manliusseniors.org. If you’re planning a trip and you’re a member of the AARP, check out the AARP Travel Center (www. expedia-aarp.com; 800-675-4318) for information on domestic and international packages, cruises, flights, hotels and more. Other travel savings suggestions from AARP: n Travel by train: Older train riders get discounts in the U.S. and Canada. Amtrak (www.amtrak. com) cuts 15 percent off most fares for riders 62 or older; Rail Canada (www.trainweb.com/travel/canada. html) offers 10 percent off the full adult fare for travelers over 60. n Drive for free: Sign up at www.autodriveaway.com for cars that need to be relocated. The only fee is a $350 refundable deposit, and the first tank of gas is free. Also: Ask rental car companies about one-way deals to relocate their vehicles. n Meet and greet: Global Greeter Network offers free sightseeing excursions in select cities, hosted by volunteers with insider knowledge and information to share. Participating cities include New York City, Chicago, Houston and Toronto. For information, go to www.globalgreeternetwork.info

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55+

activities

Mind, Body Restoration By Deborah Graf

Yoga a time-tested method to improve physical, mental health

A mom-and-daughter team: Carly (daughter), left, and Cyndi Weis, own Breathe Yoga in Pittsford. The business has seen a greater number of people who are 55 years of age and older. 18

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oga can tone your body, calm your nerves and improve your focus. It is a natural way to keep active and the practice of yoga can be transformative for the body and mind. Physicians are finding more health benefits of yoga, especially for those approaching their golden years or are already there. The concept is about wellness for the whole body, and even the mind. Research shows that yoga has a positive impact on all of the systems in the body and reduces stress. Studies conducted at Harvard Medical School show that yoga can greatly improve many chronic conditions. Major hospitals now offer yoga as a form of treatment. Yoga is a comprehensive, whole body way to be fit. It has been said to slow, or even reverse, the aging process. The proof is in its longevity. It is a fitness practice that has survived more than 4,000 years, and according to the IDEA Health and Fitness Association, has experienced the most growth than any other fitness program in the last several years. Enjoyed by millions of people, and readily accessible throughout the world, yoga provides many benefits for seniors including increased strength and muscle tone, enhanced lung capacity, and improved balance. It also counteracts stress, aids sleep, and increases energy.

55+ A regular practice aids concentration and helps sharpen the mind. “When you start to do yoga, you just feel better,” says Carrie Herscovici of Prana Yoga in Fairport. “Joint pain goes away, headaches go away. Yoga helps clear your mind. There is never a right time to start yoga; you can start anytime at any age. The benefits are tremendous.” More than stretching — Many people think yoga is just stretching, but it’s really a way to create strength and flexibility in the body through doing poses, each of which has specific physical benefits. The poses not only exercise the body but they increase mobility and range of motion. “It’s about functional flexibility,” says Carly Weis of Breathe Yoga in Pittsford. “You create enough flexibility in the muscles so you can reach something on the floor or up from a high cupboard, or if you fall on the ice you may have a little more elasticity so you won’t tear something.” One of the most common misconceptions about yoga is that in order to do it you have to be fit and flexible. This is just not the case. Herscovici says yoga is accessible to everyone. “My mother is 68 and she can

activities

Photos show from a yoga class at Prana Yoga in Fairport. Instructor Carrie Herscovici is standing on the left. do yoga,” she says. “If you are somebody who has never done exercise before you can take a gentle class, just moving your body and breathing. The most important thing is starting to develop healthy habits.” Yoga classes are becoming increasingly available to seniors. Attending a class will help you get the most out of yoga and help avoid injury. There are varying types of yoga classes depending on physical

ability. But all will provide the benefits of yoga if you work within your personal range. Yoga should feel safe, natural and provide pleasure when you are doing it. “I was worried that I might not be able to do it,” says Rod Sharp of Henrietta. “But when they said anybody was welcome and they would help me with the poses, I really felt at ease.” Restorative classes focus on breathing, stretching, healing, and meditation. Gentle and beginner’s classes go more slowly and break down the movements. There are classes that use props such as blocks, straps, and chairs, and there are more intense classes that utilize a heated room and more powerful poses to increase sweat and essentially “clean out” toxins from the body. There are even therapeutic and private classes to help with specific issues. To each his own — Weis says it is hard to stereotype who prefers which style of class. Everybody is different. “Don’t assume anyone over 50 wouldn’t want a power class, or anyone 20 wouldn’t want a restorative class,” she says. She January / February 2011 - 55 PLUS

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55 PLUS - January / February 2011

activities “My cardiologist suggested I try yoga after my heart surgery. It is actually fun and I do it a few times a week. It’s a nice addition to my life.”

a practice that encourages being is based on open to yoga and individuality and willing to try our unique bodies, different styles to so we can just let see what best fits go and enjoy the individual needs. experience. Herscovici “The over wants people 50 crowd always to put aside any asks questions fears about trying about postures something new. and form, and “Yoga is good doing the poses for your body and appropriately to your mind, and just Anne Levine of Webster. meet their needs,” like when you first says Weis. “I try anything you appreciate this group. It’s refreshing may not be sure about it. You may and inspiring to see people who have to give it a few times, find the right class, teacher and the right fit,” are so comfortable doing what they want to do and how they want to do she said. Yoga is not only beneficial it.” physically, but socially as well. Yoga can be an extraordinary It provides a supportive resource. It improves the quality community, especially for seniors of everyday life and increases who may feel somewhat isolated. vitality. It decreases stress and Those who have participated aids numerous medical conditions in classes are quick to welcome including lowering blood pressure, newcomers to the group. Weis improving arthritis, asthma, says, “The older crowd talks, plans arteriosclerosis and obesity. Before lunches, and likes having yoga as trying yoga, be sure to ask your part of their social routine. They doctor what is appropriate and how look forward to classes where they it can specifically help you. can make friends.” “My cardiologist suggested I Yoga’s social aspect also try yoga after my heart surgery,” includes freedom to enjoy who says Anne Levine of Webster. “It is participants really are, with less actually fun and I do it a few times a inhibition or worry about what week. It’s a nice addition to my life.” people will think. While an older Herscovici is enthusiastic about body may have some physical people incorporating yoga into their limitations, taking our bodies into lives. “When you try yoga it speaks consideration and feeling more for itself and you just feel good. And comfortable with who we are comes at the end of the day who doesn’t naturally with age. want to feel good?” she asked. Yoga is not competitive; it is

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55+

socializing

Members of The Dolly Dimples Queen chapter of Red Hat Society. The group was founded in 2004 and members meet at different location in the Rochester area.

Royalty in Red Red Hat Society beneficial resource for ladies in Rochester area

By Mike Costanza

adies, want to meet a queen, or become a princess? Head down to a local chapter of the Red Hat Society, where a title requires only a desire for genteel fun. “I like to do little adventures,” says Nancy Dell, who goes by the title of “Queen Dolly Dimples” at Red Hat functions. “This is a way to have other people do adventures with me.” Those colorful titles are just one manifestation of the sense of fun that permeates red hat chapters. Members aged 50 or older dress up for chapter events in purple finery topped by the red chapeaus that gave the society its name, while younger members don lavender outfits and pink hats.

The explosion of color gives you the sense of entering a collection of lilacs and roses, all lighted by the smiles of members who have come together to enjoy each other’s company. Since the late 1990s, The Red Hat Society has given older women the chance to come together purely for the purpose of enjoying themselves. According to the society’s website, Sue Ellen Cooper, its founder, discovered the red hat that inspired its creation in a thrift shop. Later on, Cooper was looking for an original birthday gift for a female friend in her 50s, and took inspiration from the poem “Warning,” by Jenny Joseph. The poem, which begins with “When I am an old woman, I shall wear

purple, with a red hat that doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me,” is a call to older women to do those things they denied themselves when younger. Cooper gave her friend a red hat of her own, as a suggestion to grow old playfully, and on her own terms. Concept embraced — Women were drawn to those red hats and the message they symbolized, and Cooper formed the first Red Hat chapter in 1998. Since then, the Fullerton, Calif.-based organization has grown to over 47,000 chapters worldwide. Their members, who call each other “sisters,” are drawn together by the society’s emphasis on the positive aspects of life, the importance of friendship and sisterhood, and the January / February 2011 - 55 PLUS

55+

socializing a nickname her mother had for her, “Dolly Dimples.” Cooper goes by the title “Exalted Queen Mother.” Susanne Corwin’s red hat title is more of a mouthful. “Queen Darla of New York of the Hedy Lamar Red Hats of Rochester New York,” says the founder of the Hedy Lamar Red Hats. The 65-yearold married grandmother set out to found the chapter about seven years ago after retiring as a Kodak information systems manager. “I had several friends that lived alone, and I wanted them to get to know each other,” the Pittsford resident says. The group grew quickly to encompass friends of those friends, until nine women had donned red hats. “My first red hat had a big brim, and purple feathers,” says Corwin with a touch of pride. Since then, the Hedy Lamar chapter has grown to about two dozen women, though its founder continues to shoulder much of the work of running it. Red Hat chapters meet monthly, but beyond that Hedy Lamar operates in a fairly easygoing manner. “We pass around a calendar at the meeting, and people sign up for what months they’d like to be (event) planners,” Corwin says. “Usually, two or three sisters go together and

value of play, according to the society’s website. That playfulness comes out in many ways. The head of each chapter— who is usually its founder—bears the title of “Queen.” Dell founded the Dolly Dimples Queens chapter of the Red Hats in 2004, after retiring from a local factory. “I wanted to have fun,” the 71year-old Greece resident says. “I’m a widow, and I thought it would be a nice way to meet other women and meet other people.” Each red hatter can take a title of her own choosing upon joining the society. Dell’s title comes from

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Members of The Dolly Dimples Queen chapter of Red Hat Society in one of their many functions. Nancy Dell, the group’s founder, wear orange (top photo).

do that.” Living the good life — Its members have gathered at the Esperanza Mansion in the heart of the Finger Lakes wine country, at Fairport’s Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, and at other colorful locations to share lunch and the company of their Red Hat sisters. Dell spreads some of the work of running the Dolly Dimples Queens around to the chapter’s other officers, amongst them Alice Brookins, her longtime friend and the chapter ’s vice queen. Brookins, who bears the title of “Alice of the Palace,” has been a member of the chapter since it was formed. “All of our other groups are mostly involved with helping others,” the 71-year-old says. “We decided that we needed one that helped ourselves.” The Dolly Dimples Queens meet at a variety of colorful locations around the Rochester region. Its 12 members might enjoy a luncheon cruise on the Erie Canal one month, and gather at a place like the Glen Iris Inn in beautiful Letchworth State Park the next month. And, they always dress for the occasion. “We have fancy hats for fancy occasions,” Dell says. The Dolly Dimples particularly enjoy that elegant English tradition, the high tea. “You have tea pots with different kinds of teas,” Dell says. “You stop in the middle of the day, and you have your scones and cucumber sandwiches.” They’ve also attended a musical in Syracuse, watched the Rockettes high-kick in Buffalo, and even headed out to a recent Red Hat convention in New York’s Catskill Mountains. “We had pajama parties, where we went to breakfast in our pajamas,” Dell says. Though she formed the Dolly Dimples Queens for social purposes, Dell says that she and her Red Hat sisters have created the kinds of bonds that transcend good times. “We’ve developed a tight-knit friendship,” she says. “When somebody’s sick, we take them food. Whatever they need, we’re there for them.” To learn more about the Red Hat Society, or find a chapter, go to www. redhatsociety.com.

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Social Security

Q&A

Q: How much of a difference will it make if I defer retirement benefits until age 70? A: It can be significant. Let’s say your full retirement age is 66 and your monthly benefit starting at that age is $1,000. If you choose to defer receiving benefits until age 70, you would increase your monthly benefit amount to $1,320. That’s almost an extra $4,000 each year for the rest of your life. This increase is from delayed retirement credits you get for your decision to postpone receiving benefits past your full retirement age. The benefit amount at age 70, in this example is 32 percent more than you would receive per month if you chose to start getting benefits at full retirement age. And, this higher benefit would continue for as long as you live. You can estimate your future benefits at different ages using our Retirement Estimator at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator. Q: I don’t have direct deposit yet so I still get a check in the mail. What do I do if I did not receive my Social Security check? A: If you still are receiving checks by mail, please wait until three days after the date you normally receive your payment before calling. If you still have not received your payment by then, contact us at 1-800-772-1213. Please consider direct deposit for future payments because you will never have to worry about late or missing payments. Learn more at www. socialsecurity.gov/deposit. Q: Can my children receive dependent’s benefits because I am on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) A: No. SSI benefits are based on the needs of the individual and are paid only to the qualifying person. You can learn more about SSI by reading the online publication, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) at www.socialsecurity.gov/ pubs/11000.html. 24

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55+

volunteering

A Way for a Rewarding Retirement Retirees find rewards in volunteer work in Rochester area By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

ow that the children have grown and you’re retired or semi-retired, you may be wondering what to do with your free time. Today’s retirees aren’t content to sit idle, yet don’t want a full-time, post-career job, either. Numerous studies can vouch for the physical and mental benefits of keeping socially active during retirement. Volunteering represents a great way to keep busy and give back to the community. If you feel like you’re drifting away from former workplace friends, volunteering can keep you socially fulfilled, too. Phil Shippers, director of Visiting Nurse Service Meals on Wheels that serves Monroe County, related that many seniors who volunteer to deliver meals develop friendships with the recipients. “It’s extremely rewarding in that they’re not only providing the basic necessity of a meal, but eliminating the isolation many of our homebound seniors experience,” he said. “They are enabling seniors to stay in their homes and that’s exactly where they want to be.” The majority of the local 200 Meals on Wheels volunteers are seniors themselves. With all the terrific ways to volunteer, it can be overwhelming to choose a few. Here’s how you

can find just the right way to give of your time. What causes mean a lot to you? Homelessness, animal welfare, health, religious faith, education, politics… the list could go on and on of all the worthy causes whose

organizations’ administration would happily welcome your help. Their directors value the experience you’ve gained over the course of your career and years of childrearing. The county’s department of aging — in Monroe, Ontario, Genesee and Wayne counties — will be able to point you in the right direction for senior volunteering programs, as will the administrators at your church, or library, both internally and other opportunities available in the community. Organizations such as Senior Service Corps Association (www. seniorcorps.org) can help you discover even more ways to help. Today’s charitable organizations recruit volunteers for far more than making fundraiser phone calls or stuffing envelopes. With government cutbacks, many have shrunken their paid staff to a bare minimum and depend upon volunteers for more and more to

Webster resident and volunteer Miriam Kennelly (left) delivers a meal to Webster resident Myrtle Auger for Visiting Nurse Service Meals on Wheels. Photo courtesy of Visiting Nurse Service Meals on Wheels. January / February 2011 - 55 PLUS

Nearly Half of All Elderly Americans Will Experience Poverty

early half of all Americans between the ages of 60 and 90 will encounter at least one year of poverty or near poverty, says a recent study by Mark R. Rank, a professor of social work at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. “Of course, this risk is not evenly distributed across the population,” Rank says. “One of the most drastic economic divides is race.” Rank found that although 32.7 percent of white older Americans will experience at least one year below the official poverty line, the corresponding percentage for black older Americans was double that at 64.6 percent. In addition, for unmarried older Americans, the percentage experiencing poverty was 51.2 percent compared with 24.9 percent for married older Americans. Likewise, for those with fewer than 12 years of education, the percentage experiencing poverty was 48.4 percent compared with 20.5 percent for those with 12 or more years of education. Rank’s article, “A Life Course Approach to Understanding Poverty Among Older American Adults,” is published in a recent issue of “Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services.” The study also looks at the likelihood of asset poverty and elderly Americans. “Fifty-eight percent of those between the ages of 60 and 84 will at some point fail to have enough liquid assets to allow them to weather an unanticipated expense or downturn in income,”

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he says. As in the case of income poverty, there is a sharp dividing line in experiencing asset poverty by race. Rank says that there are three reasons to expect that greater numbers of older Americans will face periods of impoverishment across the life course: • Americans are living longer. • The influx of Americans entering their senior years, coupled with a declining percentage of workers in the prime earning years, will put increasing pressure upon the benefits and sustainability of the Social Security and Medicare programs as well as other social safety nets programs directed at the elderly. • Economic trends show that Americans have not been accumulating adequate savings for retirement. He says that legislators should consider policies that encourage greater levels of savings among the working-age population, facilitating cooperative living arrangements among the elderly, establishing fair terms with respect to reverse mortgage programs, and strengthening the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income programs. “Practitioners working with the elderly and their families should be aware of the life course risk for poverty during the senior years in order to address the overall well-being of their elderly clients,” Rank says. “Given the current demographic and economic trends in America, this threat is quite likely to remain in the years ahead.”

volunteering complete all kinds of skilled and professional work. “Many baby boomers want to go in and do a project from beginning to end and leave, not go stock the shelves at the food pantry each week, although that is needed, too,” said Kathleen Burns, impact programming specialist for Nan Hammes, head of Senior Service Corps Association, which maintains offices in Rochester, Syracuse, and other locations throughout New York. Not sure of how you can contribute? Think about the talents you possess and what you’ve done before. For example, if you have retired from an accounting career, you may enjoy keeping the books for a nonprofit. Or if you worked in sales, perhaps you would enjoy a people-oriented position such as greeting visitors. As you contact the nonprofits, let them know what experience you have so they can help you match up with the most suitable position. If your new volunteering position takes up too much or too little of your time, speak up. Shippers said that volunteers can help out as little or frequently as they would like. You should also not feel bashful about letting the administration know if you would like to change positions within the organization. After 40 years of balancing the company’s books, maybe you’ll discover you’ll like a volunteer position that allows you to work with your hands instead. In some cases, such as with Meals on Wheels, older volunteers work out better than younger ones who are too busy with work and other obligations to consistently volunteer. And the benefits to you are manifold also. “Our volunteers have a sense of purpose, achievement and accomplishment,” Shippers said.

my turn By Bruce Frassinelli

A Super Hero Like No Other ‘The Shadow’ ‘The Shadow’ was once the most popular super hero in the land: strange, sinister, dressed in black Who knows what evil Luuurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows. Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh!

very Sunday afternoon as a kid, I sprawled on the living room floor in front of our massive Atwater-Kent radio to listen to the latest installment of “The Shadow.” The Shadow was a different kind of super hero — strange, sinister, dressed in black. Lamont Cranston, well-known man-about-town, had the ability to cloud men’s minds so they could not see him, a technique he learned in the Orient. Accompanying him on his many feats of derring-do was his lovely companion, Margo Lane. As kids, we would have Shadowimitation contests. We’d cup our hands and in our best Shadow voice try to imitate the great opening and closing signatures which announced the beginning and end of each show. I still do a pretty mean Shadow and am always happy to demonstrate it upon request. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to meet the person who breathed life into my hero, but nearly 35 years ago, I met and interviewed Walter B. Gibson, alias Maxwell Grant, creator of The Shadow. Gibson, who died in 1985 at the age of 88, was a Colgate University graduate who lived in Eddyville, near Kingston in the Albany area. When I met him at the home of a mutual friend, he was sipping a Manhattan on the rocks and about to spear a broiled scallop. A big but unassuming bear of a man, Gibson spoke lovingly of his creation. “It was 1931,” Gibson

recalled. “I was working for a newspaper and had been doing some articles on magic — my first love. I was interested in selling Street and Smith some magic articles.” Street and Smith was the nation’s biggest publisher of pulps, the popular 10- and 20-cent magazines, which were avidly consumed by the American public as a form of escapism from the crushing economic hard times of the day. “It was a case of being in the right place at the right time,” Gibson said. “Street and Smith had been sponsoring a radio program every Thursday in which the featured story that would appear in the ‘Detective Story’ magazine the next day Walter Gibson, creator of “The Shadow,” would be dramatized. They was so prolific a writer that the Corona called the announcer on the Typewriter Co. used this ad in 1933 program `The Shadow,’ just showing Gibson as he prepared his latest sort of a narrator,” Gibson Shadow episode explained. But the radio program didn’t produce any big results, so Street to understand,” Gibson said, “this and Smith dropped it. The company was an experiment. Street and Smith did find out, however, that there was didn’t want to spend a lot of money. some interest in this character called They might have paid some of the “The Shadow,” so they decided to well-known writers about $1,000 have someone write stories around a story, but for this one they were this concept. paying only about half, so some of the “That’s just about the time I big names weren’t interested.” walked in the door,” Gibson said. The first issue of “The Shadow” They asked him if he had any ideas. sold out. (By the way, Shadow comic “I told them I had this idea about this book No. 1 in good condition is one shadowy figure who was schooled in of the most valuable collectible comic magic and illusions,” Gibson said. books in the world). Shadow No. 2 Gibson was told to create one; if was snapped up so quickly that Street it went over, Street and Smith would and Smith officials decided to publish commission him to do three more. the magazine monthly, then twice-aWhy would Gibson, a relative month. unknown, be chosen for such an Gibson said his pen name — important assignment? “You’ve got Maxwell Grant — was chosen from January / February 2011 - 55 PLUS

‘The Shadow’Continued an amalgam of magic dealers who had advertised in the books he had purchased. He developed the name from “Maxwell Holden” and “U.F. Grant.” Gibson said he attributes the Shadow’s success to a couple of things. The books were a dime, and many of the other pulps were 20 cents. During the Depression, that made a big difference. “But there was another reason, too,” Gibson said. “We gave the readers what they wanted. We were always a step ahead of them. Just when they thought they had figured out who the bad guy was, we’d pull the rug out from under them. They loved this.” Gibson explained that the public had always come to associate the dark, sinister, lurking, shadowy character as someone evil, the bad guy. Now, all of a sudden, here comes this strange hero all decked out in black, and he turns out to be a crime-busting good guy. “That really captured the people’s imagination,” Gibson said. Although Brett Morrison received wide acclaim as the voice of the Shadow, Gibson hardly knew him. “I was busy cranking out about 120,000 words a month, so I didn’t have much time for anything else,” Gibson said. A compulsive writer, Gibson estimates that, at his peak, he wrote 1,680,000 words a year. Unlike Morrison, Gibson was hardly a household name. He couldn’t even disclose his real name for a number of years. When the nostalgia craze hit during the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Gibson became much better known than when he was actively writing Shadow episodes. The Shadow magazines and radio programs have been revived from time to time. New generations are discovering the Shadow, and while there is not the fervent popularity that existed in its original glory days, it is an indication that there is an impressive group of fans who are discovering the Shadow for the first time. The seed of crime Bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay. The Shadow knows. Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh. 28

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Older Adults Struggle in Job Search

hile many older workers may need—and want to have—jobs, their plans may not be realized. According to a sobering new study, older job seekers often face daunting challenges in finding employment compared to younger workers. The “New Unemployables” study — conducted by Boston College’s Sloan Center on Aging & Work and the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University — reveals that, among job seekers unemployed during the recent recession, adults aged 55-plus are finding it increasingly difficult to land a job and are more likely to remain out of work longer than younger job seekers. The findings discussed in the study are based on a national random sample of over 900 unemployed Americans surveyed in August of 2009 and follow-up interviews in March of 2010 conducted by the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development. The study reveals that the vast majority (84 percent) of older workers who were unemployed in August 2009 were still unemployed in March 2010. More than two thirds of older job seekers (67 percent) included in the survey reported looking for work longer than a year. As a result of their prolonged bouts of unemployment, many older job seekers have altered their retirement plans and dipped into their savings to make ends meet. “Most older workers feel they cannot afford to consider retirement,” says Carl Van Horn, Director of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development and coauthor of the “New Unemployables” study. “In the short term, they need access to more intensive job search assistance, training, and education to help ensure their skills fit the needs of today’s economy. In the

longer term, older workers hope that more employers will reassess their hiring and retention policies and do more to welcome and accommodate this growing segment of the workforce.” Both older and younger job seekers reported trying a range of strategies to reconnect to the labor market. Young people appear to be doing more to enhance their workplace skills and create job search networks, however. Just 12 percent of the older workers surveyed had taken new education or training courses in the past year, for example, compared to 20 percent of younger job seekers. At the same time, only 13 percent of older job seekers had used online social networking sites, compared to 28 percent of younger job seekers. Of those who use the Internet, older seekers tended to use online bulletin boards (56 percent) while younger seekers most frequently opted to use Facebook (51 percent). Interestingly, those aged 55 and over seem to recognize that their strategies are not effective. Overall, 64 percent of older job seekers rated the job search tools they were using as not helpful, compared to less than half (49 percent) of younger job seekers. The study also explores the economic, social and emotional impacts experienced by people who lost jobs during the recession. Analyses indicate that older survey respondents believe that age discrimination has also played a major role in their inability to find a new job. In addition, among respondents aged 55-plus, feeling stressed was the primary reaction to being without a job (58 percent), followed by feeling depressed (39 percent) and anxious (38 percent). Jacquelyn James, research director of the Sloan Center on Aging & Work, says: “Being summarily dismissed from the workforce can really be damaging to the self esteem of older adults— feelings of embarrassment can also make it difficult to reach out to networks and friends. And such stress and anxiety can further hinder an older job seeker’s prospects, or even their desire to actively search for a job.”

golden years

By Harold Miller E-mail: HMillerMOD@aol.com.

Snowbirds’ Sojourn The annual trek to the south a seasonal tradition

hen the leaves turn red and gold, when the geese migrate south, setting down briefly on Owasco Lake to feed and gaggle all night long outside our bedroom window, and when the boat is snuggled under its shrinkwrapped winter blanket, that’s when Janet and I abandon our deck chairs at lake’s edge and drive our automobile—laden to the roof with suitcases and junk—to paradise in Juno Beach, Fla. Thousands upon thousands of us snowbirds commute from our homes in the Northeast to our

homes or condos in the Southeast every autumn, only to return the next spring. It is a uniquely American ritual that may die off with the 55-plus generation because of the rising cost of owning and operating property in Florida and other southern vacation states. We enjoy the drive but other snowbirds prefer to ship their cars and fly back and forth. When you see the humongous car carriers unloading in front of the condos, then you know the “season” has begun. Likewise when you see the car carriers picking up their loads in the spring, you know that the

“season” is over. Instinctual need—The human animal has not evolved much beyond the geese, whales, sharks, or other mammals that are driven by unknown instincts to seek shelter from the snow and cold of winter. Our routes of travel include Route 81 through Pennsylvania and Virginia to Route 77 in North Carolina, Route 26 in South Carolina, and finally hooking up with 95 that travels through Georgia and Florida. The most beautiful segment of our journey is Virginia, in my humble opinion the most

January / February 2011 - 55 PLUS

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Snowbirds’ Sojourn The annual trek to the South a seasonal tradition beautiful of all the 48. The rolling hills and lush landscape of this Colonial state highlight the vibrant colors of autumn as well as the verdant greens of spring upon our return. Our route hugs the mighty Appalachian Mountain chain. Starting in Front Royal Virginia— opposite Washington D.C.—Skyline Drive melds into The Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway and then The Smokey Mountain Parkway and finally ends in The Great Smokey Mountain National Park in Tennessee. The parkways generally follow Route 81 and ride high over the mountain ridges. Occasionally, when weather permits and the mood is right, we will drive the Blue Ridge Parkway from Roanoke to Fancy Gap, Va., which intersects with Route 77 just south of the intersection with Route 81. This beautiful byway takes only a few minutes more and rewards with spectacular views of the Virginia landscape. Breath-taking view—Some of the scenic overviews overlook 100 miles to the horizon. The driver must be continuously vigilant for the occasional deer or bear that sometimes meander onto the highway from the nearby woods. Oh, and if a passenger is prone to motion sickness, forget the whole idea. Charlotte, N.C. is the halfway point of our journey and our stop-over point. It is a beautiful, modern, cosmopolitan city totally unlike typical laid-back southern cities like Savannah, Ga. This year, we discovered a new upscale Holiday Inn that, likewise, is totally unlike the typical mom and pop motel. This attractive highrise hotel features plush rooms with every modern ammenities

including a large flat-screen TV, an inside pool, and a steakhouse restaurant off the lobby. We would have expected to pay over $200 a night for such accommodations in a major metropolitan area, but instead, thanks to off-season rates and deep discounts as a result of the recession—our rate was $89. In spite of the enjoyable trip, we were happy to arrive at our southern home. Florida is worlds apart from Upstate New York but we welcome the change of venue. Several of our friends and neighbors in Auburn join us, some introduced to the area by us. Additionally, we have acquired many new friends from other places in the Northeast. Janet is even able to continue her weekly bridge games with the same Auburn group, unabated. Florida has undergone a sea of change since the crash of 2008. The explosive growth that produced condominiums on every square foot of beachfront and practically every street corner—or so it seems—has come to a complete halt. Many housing projects as well as commercial building projects were halted in mid construction. Many retirees on a fixed income have seen their investment income greatly reduced, while their mortgage is upside down. The resultant chaos has reduced property values by up to 50 percent in some cases. This situation is likely to continue for the foreseeable future and while it produces opportunities for some, it has created hardship for others. Meanwhile, Florida remains a haven for those of us who love to be outdoors practically every day of the winter, to swim, and play, and exercise. In my estimation, it can add 10 years to your life and make the golden years shine.

long-term care By Susan Suben

Home Care Does Make A Difference

ome is where the heart is, and where most individuals want to stay if they become ill and need

care. In looking at the recent claims history of long-term care insurance carriers, the highest percentage of claims is for home care, then assisted living and lastly nursing home care. When purchasing long-term care insurance, it is important to understand the basic features of a policy, the difference between a reimbursement and cash plan, the available levels of home care, and the providers of that care. Every long-term care insurance policy has the same four basic features that help to determine the premium along with an individual’s age and health. These four features are: • The daily/monthly benefit (the amount of money the policy will pay) • The length of coverage (the amount of time the policy will pay benefits) • The elimination period or deductible (the number of days an individual pays out-of pocket before receiving benefits) • The inflation factor (a rider that increases the daily/monthly benefit to keep pace with rising costs). When you buy a long-term care insurance policy, you are purchasing a “pool of money” that supplies a stream of income to pay for your long-term care expenses. This “pool of money” is determined by multiplying the daily/monthly benefit by the length of coverage you have selected. All other features beyond these basic four are specifically designed by each carrier. How each company designs their home care package can vary greatly.

Most long-term care insurance policies cover skilled care, custodial care and homemaker services. Skilled care can be provided by nurses, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. Custodial care includes care provided by home health aides in order to assist with activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, continence and transferring. Homemaker services can include meal preparation, cleaning, taking out the trash, and doing the laundry. The question to ask your longterm care insurance agent is: Who can provide these services? There are two types of longterm care insurance policies — reimbursement plans and cash plans. Reimbursement plans, which comprise most of the policies on the market, will reimburse you for actual expenses up to your daily/monthly benefit. Any unused portion of your benefit remains in your pool of money and can extend the life of the policy. Cash plans pay the full daily/monthly benefit regardless of the actual cost of care. Reimbursement plans generally cost less than cash plans. Both of these types of plans will allow you to use care from a licensed or certified home care agency. But that is where the similarities end. Some reimbursement plans only allow you to use home care from an agency. Some policies may also allow you to use independent caregivers, who are properly licensed, certified or trained. While others may also let you use friends or neighbors, commonly known as uncertified or unlicensed care. Most reimbursement plans do not allow a family member to take care of you unless that family member works for a home care agency and is

paid by the agency. Cash policies allow you to use anyone to take care of you at home. An agency, relatives, friends, or neighbors can provide the care. This has its advantages because friends or family members usually do not cost as much as care from an agency. Any unused portion of your benefit can be used for home modifications, prescription drugs, specialized transportation or general upkeep of your residence. Premium cost and the desired flexibility of home care will be determining factors in selecting the appropriate policy for your needs. If you would like to have the home care flexibility of a cash policy but are concerned about the higher cost, you can select a lower benefit specifically designed for home care instead of nursing home care. This will substantially reduce the annual premium. If the premiums for a reimbursement policy are more manageable, try to select a company that allows the use of independent caregivers. Some reimbursement plans also offer an alternate cash benefit so that on any given month you may elect to receive a percentage of your home care benefit as cash. This will enable you to use family members or friends as caregivers. When investigating long-term care insurance, tell your agent about your home care preferences so that you can be guided to the right company. If the time comes that you need long-term care, having a long-term care insurance policy that enables you to receive quality care in the comfort of your own home by caregivers you can select will make a difficult time less stressful for you and your family. January / February 2011 - 55 PLUS

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Judge Patricia Marks in a photo taken in October 2010.

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Right on the Marks The first female elected as a county court judge in Monroe County, Judge Patricia Marks, 61, just announced plans to retire early this year. In an interview with 55 PLUS magazine, she talks about her precendentsetting career in the legal field — from prosecuting white-collar crime in the District Attorney’s Office to deliberating over cases involving multiple homicides By Amy Cavalier

ustice Patricia Marks was one of 20 females in a class of over 200 when she entered Albany Law School in 1971. Those odds didn’t faze her. She did not stop to think about the resistance she might face trying to break into the “old boys culture” which dominated her career of choice. “I guess I’d always been raised to think that I could do anything within reason,” she said. She remembers just one incident where a male classmate took issue with her gender. He said to her: ‘You’re taking a job away from a bread winner.’ “I was so stunned, I didn’t believe anyone would say that,” she said. “I didn’t have an appropriate response. Today I probably would. Those were different times.” Today, females make up a little under half of the population of

students entering law school, said Marks, although there’s still a ways to go in establishing gender equality in the field. Marks, 61, has helped blaze a path. In 1976, she was the first female appointed as a full-time assistant district attorney in Monroe County. Ten years later, she became the first woman elected to a county court judgeship. “For me, it was in college when I became aware of more gender, equality and patriarchy issues in society that I kind of stopped for a moment and realized my mom’s been pretty radical in terms of moving forward and taking on leadership positions in society,” said Marks’ youngest son Jeremy, 23. “She’s not just involved in the legal system to maintain the status quo. She’s there to work within the legal system to make society a better place.”

In her 25 years as a judge, Marks was part of an advisory committee that developed the Monroe County Drug Treatment Court and she independently developed the mental health court, which she has presided over for a number of years since 2003. As an assistant district attorney, she helped prosecute white-collar crime and as a judge she’s presided over a number of high-profile homicide cases, several of which have gone on to be subjects of true-life crime novels. On top of juggling a high-profile career, Marks is a mother of two sons, and the wife of retired attorney Jeff Marks. “It made for a lot of confusion,” Jeff said of being married to a judge. “When the policemen would call for bench warrants and I would answer the phone, they would assume that I was the judge because I was the male.” Marks grew up Downstate in January / February 2011 - 55 PLUS

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took an internship with the local legal aid society, which represented poor people in civil and family court proceedings, and with the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office. She decided to apply for law school in her junior year. Marks met her husband in law school. They were married in 1974, the year she graduated. Judge Joan Kohout, a Monroe County Family Court Judge, was in Marks’ graduating class at Albany Law School. The two met through Judge Marks in November 1994 with son Jeremy, 7, and Jeff and they reacquainted Brian, 13. when the couple Poughkeepsie, a small city and moved to Rochester shortly after town of about 60,000 located on the getting married. Like Marks, Kohout Hudson River. One of four children, was the first woman to be hired in her father Warren was manager of a the public defenders office in the men’s clothing store and her mother county. Theresa was a secretary, a registrar “Women in our class and classes of a girls’ private high school, and just before us and after us were administrative assistant to the vice being hired into positions where president of Vassar College. Her women had not been hired in the parents were active in local politics, past,” said Kohout. which influenced Marks at a young Marks had developed a passion age. for poverty law in college. The “I know we don’t think of first job she landed in Rochester politics as this now, but politics was with the department of social were about helping people reach services. In 1976, she was the first consensus, helping people who woman to be appointed a full-time needed something, the concept of assistant district attorney in Monroe representation and democracy— County, under DA Larry Kurlander. those are all concepts that were Challenging herself — “It was appealing,” Marks said. an opportunity to do things that While majoring in political really took me out of my comfort science at Vassar College, Marks zone,” she said. “I was pretty shy 34

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and here I was going to be doing a job doing trial work before juries, dealing with police officers who were unaccustomed to dealing with female attorneys. It was a very exciting career, even now, not just being the first woman.” Cases involving rape and child molestation were the most difficult to prosecute, said Marks. There was no DNA evidence to stand a case on, and Marks said, there was a perception that she was “asking for it” regardless of the nature of the force. “I must have presented hundreds of rape cases to the grand jury,” she said. “I tried a number of cases. It was an area people had trouble accepting.” Marks said she remembers “going into apartments and pulling up carpets to get semen samples to collaborate children’s testimony, filling in gaps in cases, working side by-side with investigators to get the type of evidence that could result in a conviction.” As Marks’ career was evolving, so was her family. She and Jeff welcomed son Bryan in 1981, and Jeremy was born in 1987. “Your primary focus is God, family and your job,” she said. “I wouldn’t say it was easy, but as long as we kept our focus on these things, it worked reasonably well.” There were times when it was a challenge. “When I was in trial and she was in trial and you’ve got a sick kid, it’s hard to say you can’t be there when you’ve got juries waiting,” said Jeff. For the most part, Marks said, she and Jeff were able to juggle their careers with their parenting duties. She and Jeff worked well as partners at home. Jeff left his practice in 1993 and soon after fell ill and decided to stay home with the boys. He said he didn’t mind the role reversal. Comic relief — Being a judge has created some funny moments at home. There was one time she was lecturing Bryan, who was 7 at the time, and she sent him to his room.

55+ When she went back in to talk to him, he looked up at her and said ‘Mom, this is not the courtroom.’” “I tried to keep a straight face when I went running to find Jeff,” she said. “Apparently I neglected to leave the job at the office that day.” Jeremy said his parents were always good about communicating right and wrong. “From their legal background, they understand that you have to be clear in communicating what things work and what things don’t so it doesn’t get pushed under the rug,” he said. Then there was the time when Jeff was still practicing law downtown. He was talking to a fellow attorney while crossing the street. The colleague informed Jeff that he was appearing before his wife in the morning and joked with Jeff about avoiding doing anything that might put her in a bad mood. Jeff responded by giving the other lawyer some advice. “When she starts curling the back of her hair with her finger, sit down and be quiet,” Jeff told the young attorney. “She’s had it.” So the next day in court, lo and behold, as the attorney was speaking to Judge Marks, she began curling her hair with her finger,

Judge Patricia Marks In December announced that she will retire early this year, four years before her term expires. Citing family reasons in part, Marks said she has a desire to travel, and to pursue teaching, writing and research related to treatment courts. According to The Daily Record, she plans to remain with the New York State Criminal Jury Instructions Committee, which she cochairs, and the Permanent Sentencing Commission.

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Marks (bottom row, third from left) played on the Monroe County District Attorney’s softball team in the late 1970’s, early 1980’s. so he sat down, according to Jeff’s recollection of the story. Later in the chambers, Judge Marks questioned the attorney, ‘What happened to you in there? You sat down in the middle of a sentence.’ That’s when the attorney revealed what Jeff had told him. “So, I’ve got to tell you, it was an interesting night in the Marks’ household,” Jeff said with a laugh. Battling white-collar crime —Under the leadership of Don Chesworth in the district attorney’s office, Marks founded and served as the chief attorney in the economic crime unit where she helped prosecute a case in which an employee at Xerox offered to sell a trademarked corporate blueprint for a universal test fixture used in a Xerox copier. It was one of the first prosecutions under that new law. In 1983, she decided to run for county court, despite the fact that no other woman had ever held that position in Monroe County before. Jeff said he was surprised by his wife’s ambition. The first time she ran for election, she didn’t get the

Democratic Party’s nomination. The following year she did, kicking off the first political campaign of her life. “Pat was a wonderful campaigner,” Jeff said. “She says she hated it, but she loved it. She’d remember people’s names. In the parades, she wasn’t in the car. She was walking down the sidelines saying hi to people and waving.” Marks was elected to a 10-year term on the bench in 1984, and reelected in 1994. Working as the supervising judge for criminal matters in the Seventh Judicial District, Marks has done everything from oversee pistol permits to handling civil and criminal appeals, and trying multiple homicides. She’s been honored for her work, receiving an award for excellence in public service in 2010, and being named a “Leader in Law” last year by The Daily Record. She currently serves as vice-chair of the Permanent Commission on Sentencing for New York State. Continued on page 40 January / February 2011 - 55 PLUS

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Second Careers

which she said set her on the right track was teaching. “Every job I’ve had, I’ve had to be a teacher, a coach or a mentor,” she said. “The more experience I get, the more able I am to help someone out.” Through teaching, Anderson said she learned to be comfortable getting up in front of a group to explain something and in later careers, she’s found “it’s very much the same as in business with employees.” Anderson said many times she’s presented a problem that needed to be solved and asked co-workers’ suggestions for solving it. She said and is used in 25 counties within she’s told them, just as she did as a New York and in 12 states across the teacher, “We can decide together the country including Washington state, best course of action.” California and Virginia. “We host “In every job, those teaching the system for them and whatever skills have been used,” she said. they need in their state or county, Anderson said she sees herself they get specialized reports from staying in her current position for a me,” Anderson said. while. Her husband has been retired Anderson said she is “loving for over 10 years and is able to help what she is doing.” She is now take Anderson’s mother, who lives working with younger with the couple, to people who have various appointments strong technical and help care for her. backgrounds. For older workers “I’m working in contemplating a career a technical company change, Anderson but I’m not a techie,” advises them to take she said. Anderson an inventory of their said she’s grateful skills. to be learning more “Don’t about the technical undervalue what world through her you have done younger co-workers even if it was a bad while at the same time, experience,” she sharing her knowledge said. “When I was with them about an elected official, how to interact with After years working someone would read customers. the riot act to us but in various fields as Each of the jobs I learned how to an elementary school she’s had throughout teacher, supervisor of the manage a crowd.” her career has She also suggests town of Chili and director provided valuable that anyone making a of the Monroe County experience. “I’ve change should assess Office for the Aging, Lorre incorporated things what he or she likes Anderson, 64, of Chili, from all jobs and they about what they have have all had an impact now works as director of been doing. “If you market development for on my skill set,” take a new position Peer Place Networks LLC after retirement, you Anderson said. But the one career in East Rochester. need to do something

Rochester women use experience to enhance second careers By Beth Emley

ome people nearing retirement age can’t wait to be finished with their careers so they can take it easy and do what they want. Lorre Anderson is not one of those people. After years working in various fields as an elementary school teacher, supervisor of the town of Chili and director of the Monroe County Office for the Aging, Anderson, 64, of Chili, embarked on a new career about seven and a half years ago. She now works as director of market development for Peer Place Networks LLC in East Rochester. Peer Place provides client management software for human service agencies. It allows human service professionals to make an electronic referral through a webbased system. For instance, if a client were to sign up for a program at a senior center, all of his or her information would be put into the computer system. If he or she ever needed other services such as legal assistance, all a human service professional would have to do is pull his or her file from the senior center, Anderson said. “It’s a way of standardizing data collection and a way to be able to report on an unduplicated count for services,” she said. The system is based in Rochester

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55+ need to make a long weekend, I do it. At least I have a 40-hour work week but not 60 like before.” Multi-faceted career path — Barbara “Bobi” Sherwood has something in common with Anderson. Like Anderson, Sherwood, 54, of East Rochester, worked awhile in another field before switching careers later in life. She recalled how her early experience helped her later on. When Sherwood’s parents were involved with the Bristol Valley Playhouse in Naples, she wore a couple of hats—as the theater’s chef and then working with sound. Later, she went on to the restaurant business as a chef and an owner. After that, she was a computer technician and teacher and now she works in a computer store. While each of those Barbara “Bobi” Sherwood worked for 10 years jobs has been different, at A Slice of Life Cafe on South Avenue where Sherwood said certain she was a chef and an owner of the business. skills are universal and those she has learned in She said she loved the work but after 10 years, she and her business partners decided earlier life have helped prepare her for the next “we should call it a day.” She is now computer career leap. technician at an Apple store in Eastview Mall. When she was in

you like, look for a fit with your skills and what made you happy,” she said. Anderson said that now she is not raising kids and having to earn money to sustain a family, she has different financial goals. If others find themselves in a

similar position, they should do something they like to do or try something they are interested in, she said. “Some people from industrial backgrounds have found second careers in human service agencies” because they have skills that can be applied to something new. “[Human services] is a great spot for an older worker to want to move into,” she said. Anderson said she feels she’s found her niche at her current job and isn’t thinking of retiring or moving on to something else anytime soon. “I’m loving what I’m doing. I have some flexibility here and that makes a difference,” she said. “If I

the restaurant business, Sherwood worked for 10 years at A Slice of Life Cafe on South Avenue where she was a chef and an owner of the business. She said she loved the work but after 10 years, she and her business partners decided “we should call it a day.” “We had put all the time, energy and money we could put into it. We felt like we went out on top,” she said. At the same time, Sherwood said her mother had become ill and later died. And, Sherwood was diagnosed with lupus. Sherwood said she knew she couldn’t continue working exhausting 14-hour days and she needed to find something else to do. She said she had always been

changes

interested in the technical world, dating back to the days when her parents were involved at the playhouse. She worked with sound and “really enjoyed the technical aspect of theater.” While at the restaurant, she used computers to design menus. After she left the restaurant business, Sherwood—who said she taught herself how to work on computers—started working on her own as a computer technician. She called the business “Wire Woman,” and she helped other people with computer setups and repairs, printers, home electronics and wireless devices. She also taught computer classes as a volunteer for the Oasis program that offers a variety of courses for senior citizens. In the summer of 2009, she began working in the electronics department at Sears, and later moved on to be a part-time specialist at the Apple computer store at Eastview Mall. She has been promoted and is now working as a full-time technician at Apple. “It is no small task to work for one of the world’s most incredible and innovative technology creators. As a second career and in my mid50s, it is like being deep in the thick of graduate school while working full-time,” she said. “I work with some talented, young people and everyone is amazingly committed to the company and their careers. It is refreshing and exhausting.” She sees her current position as not just a job but a true second career that she hopes to work at a long time. “I hope I can put 20 years into it,” she said. “I’ve always had a passion for the product, and it continues to grow daily.” For those who are considering a career change in later life, however, Sherwood said she advises anyone to “do the research and don’t just jump.” “Get into something that is something you can put your whole self into,” she advised. January / February 2011 - 55 PLUS

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Food! Glorious Food!

Boldt Castle in the 1000s Islands, Boldt was the owner of the Waldorf-Astoria where 1000 Island dressing and Waldorf Salad were made famous.

Every area of New York state has its local favorites but some are world famous By Sandra Scott

hat do wings and Waldorf salad have in common with spiedies and salt potatoes? They all originated in New York state along with other favorites. Every area of New York state has its local favorites but some are world famous. Buffaloes may not have wings but the Anchor Bar in Buffalo does. The Anchor Bar was the birthplace of the world-famous Buffalo wings. Late on a Friday night in 1964, Dominic Bellissimo was tending bar at the Anchor Bar Restaurant when a group of his friends arrived looking for something to stave off their hanger pangs. Teressa, Dominic’s mother, deep-fried the chicken wings usually destined for the soup stockpot. Flavored with her secret sauce, the wings were an instant hit and the word spread — worldwide. Although many have tried to duplicate the original Buffalo wings, the closely guarded secret recipe is what makes the Anchor Bar home to the “Best Wings in the World.” Regardless, Buffalo wings are on the menu of most restaurants. Two favorite menu items owe their popularity to New

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York City’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Waldorf salad was an instant success when it was created by the hotel’s maître d’hôtel, Oscar Tshcirky in 1896. The original version of the salad contained apples, celery and mayonnaise served on a bed of lettuce. Chopped walnuts later became an integral part of the dish. Thousand Island dressing was born in Clayton. Legend has it that around the turn of the century, Sophia LaLonde, wife of a 1000 Islands fishing guide, shared her dressing recipe with a prominent stage actress named May Irwin, who dubbed it Thousand Island dressing. Irwin gave the recipe to fellow 1000 Islands summer visitor George C. Boldt who was in the process of having a castle built. Boldt, the owner of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, instructed that it be included on the hotel’s menu where it was introduced

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to the world. Saratoga Springs can boast that it is the home of two American favorites — potato chips and the club sandwich. The original potato chip recipe was created in Saratoga Springs in 1853. It seems that in 1853 a wealthy guest was dining at Moon’s Lake House where George Crum worked as a cook. The specialty of the house was Moon’s Fried Potatoes, which were cut in thick slices. A guest, perhaps a bit ornery from the summer heat, sent his order back declaring they were too thick and soggy. When the second order was also sent back Crum was not appreciative of the criticism so he sliced the potatoes as thin as he could, fried them to a fare-the-well, and salted them thinking he had made them impossible to eat with a fork. Much to Crum’s surprise the patron loved them and ordered a second serving. The word spread and soon others were ordering Crum’s Chips. Most sources credit John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, with inventing the sandwich in 1781 but people had been putting meat between slabs of bread for generations. However, the club sandwich owes its existence to Danny Mears, a line cook at the famous Saratoga Club House, an exclusive gambling establishment that did not allow women or locals in their gambling rooms. A traditional club

The Anchor Bar in Buffalo is the birthplace of the worldfamous Buffalo wings.

Duck on Long Island that promoted Long Island duckling.

sandwich has three slices of toasted bread with a bottom layer of turkey and the top layer of bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. In 1845 Peter Cooper patented a gelatin product but it never “jelled.” Then in 1897, Pearle Wait of LeRoy, came up with a fruit flavored dessert gelatin, which his wife named Jell-O. In 1899 he sold his formula to a fellow townsman for the sum of $450. The formula’s new owner sent out salesmen in “spanking new rigs, drawn by beautiful horses” to promote this new product destined to make dessert preparation easier for the housewife. As the saying goes, the rest is history. Visitors can learn all about “America’s Most Famous Dessert” at the Jell-O Museum in LeRoy. The Binghamton area is home of the speidie. A speidie is made of cubes of meat, usually chicken or pork but any meat will do, marinated overnight in the special spiedie marinade, grilled — preferable over a charcoal fire — and served on Italian bread or a submarine roll. The traditional spiedie marinade is made of olive oil, vinegar, a variety of Italian spices and fresh mint. A Spiedie Fest has been Continued on page 40 January / February 2011 - 55 PLUS

Right on the Marks

Continued from page 35

Careful of image — Being a judge and elected official means being in the public eye. She doesn’t do things like go out to bars. “I don’t think that’s appropriate,” she said. “I’m a little more cautious about how I present myself, because of my concern of how it could reflect on my position, but I guess I’ve been doing it for 26 years so it seems normal to me.” Marks said it is important for her to remain unbiased and to base her decision on facts and laws; however, there is a human element to every case. She said she tries to put herself in the shoes of the people who appear before her. “That has to be something we should be conscious of as judges, understanding the perspectives of people who appear before you, particularly those whose liberty is at stake,” she said. “I always maintain you have to be respectful of people.” If someone abuses someone else or abuses the system or is dishonest, the response does not have to be a patient one, Marks clarifies. Marks relies on a cadre of people to be able to do her job—a court deputy, a court reporter, an attorney representing each side, a court clerk, witnesses, a party and defendant, and if the defendant is in custody, there’s the transport deputy. She also relies heavily on her staff, her secretary Ginny Mulcahey and law clerk Joseph Valentino. “I’m going to paint still-lifes when I retire so I don’t have to wait for anyone,” Marks jokes. Mulcahey said Marks is very kind and approachable, pointing at Marks’ success starting the mental health and veterans’ courts in Rochester as evidence. “I think that really shows her compassion and commitment to justice,” said Marks’ legal secretary. Marks said being a judge requires the ability to listen and comprehend pertinent facts. It requires constant education and the 40

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ability to be a lie detector. And then there’s collateral issues—mental health, substance abuse, physical health issues, the science behind DNA, fingerprinting, computer evidence, etc. “The point is, there’s so many things that can be the subject matter of a lawsuit or a civil case, that it benefits a judge to become not an expert, but knowledgeable enough to understand the topic,” she said. Comprehensive approach —Bruce Goldman, a special assistant district attorney for Monroe County, said Marks is thorough in her research. “You don’t get to fool her, and if there’s something she’s not quite clear on, she’ll go and research it and get an immediate answer,” he said. “She’s always on top of what needs to be happening in a case.” All judges worry about becoming immune to the violence and human tragedy that comes before them each day, she said. “It’ll always trouble me,” she said. “I’ll always struggle with sending someone to jail. I should. When it doesn’t bother me, I should quit.” There are still some barriers for women in the legal field, she said. Subtle “bars” still exist, such as law firms who won’t hire women because they don’t think their clients will feel comfortable being represented by them, or the fact that many women with legal training often wind up serving as legal secretaries rather than as attorneys. “I truly don’t think there’s per se, a gender issue,” she said. “I think there’s a perception issue. When I first came on the bench in 1985, it was very unusual to have two female attorneys and a female judge in the same courtroom. And I remember the first time it happened. I kind of noted it. Now it’s not uncommon.” Jeff said there are still a low number of women partners in law firms. “Women judges and lawyers, to a certain extent, they still suffer in ways they shouldn’t,” he said. “They have to work a little harder to succeed in what has been a man’s world. I think huge strides have been made, but that doesn’t mean the problem has been solved.”

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Continued from page 39

The popular Spiedie held in Binghamton every August since 1983. A New York City favorite, the egg cream is an interesting beverage because it contains neither eggs nor cream. It is made of chocolate syrup, milk and seltzer water. It is thought to have originated with Louis Auster of Brooklyn in the late 1800s. The fountain drink is similar to an ice cream soda without the ice cream. Some say the name is a corruption of “Grade A Cream” which was used to make the drink while others say it comes from the German word for “echt” meaning “genuine” or “real.” A local favorite hard to find outside Central New York owes its existence to the salt deposits near Syracuse, the “Salt City.” During the 18th century workers in the salt industry on Onondaga Lake, most of whom were Irish immigrants, would cook their lunch of potatoes in the salty brine. The tasty treats are best served with plenty of butter. The salt industry is no more but visitors can learn about it at the Salt Museum in Liverpool. Some foods such as the Coney Island hot dog and hamburger have such a convoluted past that it is hard to pin down their exact origins. Others are variations of established foods such as Long Island duck derived from Peking Duck. Long Island was once known as the “Duck Capital of the World” and the famous Big Duck in Flanders is still a favorite tourist stop. Local favorites or world famous, New York state is home to “food, glorious food.” .

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By Mike Costanza

Esther Brill, 65 She only started learning dance at 46; now she enjoys teaching it

sther Brill’s name weaves through the history of the Rochester region’s dance community. Over about the past 15 years, the 65-year-old has taught a variety of dance styles to young and old, from swing dancing’s jazzy steps to the Cajun style of Louisiana’s bayous. She is a cofounder of the Rochester Swing Dance Network. Q. Could you tell us about the physical experience of dancing with a partner? A. I don’t really think of it as a body thing, but I feel very much in synch with the music. I’m part of the band part of the music, but my body is my instrument, and that’s what I get to play. You fit right in there with the rest of the rhythm section instruments— which would be in the complete band—the bass and the drum and the guitar and so forth. You’re [also] not doing this in isolation. It’s two people having a shared experience. The room is full of sets of people having shared experiences, as an entire organism. Everybody is with their partner, relating to the music. Q. You didn’t really take up dancing in earnest until the age of 46. What brought you to the dance floor at that time? A. I like to say that I felt there was a dancer inside of me that wanted to get out. That was in the mid-90s. Q. How did you help that dancer come out? A. I went to take swing dance lessons. I met Richard Newman there. We both started going to Ithaca to take dance lessons, because that was where you could learn how to (more skillfully) swing dance. Then, we realized it was almost two hours away, and that we were getting tired 42

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of driving. We decided that we wanted to have dances here. We held our first (swing) dance here in 1995, at the Covenant United Methodist Church. It was with (the band) Bobby Henry and the Goners—they’re still playing. One hundred people came out. Contra dancers, ballroom dancers, and country and Western dancers, they all came out. Dancers came out of the woodwork. Q. Did you and Newman begin teaching dance at that time? A. We realized, “Well, gee, they came out for a dance, but to keep this going, people have to learn how to do this,” so we started giving lessons. In a community where there is no dance scene of whatever sort, the people who know best teach others. We turned out to have good teaching skills. We’ve taught swing dance ever since. Q. You and Newman co-founded the Rochester Swing Dance Network around that time. Tell us about the RSDN. A. It’s just a loose social association of people who come out to dance events. Nobody really joins; we never have any dues. Q. OK, but at the time, you were working full time in health care administration. What prompted you to give your time to starting RSDN? A. It was just really to give people a comfortable place to dance. To have a dance, you need a dance floor, and a place to play music loud. Otherwise, you would have to go to a bar or club of some sort. Back in those days, there was smoking, and no bar or club had a big dance floor. The whole idea was also (to serve) people of all ages. You didn’t have to come with a partner. Many people are not in couples, but

they want to be able to have a partner to dance with. That’s very difficult to find, other than in an organized event where the mission of the group is to create an opportunity for everyone. We did a monthly dance in the early days. What I enjoy the most now is teaching dancing to people of all ages. My whole philosophy is: if you can walk, you can dance. Q. Do you teach other dance styles, as well? A . I’m probably equally as involved in Louisiana [Cajun and zydeco] dancing as I am in swing dancing. Q. What are some of the differences between the two styles and swing? A. The music of Louisiana is more like country music; they’ll do twosteps and waltzes to that music. Swing dancing comes from the ballrooms, the Harlem and the jazz era, and things like that. For information on local swing dances, go to: www.RochesterSwingDance.com. To contact Esther Brill, go to: e b r i l l @ f ro n t i e r n e t . n e t , w w w. EstherBrillPartnerDance.com, or www. YourWeddingDanceRochester.com

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