55 Plus of Rochester, #34: July – August 2015

Jim Terwilliger: How to Plan for a Successful Retirement External Drive, Cloud: What’s the Best Way to Store Photos?

55 PLUS Issue 34 July / August 2015

For Active Adults in the Rochester Area

Where to Put Your Money: Your Retirement or Your Kids’ College Fund?

Square Dancing Anyone?

More Baby Boomers Joining the Party

Behind the Scenes

John Parkhurst, the leader at Rochester Broadway Theatre League, has been a powerful force behind the arts and entertainment in Rochester. He talks about his love for music, career and the lineup for the new season at the Auditorium

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3

CONTENTS 55 PLUS

Jim Terwilliger: How to Plan for a Successful Retirement External Drive, Cloud: What’s the Best Way to Store Photos?

55

55 PLUS

July / August 2015

PLUS Issue 34 July / August 2015

For Active Adults in the Rochester Area

Where to Put Your Money: Your Retirement or Your Kids’ College Fund?

Square Dancing Anyone?

More Baby Boomers Joining the Party

Behind the Scenes

John Parkhurst, the leader at Rochester Broadway Theatre League, has been a powerful force behind the arts and entertainment in Rochester. He talks about his love for music, career and the lineup for the new season at the Auditorium

Priceless

Forget eBay. Ontario resident is making a bundle on Etsy

22 32 Savvy Senior 6 Financial Health 8 Estate Planning 10 My Turn 20 Addyman’s Corner 36 Long-term Care 46 Visits 48

34 38 12 FINANCES • Fund your retirement or your kids’ college tuition?

16 DANCING

• Looking for exercise, mental stimulation, music and friendship?

Try square dancing

22 LEARNING

• OSHER offers opportunities to learn, teach

24 COVER LAST PAGE Betty PerkinsCarpenter.

Eighty-four-yearold CEO never plans to retire.

4

55 PLUS - July / August 2015

roc55.com

32 PICKER

• Ontario resident favors Etsy over eBay

34 WRITING

• Talented Hilton woman loves doing for others

38 TRANSITIONS

• A Honeoye Falls resident wants to help people face death and dying

44 TECH

• Cloud, external hard drive, flash • John Parkhurst has been a powerful drives — what’s the best way to store force behind the theater in Rochester photos?

28 VETS

• Vets in Rochester help soldiers ease back into civilian life

Plus: guest columnists Ron Brown, (page 14) and Miles P. Zatkowsky (page 42)

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5

savvy senior

By Jim Miller

Essential Documents You Should Have

E

very adult — and seniors in particular — should have at least four essential legal documents to protect them and their families. These documents will make sure your wishes regarding your estate are legal and clear, and will help minimize any conflicts and confusion with your family and your health care providers if you become seriously ill or when you die. Here are the key documents you need, along with some tips to help you create them.

A Will: This document lets you spell out your wishes of how you’d like your property and assets distributed after you die, whether it’s to family, friends or a charity. It also allows you to designate an executor to ensure your wishes are carried out, and allows you to name guardians if you have minor or dependent children.

Revocable Living Trust: In addition to a will, if you own real estate or have considerable assets, another option you may want to consider is a “revocable living trust.” This functions like a will but allows your estate to avoid the time and expense of probate (the public legal process that examines your estate after you die) and helps ensure your estate’s privacy.

Durable Power of Attorney: This allows you to designate someone you trust to make financial, tax and legal decisions on your behalf if you lose your decision-making capacity.

Advanced Health Care Directive: This includes two documents that spell out your wishes regarding your end-of-life medical treatment. The two documents are a “living will” which tells your doctor what kind of care you want to receive if you become incapacitated, and a “health care power of attorney” which names a person you authorize to make medical decisions on your behalf if you become unable to.

Do-It-Yourself If you have a simple estate and 6

55 PLUS - July / August 2015

55PLUS roc55.com

Editor and Publisher Wagner Dotto

an uncomplicated family situation, there are several good do-it-yourself guides that can help you create all these documents for very little money.

For creating a will, a top resource is the Quicken WillMaker Plus 2015 software (available at nolo.com) that costs $50, works with Windows personal computers and is valid in every state except Louisiana. If you use a Mac, nolo.com offers an online will maker for $35.

Or, if you only need to create an advance directive you can do it for free at caringinfo.org (or call 800-6588898), where you can get state-specific forms with instructions. Or for only $5, an even better tool is the Five Wishes document (agingwithdignity.org, 888594-7437), which is valid in 42 states and will help you create a customized advance directive.

Get Help If, however, you want or need assistance or if you have a complicated financial situation, blended family or have considerable assets, you should hire an attorney. An experienced lawyer can make sure you cover all your bases — especially when writing a will or living trust — which can help avoid family confusion and squabbles after you’re gone.

Costs will vary depending on where you reside, but you can expect to pay somewhere between $200 and $1,000 for a will, or $1,200 to $5,000 for a living trust.

The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (actec.org) and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (naela.org) websites are good resources that have directories to help you find someone in your area.

If money is tight, check with your state’s bar association (see findlegalhelp.org) to find low-cost legal help in your area. Or call the Eldercare Locater at 800-677-1116 for a referral.

Associate Editor Lou Sorendo

Contributing Writers

Deborah J. Sergeant, Ernst Lamothe Jr., John Addyman Lynette Loomis Deborah Blackwell, Mike Costanza

Columnists

Jim Terwilliger, Susan Suben Jim Miller, Bruce Frassinelli Robert Hesselberth, Michael Robinson, Miles P. Zatkowski

Advertising

Donna Kimbrell, Marsha Preston H. Mat Adams

Office Manager Alice Davis

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 © 2015 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@roc55.com

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7

financial health

By Jim Terwilliger

Planning for a Successful Retirement

T

hink back 40 or 50 years.

Formulating personal and career goals often led to thoughts about training, education, career, family, community. How to best prepare oneself to achieve these goals?

Yet, how many folks give as much thought to planning for retirement as they did to planning for their young adult and mid-life years, realizing that the retirement time horizon can be equally as long as the time horizon for one’s working years — 30 or more years?

A successful retirement does not just happen. It requires just as much time, energy and preparation to make that second half of life as happy and rewarding as the first half.

Today, we’ll focus on some key finance-related factors that must be included in any retirement plan. In past columns, we have touched on some of the softer social factors.

First, retirement planning should start at the beginning of a working career, now that guaranteed pensions are a thing of the past for most folks, particularly those who work in the private sector.

Good financial habits developed and practiced during one’s working years provide a good foundation to build on. They include paying yourself first, living below your means, restricting borrowing to your home mortgage, paying off credit card balances monthly, protecting your family through insurance, and keeping wills and beneficiary designations up to date.

When approaching retirement, more formal planning is necessary.

Some of the key success factors to consider include: Flexible retirement date. Sure, maybe you’d like to stop working at age 60 or 62 or 65 or whatever. But 8

55 PLUS - July / August 2015

what if an early date results in a retirement standard of living that is below what you want. Is it worth it?

In a past column, I demonstrated the leverage that can be achieved for each year that retirement is delayed.

There are three, four factors that all interact positively to amplify the benefits of waiting. The net outcome is to boost retirement income and associated standard of living by a significant amount.

Second career, part-time work.

Who says retirement has to be a single, stop-work event? More and more folks are finding that a phased “retirement” better suits their personal and financial lives. This seems to go handin-hand with the new reality that is replacing the old work-for-40-yearsand-retire-with-a-gold-watch model.

Optimal Social Security claiming strategy. Most folks are surprised to learn that it is possible for spouses to sequence benefits in a way that can result in 10s to 100s of thousands of additional Social Security dollars flowing into the household over a retirement lifetime.

Others are surprised to learn that it is possible to do the same based on a divorced or deceased spouse’s work record.

Don’t look to Social Security to map out these options for you. Their job is to administer benefits and answer questions. If you don’t know what questions to ask, you most likely will not learn what your optimal pathway might be. Only a knowledgeable adviser should be consulted.

Solid, understandable investment strategy. Retirees need to have a thoughtful, disciplined investment strategy governing all their accounts — tax-deferred, taxable and tax-free.

The strategy must be understandable.

If folks cannot summarize their strat-

egy in one or two sentences, chances are they do not know what they are doing or what their adviser is doing.

Neither is a good idea.

A key factor here is to have adequate exposure to stocks. We typically recommend somewhere in the 60 percent range in order to keep the portfolio and its distributions ahead of inflation. Remember, we are talking about a 30-year-or-so timeframe.

A related success factor deals with ongoing distributions from the investment portfolio needed to supplement other retirement income.

The distribution strategy must be designed and managed to ensure that the retiree and spouse do not outlive their money.

Sustainable spending strategy.

Spending dictates standard of living. It must be planned. Household spending is funded by regular household income plus regular distributions from the nest egg. All must be in balance to be sustainable.

A spending plan generally is not static. It must be adjusted as life happens. Health care costs, new car purchases, once-in-a-lifetime trip — all provide challenges to keeping the cash flow in balance. But working at it and making changes when necessary are key to managing this aspect of retirement successfully.

Planning for and managing retirement is a big deal. It is best not done alone. Partnering with a trusted financial adviser is always advised.

Sooner, rather than later, is also advised.

James Terwilliger, CFP®, is senior vice president, financial planning manager at Wealth Strategies Group, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Company. He can be reached at 585-419-0670 ext. 50630 or by email at jterwilliger@cnbank.com.

Social Security

Q&A

Q: How do I know if I meet the eligibility requirements to get Social Security disability benefits?

A: To qualify for Social Security disability benefits, you must have worked long enough in jobs covered

by Social Security (usually 10 years).

You must also have a medical condition that meets Social Security’s strict definition of disability. We consider an adult disabled under our rules if he or she has a medical condition, or combination of medical conditions, that are expected to last for at least one year or result in death, and that prevent the performance of any type of work.

Q: How can I check the status of a pending application for retirement benefits?

A: If you applied for retirement or disability benefits online, you can check the status of your application at www.socialsecurity.gov by selecting “Benefits” and “Check Application Status” under “Apply.” You will need to enter your Social Security number and the confirmation code you received when you filed online.

Your application status will show: • The date we received your application; • Any requests for additional documents; • The address of the office processing your application; and • If a decision has been made.

Q: What do I need to report to Social Security if I get Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments?

A: You need to report any changes that may affect your payment amount. This includes changes in your income or resources. You must report changes of address, changes in your living arrangements, and changes in your earned and unearned income. To learn more about SSI, visit our website at www.socialsecurity. gov/ssi.

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eniors and their children are increasingly concerned with the cost of long-term care, whether that care is being provided in the home or at a skilled nursing facility (nursing home). And with good reason. The lifetime probability of becoming disabled in at least two activities of daily living or of being cognitively impaired is 68 percent for people age 65 and older. Medical advances keep us alive longer despite those disabilities. And with average nursing home costs in the Rochester area over $12,000 per month, or $144,000 per year, it’s easy to see how someone can lose their lifetime of accumulated wealth in just a few years spent in a nursing home. The cost of home care is no bargain, either.

Many people believe that Medicare will cover the cost of their longterm care needs. However, the truth is that Medicare actually provides very limited coverage for long-term care, and Medicare pays nothing for custodial care. Long term care insurance, for the people who can qualify, can help with the cost, but even the best policies typically leave a person with hundreds of thousands of dollars of exposure.

So, what do people do?

Sadly, most people spend their hard earned wealth until they have nearly nothing left, and then Medicaid will take over the cost of care. This is especially sad because it is unnecessary.

The good news is that, with proper planning, you can qualify for Medicaid without having to go broke, preserving most or even all of your wealth even if you require years of care in a nursing home or at home. In fact, even if a person already is in a nursing home, or requires care to remain in their home, planning can be done that will, in most cases, preserve

a substantial majority of their wealth.

And, yes, this is true despite the “fiveyear lookback” that many people have heard about. The net result is ensuring your financial security and independence, while also ensuring a financial legacy for your loved ones.

How do you get started? The first step is to consult with an expert estate planning and elder law attorney.

Medicaid eligibility planning is complicated, and you need to work with an experienced attorney who understands not only the complex Medicaid eligibility rules, but also understands the exceptions to the rules, and the exceptions to the exceptions to the rules! Even the timing of a Medicaid application can be critical. Plus, that attorney needs to understand any income and estate tax ramifications and be able to coordinate the Medicaid eligibility planning with your other estate planning. Once the attorney has a solid understanding of your situation and your needs, he or she will be able to devise a plan that best suits you and your family, providing you with both protection and peace of mind.

So, there is no need to fear the expense of long-term care; the key is getting the planning process started now. Then, you can rest easy knowing that you’ve done all that you can to preserve your financial security and independence, and to preserve your financial legacy for those you love.

For over 29 years, The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. has helped thousands of families in the region protect their legacies. The firm is recognized nationally and locally as an expert resource for estate planning and elder law. Please visit mrobinsonlaw.com or send an email to info@mrobinsonlaw. com. Phone: 585-374-5210

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11

55+

finances

Retirement or College Fund?

Should you fund your retirement account or set aside money to help your kids pay for college? Local experts weigh in

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

M

any 55-plussers find themselves at a financial crossroads: build their retirement fund or help their children with college. If they can’t entirely do both, one option clearly represents the best choice to local financial experts.

“There’s no question about it,” said Rob Cupello, financial adviser with Cupello Financial Services in Rochester. “Put retirement first.

No one will lend you money for it. Students can always borrow.

“You need at least $1 million for retirement to have a decent living. College is so expensive. You can’t afford to drain your retirement fund.”

Weighing your options in the choice can help you make the right decision as to how much you can help with college expenses.

“You have to understand how much you can fund for each goal and what the trade-offs are,” said Cynthia Turoski, certified public accountant/personal financial specialist and a certified financial planner with The Bonadio Group, which has locations in Rochester and other cities across the state.

Is working until you’re 80 or 90 a problem for you? Or living a lower standard of living for retirement an option?

Could your children defer college a few years?

Thinking the pros and cons of each choice can help you understand how the future will play out.

If you or another family member can loan your child money, the interest stays in the family, but Turoski warned that you have to pay tax penalties on the interest.

“Do you put your relationship into that of a borrower and lender?” she asked. “Will the child be responsible for paying it? Are you willing to walk away if the child doesn’t pay?”

She also warns parents to not loan money that they absolutely must have to retire.

If you really want to help the kids, leave your retirement savings alone and decide what you really need to live on. Cut the cable bill, magazine subscriptions, fancy phone plans, big vacations and meals out. Sell an unused vehicle, thus eliminating the fuel, insurance, maintenance and registration costs. Sell unused real estate or other property of value. Consider downsiz-

12

55 PLUS - July / August 2015

ing your home. Divert the extra money to the college fund.

You could also pick up a part-time job or return from retirement to your career. Many retirees find satisfaction working as a consultant in their areas of expertise as well.

Do all you can to help your aspiring collegian work. Buying him a used car to drive to work may be a good investment. Help him job hunt with the skills and connections you’ve acquired over the years.

“During the summer, reach out to the finance office ahead of time to work on campus during the school year,” Turoski said.

Working at least 40 hours per week summers and part-time during the school year goes a long way toward paying for his education.

“I think the greatest thing a family can do is help their kids get employment,” said Dave DeWind, financial adviser with Sage Rutty & Co., Inc. in Rochester.

He also tells parents to “set aside

money in a 529 college savings plan, which are tax-advantaged,” he said.

Consider all the scholarships associated with organizations to which you, your spouse and your child belong: employers, civic groups, and alumni organizations, in addition to academic scholarships.

Seek expert help for finding college aid, scholarships and loans. Your child’s high school guidance counselor may offer some ideas, as well as financial professionals.

Jerry Wells, senior financial planner with Financial Freedom Group in Rochester, recommends searching online for “college planning Rochester New York” to find local experts.

Wells recommends not co-signing when your child takes out loans for education because if he doesn’t make enough salary after school to make monthly payments, government-backed income — recognition programs can help him deal with the shortfall. If the loan is in your name, you won’t receive any grace.

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Kids & College Making college cost less can help you and your child better afford higher education. Here’s what some experts have to say.

• “Get the child on board with their degree plan so it’s something they can make money at later and afford to pay for the cost of the education upon graduation.

• “Help them pick something they’ll stick with. Many college students spend five to six years in school because of transfers and changing degrees. Legwork ahead of time could save a lot. Make sure the college is accredited.

• “Research ahead of time to see if you can transfer from community college. Take the general education core there. Online colleges are becoming more respected, too.”

Cynthia Turoski, certified public accountant/personal financial specialist and a certified financial planner with The Bonadio Group • “Why spend $240,000 for college education when there are good state schools and junior colleges that can save the children so much?

• “Pick a shorter degree program and one that pays.

Some credit courses in high school can qualify for college credits. These are great and save the parents quite a bit of money. A lot of local high schools have a parents’ night. It’s such a great resource.”

Dave DeWind, financial advisor with Sage Rutty & Co., Inc. in Rochester

HE DOESN’T HAVE ALZHEIMER’S. BUT IT’S CRUSHING HIM. Being a caregiver is one of the toughest roles on the planet and many caregivers will reach their breaking point without ever asking for help. The good news is, you can provide hope. If you know a caregiver, find out how you can help them get a break when it’s needed most: today.

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13

55+

solutions

Thinking About Selling Your Business?

You should consider selling to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan

By Rob Brown

A

number of Rochester business owners have helped themselves, their companies and their employees by selling their company stock to an ESOP. Owners who sell to ESOPs receive fair market value at capital gains rates for the sale of their stock. The company pays for the stock with pre-tax contributions. The ESOP allocates the stock to individual employees over time.

When employees retire or otherwise leave employment, they receive the financial benefits of the stock allocated to them. Under certain circumstances, selling shareholders can postpone paying tax on their sale proceeds indefinitely.

Somet i m e s , owners sell only part of their stock to their ESOP. This technique can help Brown the owner withdraw a portion of the value from their business to invest in other assets that lower their investment risk profile. Sometimes owners sell their stock in multiple transactions over a period of time as they wind down their own personal involvement in the business.

At least three companies on the 2014 Rochester Top 100 list are ESOP 14

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companies. Employees of Liberty Pumps, Mirror Show Management and Ardent Learning own all or part of the stock of their companies through an ESOP. Other well-known local ESOP companies include Lewis Tree Service, H&C Tool Supply, Butler/Till, Synergy Global Solutions, Nordon, Inc., HCR Home Care and Campus Construction Management.

Other significant ESOP companies in central and western New York include Harper International (Buffalo), Gear Motions (Syracuse) Vance Metal Fabricating (Geneva), Golden Artist Colors (New Berlin), Once Again Nut Butter (Nunda) and Cameron Manufacturing & Design (Horseheads).

Congress has supported ESOPs since they were first authorized in 1974. In 1998, Congress implemented a law that added additional tax benefits for the benefit of S corporation ESOPs. Just last October, U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez said, “Employee stock ownership plans are another example of business leadership. In 2012, there were roughly 6,800 such plans, with nearly 14 million total participants and assets just over $1 trillion. When used as they were intended, ESOPs can contribute to the growth of a company while helping employees save for retirement.” He described ESOPs as a part of “shared prosperity” that will keep capitalism strong.

Some of the most important advantages of an ESOP company are not reflected in the day-to-day balance sheet. According to the nonprofit National Center for Employee Own-

ership (NCEO), “Douglas Kruse and Joseph Blasi of Rutgers have found that ESOPs appear to increase sales, employment, and sales per employee by about 2.3 percent to 2.4 percent per year over what would have been expected absent an ESOP.” The NCEO is available to consult with business owners who are thinking about selling their shares to an ESOP. “The sense of employee ownership in an ESOP company becomes an incredibly powerful cultural force that builds employee satisfaction as well as employee prosperity, says Amanda DeVito, director of engagement at Butler/Till. “The excitement is palpable in ESOP companies.”

“ESOPs also allow owners to continue the legacy of the company they have built”, says DeVito. “The name stays on the door and the company stays in town. The selling owner doesn’t need to worry that valued employees will be displaced or that the local economy will suffer yet another body blow.”

When a business owner is thinking about slowing down or selling, an ESOP should be in the consideration set along with other traditional exit strategies. When an ESOP is the right solution, the seller, the employees and the community are all beneficiaries.

Rob Brown is a partner in ESOP Plus®: Schatz Brown Glassman Kossow LLP, a national boutique ESOP law firm, with an office in Rochester. He can be reached at 585-512-3414 ext. 2 or by email at rbrown@esopplus.com.

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Senior Apartments Villas for Lease • Patio Homes For Sale July / August 2015 - 55 PLUS

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dancing

Square Dancing Anyone?

Looking for exercise, mental stimulation, music and friendship? Try square dancing

By John Addyman

T

Joining the party are Mary Lou Hogle, Bob DeWald, Brenda Wideman.

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he music and swirling had stopped.

Bob Hager sat down next to his wife. Caller Mike Callahan was giving everyone a breather after the first, warm-up dance, and the Hagers were taking advantage.

The cafeteria tables at the Roth Middle School in Henrietta were folded up and gathered in two-thirds of the room. But in one large corner, with chairs forming two sides of a square, was an open floor, big enough for people to dance on…to square dance on.

Hager, president of the Belles ‘n’ Beaus Square Dance Club, told the story of how he came to square dancing 15 years ago.

“Alice had heard about it. She told me we should try it. I was very reluctant. ‘No way,’ I told her. Then she told me we had to take lessons.”

Hager said.

His eyes rolled. Lessons!

Days later, Alice dragged Bob onto a square dance floor. “I’ll try anything once,” he told her, begrudgingly.

An hour later, he hurt from laughing.

“We were laughing so hard because we screwed up so much,” he said. “But nobody worries about that.

Nobody gets upset. We had fun that night, and we were hooked.”

It’s a familiar tale.

Alice And Gary Bubel of Caledonia twirl in the Rochester Area Square Federation of Western Round and Square Dance Clubs’ Dance-O-Rama.

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dancing

Hands are important in square dancing. Here Paula Schumacher of Baldwinsville, and Terry and Joe Pratt of Hunt wheel through a set of calls.

On the Rebound Square dancing became our national folk dance when President Ronald Reagan signed into law a Senate joint resolution in June 1982 designating it as the national folk dance of the United States. Born when America was a cluster of colonies, its popularity has ebbed and flowed. Almost dead in the early 1900s, square dancing was reinvigorated by Henry Ford as a good form of exercise and a way to gentrify employees — he even had footsteps painted on the floor of his engineering building in Dearborn so people could learn the steps using a new assistive device — the phonograph.

Rochester saw a renewed interest in the mid-1960s.

“There was a point that Eastman Kodak Co. had a square dance club as part of its recreation program,” said Callahan, who has been a professional square dance caller since 1974.

“There would be 200 to 300 people there on State Street on Wednesday nights, and they’d have callers from all over the country.”

Callahan said he’d seen membership in square dance clubs steadily 18

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decline in recent years, but that’s finally changing. “It was going down for awhile, but now it’s evening out as people are starting to think about their health and the baby boomers are retiring, looking for things to do.”

Warren Olsen, who is about to become the new president of the Rochester Area Federation of Western Round and Square Dance Clubs, points to the graduating class of 50 new dancers that have come out of classes at member clubs — the Cloverleaf Squares, the Copy Cats, and the Champagne Whirl-A-Ways.

All About Learning the Calls To square dance today, you have to learn the calls, and to learn the calls takes time and on-the-floor classwork. But after you master those 68 standard calls, you can show up at any square dance, worldwide, and promenade through the night. The 16 clubs in the federation would love to have you join them on their dance floors — but you have to know what you’re doing to avoid collisions.

“We live on people who have taken classes at Copy Cats or Cloverleafs and live south of the city to join our

club,” said Carol Ann Stahl, co-president with her husband, George, of the Grand Squares club, which dances at Roth Middle school. “They are very nice to us here,” she said. “They set the room up, and don’t charge us. We’re a small club: we probably wouldn’t exist if they charged us.”

That up-front commitment to learn the calls is one of the obstacles square dance clubs see today in gaining new membership.

“It’s the Netflix effect,” Callahan said. “People want to stay home now.”

Terry Pratt, the president of the Rochester Federation, says the training time investment pays big dividends. “The friendships you make are going to last much longer than the classes,” she said. “When you’re done, you can dance anywhere and they will always welcome you.”

And dance club officials have seen a change as baby boomers get through that first year of retirement, then start asking, “What’s next?”

The boomers find that square dancing fulfills a lot of those things that research and their doctors tell them will keep them healthy — it’s exercise (Callahan says a two-hour square dance can cover about three miles of stepping), it’s social (“You meet a whole new circle of friends from all walks of life,” said Hagar.

Many Venues for Square-Dancing Sites for those who want to square dance are all over the place, including in Rochester, Chili, Batavia, Geneva, Snyder, Webster, Bath, Dalton, Pittsford, Henrietta, Auburn, Fulton and Penn Yan. The Rochester Area Federation of Western Round and Square Dance Clubs has a very informative website (www.squaredancingrochester.org), complete with contact numbers, schedules and maps of sites, plus a newsletter.

“There’s a new community out there.”), and it’s enough of a mental challenge following the caller’s procession of 68 directions to keep you alert the whole time you’re on the floor.

And something strikes you almost instantly at a square dance — everyone – everyone — is warmly accommodating and happy you’re there to share in something they love.

Seriously, where else can you go and feel instantly welcomed?

“I met George at a Cloverleafs singles square dance,” Carol Ann Stahl said. “We were married 27 years ago and we’ve been dancing all the way.” At most dances, there are some unattached dancers who show up, mostly female. To accommodate them and get them on the floor, “we share our husbands,” she said.

Hager agreed: “It’s not necessary to have a partner. There are a fair number of singles, many whose husbands or wives have died. Everybody takes turns with everybody.”

Once a dancer is familiar with all the calls and is ready to go, there’s no trouble finding someplace to dance every night.

Lessons to Start in September Square dance lessons generally start in September, as most clubs run a very light schedule for the summer, the bigger clubs like the Copy Cats and Cloverleaf Squares providing the main venues, “but most clubs offer lessons,” said Hager.

“There’s a question I always get asked,” he said. “People say, ‘Do I have to wear those square dance clothes?’ No, you don’t. It’s an optional thing, not required. Dress comfortably.”

Callahan, 68, is from Spencerport.

He choreographs the activity on the dance floor with recorded music and his voice. As the caller, he comes to the venues with a microphone, an amp setup and perhaps speakers — and his computer. “I call square dances for weddings, church groups, camps and dances,” he said. “I’ve been all over the country, to Australia, Alaska three times, up and down the east coast — like being in a band…setting up a tour.”

He worked for a year after graduating from St. John Fisher, got drafted in 1968 and sent to a missile site in Germany. He’d gotten interested in calling square dances as a teen. One

My Memories of Square Dancing I was 16 or 17, in high school, and my friend Skip invited me to a square dance at the Justus Fire Co., near Chinchilla, Pa., where the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Interstate 81 meet.

Square dancing?

My first thought was that I didn’t have the bandana and suspenders that people wear to square dances.

“It’s not like that at all,” Skip said. “You’ll enjoy yourself. It’s fun. I promise.”

So we arrived on a Saturday night. I’d taken square dancing in gym class in high school (do they do that anymore?), so I knew the basics. But Skip and I were a mismatched pair — he was a lot better looking — but we were both pretty shy.

Eventually, we got out on the floor. He was on one side of the hall and I was on the other, and the caller and band set out on a new tune. It was the “kissing” square dance. I’d never heard about it.

And I’ve never forgotten it.

The object of this dance was, that after all the weaving and partner-swinging and do-si-doing, the music would stop, and you’d be in the middle of the square with caller let him borrow some records so he could practice at home. There were called schools in New England, “and gradually I got known, and that’s it.

I work five nights a week, easy — sometimes seven.”

Square dancing has changed in some fundamental ways. “The music has changed a lot,” he said. “It’s not traditional country anymore, it’s Elvis and Frank Sinatra, all kinds of instrumental music.” And he’s not just a caller, he sings, too, adding depth to some songs. His voice is another rhythmic undertone to the dance.

And it’s a little healthier than some people may think. “You can’t drink and square dance,” Callahan

a member of the opposite sex in front of you — someone who was prepared to plant a big smack on your kisser.

My opinion of square dancing changed on the spot.

The first girl I kissed gave me a little peck on the lips. Polite, following the rules of the dance.

But the second girl, well, I figured as long as I was here in Justus, Pa., and had a very good friend with me, I could test the limits of this kissing dance a little…so when it was my turn to kiss again, I figured — what the hell?

And I planted one on her.

And she planted right back.

God bless farm girls from northeastern Pennsylvania.

I think my ears wiggled.

The music started up again, and it was time to keep dancing.

She smiled at me, and off we both went to the next steps.

Somehow, I lost her in the crowd after the dance. I don’t remember getting her name or where she was from. I know Skip and I left the dance shortly after that.

Is square dancing fun? Oh, yes…

By John Addyman

said. “We tell people, ‘Don’t have a cocktail before you come here.’”

He stresses how broad the appeal of square dancing is. “In a club, you could be dancing with a business executive, a teacher, a factory worker… nobody knows what everybody does and nobody cares — that’s the beauty of how square dancing brings people together. You forget about the office and get good exercise.”

“We have people from all walks of life,” agreed Olsen. “From janitors to aerospace engineers, doctors and lawyers. People think we don’t have a lot in common, but we do — we all love to square dance.”

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my turn

By Bruce Frassinelli Email: bruce@cny55.com

Was it Coincidence, or Was it Fate?

T

wo of our most famous presidents — Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy — were assassinated roughly about a century apart: Lincoln in 1865 and Kennedy in 1963.

T h e re a re s o m e i n t e re s t i n g coincidences involving the 16th and 35th presidents. For example: • Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846; Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

• Lincoln was elected president in 1860; Kennedy was elected in 1960.

• There are seven letters in each last name.

• B o t h presidents were assassinated on a Friday; both were shot in the presence of their wives, and both were shot in the head.

•Both were directly concerned with civil rights.

• Kennedy’s secretary’s name was Lincoln, while Lincoln’s secretary’s name was Kennedy.

• Kennedy’s secretary warned him not to go to Dallas, while Lincoln’s secretary warned him not to go to the theater.

• Both of their successors’ names were Johnson. Andrew Johnson became president when Lincoln died, while Lyndon Johnson became president when Kennedy was killed.

Each name contains 13 letters.

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• Both Johnsons served in the U.S. Senate. Both were southern Democrats.

Andrew Johnson was born in 1808; Lyndon Johnson was born in 1908.

• Their assassins — John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald – were southerners favoring unpopular ideas. Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and hid in a theater; Booth shot Lincoln in a theater and hid in a

warehouse.

• Oswald and Booth were both killed before a trial could be held. They were born 100 years apart.

• Lee Harvey Oswald and John Wilkes Booth both contain 15 letters, and both men have a total of three names.

• Lincoln was shot in Ford’s Theatre, while Kennedy was shot in a Lincoln made by Ford.

So what gives? Are these historical figures actually linked by some spooky

phenomenon?

Hardly.

Several prominent debunkers, including snopes.com, take great pains in dissecting each of the coincidences to show that chance and probability are more likely explanations in some instances, while others don’t even stand the test of historical accuracy.

For example, try as we might, we have been unable to find any indication of Lincoln’s secretary by the name of “Kennedy.”

To “ g e e w h i z ” the happenstance that each president’s name has seven letters is to ignore the fact that the average length of presidential surnames is 6.6 letters.

That both presidents were shot in the head is less than surprisingly given that head shots are considered the most deadly target of assassins, and both presidents were seated when they were shot making targets of other parts of the body less likely.

The Lincoln-Kennedy coincidences make for the fanciful conjecture that springs up around unfortunate international events such as presidential assassinations. There are some who believe that both Booth and Oswald were in league with rogue elements in the U.S. government, whose mission was to get rid of these men who made unpopular decisions — Lincoln on slavery and Kennedy on civil rights issues in the South.

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July / August 2015 - 55 PLUS

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learning

Can I Really Go Back and Start Over?

By Robert Hesselberth

I

f you had to choose all over again, what profession would you choose? Something different than what you actually did choose?

But wait... If we can’t choose all over again, what’s the next best thing?

Lifelong learners know the answer to that question: You can take or even teach topics that put you back into that world that was bypassed when you became immersed in your actual profession. If we once liked a topic that we thought could become our profession, why not find out more about it now that we have the time?

We may not be able to go back again, but we can learn a lot about top-

Marie Levin of Fairport retired from ACM Medical Laboratories Inc., a division of Unity Health Systems. She is now heavily involved in Osher.

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ics that we once imagined we could make into a profession or that have become of interest to us.

Marie Levin spent a career in marketing and corporate management, but her retirement interest in lifelong learning led her to teach an ancient history course that included a demonstration by a professional belly dancer.

Levin’s progression of interests has led her through a succession of new challenges, all of them fascinating for her: From working as a “candy striper” in a hospital as a teenager, where she developed her interest in the medical technology industry, to business management, to travel and teaching history to lifelong learners.

After earning an MBA with a marketing concentration at Columbia University, she had positions working with doctors and hospitals in clinical laboratory science. Later, an opportunity arose to come to Rochester to change the business direction of a company from blood testing for physicians and hospitals to drug testing and clinical trials for pharmaceutical drug development. It was a three-year assignment, but she stayed eight years before retiring as chief operating officer of her clinical trials division. She then consulted at other organizations and joined the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at RIT in 2004. Her worldwide travel had propelled her into a new field: ancient history.

At Osher, she took history courses and migrated into teaching. Starting in 2005, she taught history courses about Rome, Greece, China, Russia and Japan, among others. She reports that her course on ancient Mesopo-

Michael Schnittman is converting himself into an avid lifelong learner.

He retired from Lacy Katzen, LLP in Rochester in 2011 after a career there that began in 1969. tamia was considerably enhanced by the belly dancing demonstration.

Her biggest problem in her new field is finding the time to prepare a new course, since she and her husband, Herb, like to travel, attend plays and Rochester Philharmonic concerts, and spend time with their many grandchildren. But she learns a lot of new things such as researching on the Internet to prepare for a course, and how to use Facebook videos in her lectures.

Michael Schnittman also changed his field of interest when he retired in 2011 from a long career as an attorney specializing in credit and collections.

He was also active as a volunteer providing pro bono legal services and civil litigation support.

In retirement he has become a voracious lifelong learner, taking a host of courses on diverse subjects: Aristotle, jazz, medical ethics, current events, listening to great music, Irish literature and great books. As a working attorney, he had little time for reading and other diversification. As a retiree, he decided to make up for lost time by joining Osher and soaking up as many other subjects as the clock would allow and that his head would hold. His other retirement ac-

Reasons That Retirees May Change Their Field of Interest 1. The “new” field was a possible choice when they finished their schooling and they were always interested in it.

2. Felt “burned out” in their professional field. Some people simply tire of their occupation, for whatever reason, and are ready for a new field of interest, especially in retirement.

3. Always like learning new things. May have been very successful in their chosen occupation and retained a love for it, but have an appetite for new things as well.

4. Want a new challenge.

Some people need new challenges in their life just to keep it interesting. Learning an unfamiliar topic can add spice to their life.

5. It was the field they would have gone into if (you fill in the blank) had been different. Lifelong learning provides opportunities for filling in blanks in their earlier life.

6. The new field was a hobby during their professional life, and they are doing more of it in retirement, or perhaps teaching courses in it.

Elise de Papp of Pittsford used to work as pathologist at the former Genesee Hospital. She now teaches at Osher focusing on a variety of history topics that interest her. tivities include two book clubs, one that reads only books by dead authors, and another that reads books on Jewish topics. He and his wife, a historian, have traveled with Road Scholar (Elderhostel) trips to Charleston, New York City and Russia.

Schnittman hasn’t entirely divorced himself from the legal profession. He still volunteers as a tutor in city elementary schools in the “Lawyers for Learning” program sponsored by the Monroe County Bar Association. He also does pro bono legal work representing homeowners in danger of foreclosure or those who face claims for unpaid debts. But several days a week he can be found in class, absorbing a wide variety of entirely new topics unrelated to his profession.

Elise de Papp has also changed her activity focus in retirement. After retiring from a lifelong career as a pathologist, she began taking courses at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

After de Papp graduated from medical school, she spent an extra year there as a student fellow in pathology. Later, as a doctor, she spe-

cialized in pediatrics, then migrated into hematology. She enjoyed the lab work so much that she switched back to pathology, the field from which she retired in 1997.

In retirement she continued her lifelong interest in horses and dressage, and has been active in the Rochester chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America. She joined Osher in 2000 to begin taking courses and teaching about the pathology of cancer. Her daughter had married into an Armenian family, which sparked an interest in the history of the Middle East, including the genocide that occurred against the Armenians around the time of World War I. Her interest in this history led her to design and teach courses about the Crusades and the Ottoman Empire.

Her ownership of a horse and related activities led her to design and teach a course that reviewed the involvement of horses in the development of various civilizations around the world. Due to her hearing loss, she especially appreciates the FM hearing system that operates in all of the Osher classrooms. It has made possible her transition from pathology to classroom teacher and student.

What all of these lifelong learners have in common is a wide range of interests and a desire to keep their minds active in retirement. They all fit well into the Osher environment, “Where curious minds gather...” and where retirement transitions into new fields are made easy.

Bob Hesselberth is the retired founder and CEO of Spectracom Corporation, and an active lifelong learner.

He is the author of a new memoir, Two Shakes of a Lamb’s Tail, published in 2014. He describes his retirement profession as “paragraph artisan,” to which he converted himself after a long career as electronic engineer and business manager. He lives in Penfield with his wife, Marianne. To clear his mind after a day in class, he plays racquetball twice a week.

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The Man Behind the Curtains John Parkhurst has been a powerful force behind the arts and entertainment in Rochester

By Ernst Lamothe Jr.

T

here are very few things that are universal — music is one of them. It is difficult to find someone who doesn’t like any music. Yet it is even rarer to find people who like all types of music. The love of the lyrical and instrumental power of music is what drives John Parkhurst everyday to his office.

“I’ve been in love with music for 50 to 60 years of my life,” said Parkhurst, 64, the chief operating officer of the Rochester Broadway Theatre League. “Music can be a hobby, it can be a way to relax when stressed, it can be entertainment, it can offer you a chance to play an instrument, it can offer you a chance to play as a group of musicians or can simply remind you of an important moment in your life.”

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Music has not only played an essential theme in Parkhurst’s life, but his life’s work has been to make sure it plays an important moment in the lives of others.

Humble beginnings Starting as a stagehand in high school, Parkhurst eventually did stage work at the Eastman Theatre in 1968. He could have had a job at the post office or RG&E, which were two potential suitors, but decided it was more fun to keep working behind the scenes.

When he was young, he would watch his father work as a spotlight operator at Eastman Theatre.

Parkhurst was determined to become the third generation of his family to perform work behind the stage. He

put sets together, handled props and did lighting, among other essential backstage activities, where no two days were alike.

“I just enjoyed being where the action was. What we do behind the stage is so important to how the overall production goes. There are a lot of unsung heroes that make things run smoothly who people will never know their names,” said Parkhurst.

“I always tell people spend life doing what you enjoy, and if that happens to be your actual job, then you are a lucky person.”

After a stint in the Marines, Parkhurst devoted himself to the world of music.

He has many great memories such as seeing Frank Sinatra at the War Memorial, Eric Clapton at the

John Parkhurst posing in front of the Auditorium Theather in early June.

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Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center and producing the opening ceremonies for the Ryder Cup at Oak Hill.

He also worked with Tony Bennett whom he called a consummate professional and talented man from day one.

“I always enjoyed working with great performers like Tony, Eric and Frank. They truly loved music themselves and were great musicians,” Parkhurst said. “Just sitting down and talking with them, you learn so much

about who they are. Sitting down in your office hearing Eric Clapton play music is a beautiful thing.”

Parkhurst also remembers the late, great B.B. King and his ability to move people with his words and his skills.

“He was truly a legend,” he added. “He, like many greats, were even better when they performed in front of a smaller crowd where their music could fill up the room. It was like they were playing in your living room.”

New Theater Season: Solid Lineup Once again, the Rochester Broadway Theatre League and its partner Albert Nocciolino present a slew of productions to entertain Western and Upstate New York musical fans. Every year offers a different challenge in putting a variety of shows in place. John Parkhurst is pleased with the lineup for the new season, which includes several Tony Award winners, a classic holiday production and a musical about one of the greatest songwriters of her generation.

“We’ve been doing this for a long time so we have an idea of the kinds of shows that we think this northwest market would like,” said Parkhurst. “We like to offer crowds variety and wonderful Broadway shows that come right into their backyard. We also look for shows that obviously haven’t been to the Rochester area and we look at shows that have something for everyone.”

The slate includes: • “Newsies, winner of the 26

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2012 Tony Awards for Best Score and Best Choreography • Motown the Musical: The story about how Motown founder Berry Gordy went from featherweight boxer to music mogul • Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, which tells the story of two showbiz buddies putting on a show in a Vermont Inn • Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, which features the story of her remarkable rise to stardom.

• Matilda the Musical:, winner of four Tony Awards • Dirty Dancing: The story of a 17-year-old Frances Baby Houseman who worked with Johnny Castle, a resort dance instructor.

“I think people are going to love what we have in store,” said Parkhurst. “In the future, I would love to have Les Miserables come here because that is my favorite show. Also I want to bring back the Radio City Musical Hall here because it was such a success.”

He was also instrumental in running the Rochester Music Fest that was previously located in Genesee Valley Park. It offered a first of its kind in Rochester, a true R&B and soul multi-day musical festival. The concert featured Grammy nominated and winning artists such as Boyz II Men, John Legend, Common and Brian McKnight.

“I just thought there was a need for that in the community,” Parkhurst said. “It would cost an individual so much to see these artists separately in concert, but now they could see all of them in one weekend in your own city. I think people truly enjoyed the musicfest and enjoyed having it in a nice, open outdoor setting.”

The love of Broadway On his way to work, Parkhurst’s car radio typically can’t make a decision, in a good away. His dial bounces around from station to station as he enjoys the interplay of disc jockeys and diverse music from Van Morrison, the Eagles big band and Broadway to newer artists like Imagine Dragon and Adele. For more than the three decades, that drive has taken him to the Rochester Broadway Theatre League, 888 E. Main St. “Broadway helps you appreciate the joy of music because there are so many different types of music that have become successful in Broadway plays,” he said. “I could never just listen to one type of music because I think it would be so boring. It would be like watching just one play your whole life” Parkhurst’s primary responsibilities include overseeing the day-to-day operations of the theater and organization. He helps books shows, talking with agents and managers to make it happen. Once the shows are booked and the actors arrive in Rochester, he talks with stagehands, producers, directors and the actors that will bring the Broadway show to life for packed houses of close to 2,500 people.

“I have had the pleasure of working with John Parkhurst for almost 30 years,” said Albert Nocciolino, president of NAC Entertainment. “John is a true professional and he is considered to be one of the best in his profession and is respected by everyone.”

Albert Nocciolino, president of NAC Entertainment with Parkhurst in a recent event. “John is a true professional and he is considered to be one of the best in his profession and is respected by everyone.”

The league owns and manages the Auditorium Theatre, where more than 125 touring Broadway shows and other live entertainment events are presented annually. The organization also provides ticketing, marketing and production services for other organizations and has 10 arts education programs. Founded in 1957 as an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization, the theater has grown into Rochester’s premier venue management and service organizations for the performing arts and entertainment.

“Broadway has always had a family feel to it. You have tours that go city to city and the crew, actors, directors, producers and staff become each other’s families,” said Parkhurst.

“I can guarantee you that when a production comes to town, there is someone on the staff that I have worked with before. It’s a passion profession.

People put a lot of careful work into their trade and my staff and I put a lot of work making sure that they feel welcomed in Rochester.”

In addition to presenting touring Broadway shows, the theater provides ticketing, marketing and production services for other nonprofit organization events.

According to the Broadway Theatre League, the estimated annual economic impact of the events on the Rochester community is about $30 million.

“One thing about the Rochester area is that people truly enjoy music,

plays and art in this community,” said Parkhurst. “They understand how incredible it is for quality of life and they gravitate toward it. ” His colleagues and friends have many superlatives to lay at his feet.

He is described as a man with expertise, sensitivity, integrity and simply the best.

“There is no substitute for learning from someone who has been in the business for as long as John has,” said Linda Glosser, Rochester Broadway Theatre League vice president. “He is incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to the entertainment industry and I’ve had the benefit of being able to learn from him beginning with my early days as an intern, through today as I approach age 55.”

Steve Martin, a senior vice president at Canandaigua National Bank, who has known Parkhurst for years, calls him a genuine person that you won’t find in too many places on Earth. He said whether it is his jovial

Lifelines Place of birth: Rochester Age: 64 Lives now in: Canandaigua Marital status: Married more than 40 years to wife Kathryn Parkhurst Favorite restaurants: Casa de Pasta and Eric’s Office in Canandaigua. In Rochester: Restaurant 2 Vine Ideal weekend: Good food, good weather, good friends.

Two things that few people know about him: Third generation in the entertainment business. He is not a performer himself, just loves the industry Hobbies: Boating on Canandaigua Lake Quote: “On opening night, I stand in the back of the auditorium and watch people’s reactions to shows.

You can tell if a show is really hitting all cylinders when intermission starts and people start filing into the lobby,” said Parkhurst. “I still enjoy that buzz and excitement when a play is going on and the buzz behind the curtain assets change, wardrobe change and new actors come out. It is organized chaos and it is beautiful.”

personality or his infectious laugh, the people who eventually meet Parkhurst are better for knowing him.

“He’s a person that you want to meet and it is a pleasure to just talk with him. He has accomplished so much in life and he has interacted with the legends of entertainment.

In addition, Martin said Parkhurst has a great business acumen, which is why he is able to bring such high quality entertainment to the community.

“He has the gift of knowing what works in entertainment and what doesn’t. That makes him pretty special,” added Martin. “He has an eye for detail and a gift of knowing everything about a production from lighting to performances.”

The future and his future When you reach a certain age, everybody starts asking you the question, when are you going to retire?

Parkhurst understands and doesn’t begrudge people asking the question.

Either way, he has an answer for them and himself. He’s not ready for a curtain call anytime soon.

“I know I am not ready now. I still have energy and I enjoy coming to work everyday,” he added. “There is not one day when I started counting the hours until the day was over. I enjoy working with my son, Andrew, who is overseeing operations. Maybe when it stops being fun I will consider it but so far I am extremely happy.”

However, there is something that would make him even happier. For years, there have been conversations about Rochester having a dynamic arts theater downtown. The conversation has spanned more than three city mayors. Parkhurst envisions a grand, larger-than-3,000-seat venue that could draw even bigger acts to the area.

“Places like Syracuse, Buffalo and Utica have invested in having larger venues and we need one here too,” said Parkhurst. “Right now Josh Groban is on tour and we would have loved to have him come here. But the Auditorium is way too small a venue for them and we weren’t even in the conversation to getting someone that I think the community would have really liked to see.”

All of the venues that Groban will be performing in during this year are at least 2,800 to 4,000-seating capacity.

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vets

Veterans Helping Veterans Many vets in Rochester have come together over the years to help soldiers ease back into civilian life

By Lynette M. Loomis

A

t the end of World Wars I and II and the Korean War, soldiers were welcomed home with open arms and treated like the heroes they were.

When soldiers of the Vietnam War returned home, there were no parades, no handshakes or words of thanks from strangers. They returned home to face covert, if not open, hostility.

In Rochester, many people have come together over the last 40-plus years to help soldiers ease back into civilian life through Veterans Outreach Center.

Tom Cray’s story is not unusual, but what he and others did in support of veterans was to create the country’s oldest, free-standing veteran’s agency, Veteran’s Outreach Center (VOC).

Of Veterans Outreach Center’s 22-member board, many members are 55 and older, including (back row, from left): Priscilla Imburgia; Hon. Patricia Marks; Bob Janson (Navy); Susan Acker; Nick DeLeo (Army); Lynette Loomis; Don Reeve (Army). Seated are, from left, Kent Fellows (Marine Corps); John Crowe (Army); and Jim Metzler (Air Force). (Not pictured: Major General John Batiste, retired (Army) and Arnold Gray (Marine Corps).

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“Like most vets coming home from Vietnam, I wanted to find work,” said Cray. “I didn’t want to talk about war, what I did in my two tours and I certainly didn’t want to talk about Vietnam on any level. I self-medicated on alcohol and I had no idea what to do with my life. It wasn’t until I started working with Vietnam vets at Monroe Community College that I realized we, as the newest generation of veterans, had many issues to deal with, not the least of which was the public’s perception of us as ‘losers.’

There were substance abuse issues, unemployment, anger, mental health issues and perhaps for some, if not many, having to deal and cope with the moral pain.”

When the City of Rochester tried to evict the Veterans Outreach Center from the Armory, Cray and other vets locked themselves in that location to call attention to veterans’ issues. In the next few years Cray, Bill Reddy and Tom Leckinger incorporated what is now Veterans Outreach Center, Inc. Ed and Jacqueline Harris, along with their son Stirlin Harris, provided much needed financial support and connections with foundations.

Says Cray, “I was proudly associated with VOC for 36 years. And I was even more proud of the dedicated staff. They were totally committed to the vision and mission of the center. They worked hard and they knew one very important fact — they helped build and keep alive the old-

Bob Gregoire, a retired captain at US Navy, is one of more than 200 people who volunteer at Veterans Outreach Center. “During my military career, I was blessed with a very successful career, but during that time I witnessed many hurting soldiers, sailors, and airmen. Now that I have the time to give back, maybe I can do a little to help them understand and work through their issues and rejoin the community as successful participants.” est community-based veterans’ initiative in the United States. They not only helped every veteran who came through the door but they also helped each other. They supported one another, professionally and personally.

They became the ‘family of one’ and shared their love for one another and their love for VOC with every veteran and family member who ever entered 459 South Ave.” Priscilla Imburgia has been involved with veterans on local and national levels for over five decades and is a former VOC board vice chairwoman. She was well aware of how returning troops from Vietnam had been ignored. She re-developed Operation Welcome that had briefly operated during Desert Storm welcoming returning troops. After 9/11, VOC wished to revive the program and answer the call not only for troop arrivals, but more often for individual returns from all over the globe.

This required enlisting hundreds of volunteers to sustain the mission of welcoming home every returning military member to applause, cheers, hugs and thanks. Volunteers generously responded to Imburgia’s requests. “Thirteen years later and Welcome Home continues to operate

thanks to remarkable volunteers. It is still a profound experience for everyone who participates.”

Passion for veterans, respect for their service and love of country continues to motivate all board members, volunteers and staff of VOC. Board chairman Don Reeve, US Army Vietnam vet, explains why people support VOC. “I know I’m not alone in saying that part of what drives my passion for serving at the center is my military experience, knowing that I can help change circumstances for those who are walking in the same shoes I did, all these years later,” said Reeve.

For many others, it’s the fact that they didn’t serve that drives them to give back through volunteerism now. But we all share a deep respect for the sacrifice our military members and veterans make, and we know that this community has more to offer them in making a brighter future for them as civilians.”

Former board chairman Bob Janson is a Vietnam-era Navy veteran.

“The question of why I participate in this board is an easy one. Less than 1 percent of Americans have served in the armed forces. Those of us who either enlisted, like me, or were draft-

ed agreed to serve our country and go where asked and do whatever we were asked to do to protect this country and the freedom we all enjoy. I was fortunate to have four years of duty that never put me truly in harm’s way. But so many soldiers did not have the same experience. They fought in unbelievably terrible conditions, many died or were wounded and we owe them respect and care for their service. We are well positioned to serve the new generation of veterans from the continuing conflicts in the Middle East. Our board has added members who bring a broader range of expertise and knowledge as well as the ability to tap into the community for the support our veterans need.”

John Crowe is an Army veteran who has served on the VOC board for more than 20 years, including as a former board chairman. “From the first day I became involved through today, I believe there is no replacement for the concept of ‘veterans helping veterans’ …being able to talk with someone who has walked in my boots so to speak, who understands the emotion behind a phrase, and who tells a fellow vet ‘We are here to help you.’”

Are the issues facing today’s veterans different than that of their predecessors?

Todd Baxter executive director of VOC says that regardless of the era, veterans have similar needs. Many have what are classified as veterans readjustment problems — shell shock, battle fatigue or post traumatic sress disorder (PTSD) which can present itself decades after active service.

“Each day in America 22 veterans commit suicide,” Baxter said. “Although the VOC serves over 1000 veterans each year, we have never identified one client of the VOC who took their life once they walked through our doors. Other veterans are simply looking for a stepping stone back into our community including job training.”

Says Reeve, “Thanks to the dedication of the board, volunteers, and staff, as well as support from the community, veterans receive all of our services free of charge. We are proud to be giving back to the men and women who served our country.”

For more information about VOC, visit www.veteransoutreachcenter.org.

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retiring

Getting a New Job After a Long Career Experts say a few rules should be followed if you are interested in post-retirement employment

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

Y

ou may need additional income or just want to keep busy post-retirement — does seeking a job after a long career seem to be a daunting proposition?

While many companies actively seek younger adults, you still bring a lot to the table — perhaps more than you realize.

Rule No. 1 in getting a new job, according to experts: Be flexible.

“Some clients of mine aren’t that flexible,” said Ellie Levy, owner of Bailey Personnel Consultants in Rochester. “They babysit their grandkids and say they can’t work certain hours.”

Subbing for workers out on maternity or medical leave may be your segue into a steadier gig. But don’t let other retirement activities sabotage your efforts.

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Another way to market yourself is emphasizing the very maturity that you think is a drawback. Many employers want the experience and work ethic you offer.

If you fear your previous prestigious career may hamper you finding a job that provides just pin money, a revamped resume may make a difference.

“Don’t give your full work history,” Levy said. “Go back 10 years only.”

By making a skills-oriented resume, not a purely chronological one, you can underscore what you offer, not just where you’ve been. You can also write an “Objective” line into the resume to show you’re done with ladder climbing and want just a parttime job.

It may seem impressive to detail all the great things you’ve done, but

if you listed all your experiences and accomplishments, potential employers may think you won’t remain satisfied with the position they want to fill. Instead, “emphasize what you do that they need,” Levy said.

While job hunting, go beyond looking on job boards and in the newspaper. Most jobs available aren’t advertised before they’re filled.

“You’ve got to network,” Levy said. “Call people for whom you’ve worked before to seek if they need part-time or on-call workers.”

Ask your adult children if they know of any available jobs in the area.

If you spent years at home rearing the children who have just left the nest, you may lack a professional network; however, Levy suggests volunteering to prove your abilities.

“You may get in part-time later once they get to know you,” she said.

Tracie Alexander, program and volunteer manager for OASIS in Syracuse, said that the organization recruits retired teachers, fitness instructors, lecturers and sales people. “It’s a real plus to find people with experience,” Alexander said.

While OASIS — which also has an office in Rochester — prefers volunteer instructors, Alexander said that the organization understands that’s not feasible for all retirees and that some senior instructors are paid.

Once you have an interview set up, prepare for it. Continue to learn about the company and the position.

Knowing what to wear to the interview can make a difference.

“Look the part of the job you want,” Levy said.

If you were used to wearing suits to your workplace, but the job is managing a shift at a retail store, dress down. Dress appropriately for your age, but “don’t dress like you’re 90,” Levy said. “Get a new outfit. Don’t look dumpy.”

If you’re not sure what to wear, visit a competitor of the place you’re interviewing and notice what everyone’s wearing.

If you loved your career, consider consulting.

“You don’t get benefits, but you can’t have everything,” Levy said.

Of course, you’ll need to pay quarterly taxes on what you make since officially, you’ve started a new business.

Or, if your weekend hobbies represent your passion, think of a way you could sell your skill. Could you tutor, sew items to sell online or supply a local business with your stellar pies?

Levy believes that certain industries are more accessible for older, part-time workers than others, including manufacturing, service-oriented jobs and retail.

If you have experience managing people, those skills could transfer to such a job easily.

Healthcare, transportation and food service also seek part-time workers, but may require education and training. Some employers provide training, though, Levy said.

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picker

Making Money on Etsy Ontario resident favors Etsy over eBay. Why? He has sold more about 250 items in a year

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

D

aniel Lochner, 59, refers to his selling on Etsy as “a kind of hobby of mine.”

A father of two grown children, Lochner lives in Ontario.

He retired after a 27-year career with Eastman Kodak and began to sell vin-

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tage and antique items on eBay. But he said that he prefers Etsy (www. etsy.com/shop/TheDecoHotel) because the site is a little more active for the rare items he sells.

Lochner has sold about 250 items since he started on Etsy in early 2014.

He has about 450 items listed currently ranging from $6 to $600. Lochner has shipped to “every country I can think of and every US state,” he said.

He purchases items at auctions, estate sales and flea markets so he can resell them.

“You have to spend money to make money,” he said. “I keep a lot of items around. They’re all over my house.”

He has developed a strategy for getting the best purchase prices at estate sales. Since most last a few days, he waits until the last day of the sale when sellers lower prices to move more merchandise.

“But sometimes if you wait, you may not get that item you want,” he said.

Knowing the value of items has helped his business increase its profit.

“I might buy something for $1 and sell it for $100 when people don’t know what they’re selling,” Lochner said. “In private sales people are more willing to deal with you.”

Many people think of Etsy as a place to find handcrafted items — which it is — but the site also features rare and vintage items. Lochner likes to know people can use and enjoy the things he sells.

“I like to see things go back into the run of things,” he said. “Everything you find has a history and I love a good story behind an item. I like to

get as much info as possible.”

In addition to researching the items on his own, he asks the seller about the item’s history. Offering a back story to browsers helps items sell better on Etsy.

Beyond buying the items themselves, Lochner also spends money on packaging materials (when he can’t recycle previously used shipping materials), shipping, and for the listing, $20 for four months on the site.

Taking multiple sharp, focused pictures from different angles and in different lighting helps build buyer confidence as Lochner sells online.

Accurate measurements, clear shipping instructions and selling policies reassure customers as well.

Lochner shares a little background about himself and a headshot picture so browsers feel they know him a little better.

Etsy requires that crafted items must be handmade by the person listing it, or his immediate family. Vintage items must be pre-1995.

“I like how it keeps me constantly occupied,” Lochner said.

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writing

‘Giving is Living’ Talented Hilton woman loves doing for others

By Jessica Gaspar

I

t has been said hard work combined with talent usually pays off.

Local legend Josie Waverly is no exception. Waverly began her country music career more than two decades ago.

She is referred to often as New York state’s “Queen of Country Music.”

She has toured the United States

singing and has released a total of four albums. A fifth is in the works.

Waverly, who will turn 55 this year, lives in Hilton — the same place where she grew up, met her husband and raised her family.

She graduated from

From left: Jamie Rizzo, Josie Waverly and Dawnmarie Wahl pose for a picture at a recent book signing of “Josie the Singing Butterfly.” The book was written by Waverly and illustrated by Rizzo. A total of 20 books are planned in the series. Photo: www.terrysphotocountry.com.

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This is the cover of the first book in the “Josie the Singing Butterfly” series written by Josie Waverly. Illustrated by Jamie Rizzo.

Hilton High School in 1978 and married her high school sweetheart Bob shortly thereafter. The couple has been married for 35 years.

Having moved around a lot when she was a child, Waverly wanted different for her own kids — sons Jared and Justin.

“When Bob and I first got married, we vowed our kids would stay in the same town,” she said. “Although I was asked to move to Nashville, I didn’t want to uproot my family.”

In recent years, she owned and operated a local establishment, Josie’s Country Jukebox, from 2000 to 2005.

The restaurant and bar was home to live music. Waverly had found another outlet for her own music.

“I miss it. I miss the people,” she said as she reflects on her days at the Jukebox.

In the years since, Waverly has become a grandmother to five children. They are the inspiration behind her latest project — writing a series

of children’s books about “Josie the Singing Butterfly.”

“They inspired me to dig a little deeper than just my music, to leave them something they can treasure,” she said.

The title of the book is mostly autobiographic. Waverly’s husband calls her a butterfly. “[Because] I’m everywhere all the time,” she said.

Waverly writes the content of the books, and Jamie Rizzo, a 2001 Hilton High School graduate, illustrates them. Rizzo earned a degree in art from Roberts Wesleyan College and owns Intensity Creations, a local design company.

Life lessons So far, Waverly has written 17 of the 20 planned books. Each book reflects on a life lesson and will also be accompanied by a coloring book. The first was published in the summer of 2014. The first lesson, in pure Waverly fashion, focuses on using talents to make others happy.

“Everything I do is usually for someone else,” she said, but adds she’s happy doing it. “Giving is liv-

ing.”

In December, she raised money to donate some of her books to the children being treated at Golisano Children’s Hospital in Rochester as Christmas gifts.

She is upbeat and optimistic when

More About Josie the Singing Butterfly For more information or to purchase a “Josie the Singing Butterfly” book, visit www.JosieTheSingingButterfly.com. There are also T-shirts available for purchase.

Books are also available for purchase at: Lift Bridge Book Shop, 45 Main St., Brockport Bindings Bookstore, 28 W. Bank St., Albion To learn more about the music of Josie Waverly, visit www.

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she discusses her upcoming projects.

“I just think that when you stop dreaming, that’s when you get old.

The more I dream, the younger I feel,” she said.

With another album in the works, she has been performing as much as ever. Recently, she sang the National Anthem at the village of Hilton’s annual Christmas tree lighting.

She also recently sang at a benefit for Camp Haccamo at the Diplomat Party House in Rochester as well as at the Parma Senior Center.

She has also written and produced two musicals, one titled “My Gal Patsy,” which features the music of country legend Patsy Cline, and another called the “Queens of Pure Country,” in which Waverly portrays the iconic country singers Kitty Wells, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Dottie West, Barbara Mandrell, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire.

Waverly loves keeping busy and doesn’t have any plans on slowing down any time soon.

“I like to keep my creative energy rolling,” she said. “I’d be scared to death if it ever stops.”

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35

addyman’s corner

By John Addyman

There’s No Such Thing as a Good Squirrel

W

hen I was a little kid, the United States had just gotten to the point in our space program where we were talking about sending small animals into orbit and then bringing them back to see if they got all weird up there.

Those animals were dogs and mice and monkey.

But in my dreams, America sent squirrels in space — lots of them — and left them up there.

Not that I meant any harm to the rodents, I just figured Earth would be a much more pleasant place with a lot fewer squirrels.

My neighbors today openly wonder why my theory couldn’t be better applied to deer.

Let’s face it: squirrels are nasty, cunning, treacherous, fun-loving, human-hating, flower-bulb-eating, attic-encroaching and birdseed-thieving little beasts.

My wife and I have had five homes in our marriage, and in them, we’ve encountered three kinds of squirrels — black squirrels, gray squirrels, and red squirrels.

In our house in Connecticut, we had red squirrels. They are called red squirrels, first, because they are red…second, because they are from hell.

Red squirrels are smaller than gray squirrels and much faster. They are also very chatty and nosey. The are stealthy.

They are in-your-face obstreperous and pugilistic.

I say we “had” those squirrels, but that’s inaccurate.

They had us.

We loved our two-care detached garage behind out house.

It had a platform inside where I could put tires and the grille and

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the cushions from our lawn furniture.

That space quickly became a Residence Inn for red squirreldom. Every time the garage door would open, the squirrels would dart around, jumping from the platform to the eaves of the garage, coming down onto the floor and climbing rapidly back up to the roof again.

Walking into my garage was like stepping into a monkey cage at the zoo filled with gremlins.

Of course I took measures to get rid of them. I threw things at them.

Cans of tuna, mostly. Occasionally I’d nick one. I figured the noise of the can hitting and bouncing around the wood would eventually scare them off.

Fat chance.

I think they enjoyed the game.

Then I sealed

every place under the eaves where they could have gotten into the garage.

And they ate through the boards.

I got some Havahart animal traps. I put them on the platform and a couple of days later, I checked to see if I’d caught anything. Sure enough, there was a little red squirrel, lying on his back, paws up, eyes closed, in the first trap. I figured the little guy must have been in the trap long enough to starve and expire. I felt pretty bad about that.

So, I took the trap out back, where there was a big pile of leaves and twigs, and opened the back of the trap, letting the body slide out.

No sooner had he hit the ground then he was up, dart-

ing away and climbing a tree. When he got to a limb right above me, he laughed and peed.

I am not making this up.

The further problem with red squirrels is that they’re communal and collaborative.

Although I kept trapping them in my garage — and whether they were still or not when I found them, I was now driving the squirrels a good five miles and over a wide creek before letting them go — I was catching fewer and fewer. There were two reasons for this: one, I was actually becoming successful in getting the squirrels out of my garage and, two, the squirrels were getting wise to the traps.

They were having contests, running in one end of the trap, grabbing the apple or peanut butter, and zipping out the other end of the trap before it could snap shut. Some made it; some didn’t. The ones that made it laughed at the guys who weren’t quite fast enough. Then of course the big embarrassment is when I showed up to haul them away.

And it’s funny about the way they left the trap when I released them. In the beginning, they’d tear out of the trap and zip up the nearest tree like they were terrified. Toward the end, they’d kind of walk out, shoulders low, embarrassed that they’d been caught. One little guy even turned around and spit at me.

Once I finally got the squirrels out of the garage and was able to keep them out, I thought the menace was over.

Not happening.

Red squirrels never forget.

Our property was lined with 50foot pine trees, and to walk down the driveway to get the mail in the morning, I had to pass under those pine trees for 100 feet or so. As I started out, I could hear the first squirrel up in the tree recognize that I was on the way to the mailbox. The squirrel Western Union began, and as I continued on my short walk, the pine cones would start to fall…some had just been freshly chewed off and were falling at the speed of gravity — some were being hurled.

My friend Kevin didn’t believe me when I told him about my friends the red squirrels until he joined me for a walk to the mailbox.

“This is nuts,” he said, in a rain of

pine cones.

Lucky for us, the aim for a red squirrel trying to coordinate chewing off a pine cone with someone walking 30 feet below was not good, and we seldom got hit unless we remained stationary for a prolonged period — then they were able to home in on us.

As we walked back up the driveway, we could hear the red squirrels chirping in the trees above us, moving as we did. It was like a scene from Jurassic Park except this was my driveway in Connecticut.

“This this is crazy,” he said.

A pine cone landed at his feet.

More chirping from above.

“Next time you want to talk to me, you come over to my place,” Kevin said. “I think they know my name now.”

A month later, my family moved here, to glorious Upstate New York.

Before we left, the moving van was parked in our driveway for a day and a half.

When it pulled out, it was covered with pine cones…and squirrel tinkle.

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July / August 2015 - 55 PLUS

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The Art of Living and Dying Well

Ock Hee Hale custom-designed a granite brick labyrinth behind Bloomfield Gardens, her landscape artistry store in Honeoye Falls.

A Honeoye Falls resident wants to focus her life’s work on helping people face death and dying

By Deborah Blackwell

H

ow do we die well? This is the question Ock Hee Hale is hoping to help answer.

And how do we deal with the fear of death and dying?

For most, the concept is intimidating at best, nerve-rattling, frightening, even spine-chilling.

But Hale’s experience with death and dying is life-changing, and she hopes to help people not only accept dying, but encourage a transformation toward understanding the real meaning behind it.

“There have been several things in my life which have shown me that my path is to work for people who are dying and offer spiritual help,” says the 65-year-old Honeoye Falls resident. “I have a passion for serving dying people, and I see myself in that role.”

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Owner of Bloomfield Gardens, a garden design shop which until recently was an art gallery and retail shop, Hale is downsizing her business after two decades. She wants to focus her life’s work on helping people face death and dying.

Through volunteer hospice work in Mendon, an annual Healing Day at Bloomfield Gardens, personal counseling and teaching — or “spiritual hand-holding” as she calls it — she will help individuals and families learn to transform their fear of death to knowledge, understanding and acceptance. This is a volunteer pursuit that she hopes will help change the way we see and experience death.

“Ock Hee has shifted the focus about the end of life and our death, a subject no one talks about in our culture. She is really paving

the way to opening up a very important topic that until now, has been ignored,” says Grace Harlow Klein, owner of the Center for Human Encouragement, Rochester.

Although Hale only recently began hospice work, she has spent many years expanding her knowledge about death and dying, beginning in her own backyard. For years her customers have come to her and shared their personal life stories and crises, and Hale not only listens, but supports with wisdom and guidance.

“Ock Hee is one of those people that when you meet her, you say ‘oh my gosh, she’s inspirational and a blessing in my life, she just radiates peacefulness,’” says Christine Wylam, a registered nurse at Benicasa, a home for the terminally ill in Mendon, where Hale volunteers.

Ock Hee Hale, 65, owner of Bloomfield Gardens in Honeoye Falls.

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Hale’s path of understanding death and dying was long and slow, beginning with her immigration from South Korea. She arrived in the United States in 1988, with her husband, a Peace Corps volunteer and English teacher whom she met at a university in Seoul. When her mother became very ill, Hale went to visit her in South Korea, the trip only reinforcing her homesickness for her country and her family. Her mother told her a story about her grandmother, who would walk the cornfields in South Korea to help calm herself when she missed her family. So Hale decided to build a labyrinth behind her store and dedicate it to her mother. She had it custom-designed and hand-created in 2007, with 1300 inlaid granite bricks, in a 60- by 75-foot rectangle.

“The actual dedication ceremony

of the labyrinth went to all the people who missed their loved ones because they are far away, whether distance or death separates them,” says Hale.

The labyrinth is open to the public for free, 24 hours a day, year-round. Hale walks it herself as she meditates and contemplates her spiritual understanding of Buddhism, a way of life that promotes inner strength and peace.

“In Buddhism we do prepare for death. In Asian countries, much more so. But people are still afraid of death, especially in Western countries,” says Hale. “Buddha teaches the four Noble Truths, two of which are about birth and death.”

Hale says she realized in American culture, talking about death is taboo; people dread discussing it.

She says there is a misunderstanding or skepticism here, that if you help

Buddhism Perspective of Death After death, in the Buddhist tradition, the spirit continues to hover for 49 days where he lived, and during that time Ock Hee Hale says we can help our deceased loved one through prayer and through our positive thoughts for him.

Hale says the energy spirit is clearly conscious and can keenly hear and feel what we say and think. It is through our prayers for him that the spirit is cleansed and bad karma can melt away like ice.

Not only does this process help us as we grieve and adjust to his passing, it helps the spirit of our loved one peacefully move on.

Hale continues to not only educate herself more and more, but hopes to help people learn the technique and practice of meditation, a powerful tool to establish deep peace and understanding.

She also teaches the power of 40

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prayer, which she says provides a great strength for anyone of any religion.

“If people only knew the healing efficacy of medication.

It is not difficult, and even three minutes is so healing, ” says Hale.

“We buy medicine, but meditation is medicine for our mind.”

She works within the religious and spiritual realm of everyone, with any and all backgrounds.

Her focus is heart-centered kindness and compassion. She says compassion spans all religions, and any living being.

“I am dedicating my life to the spiritual practice of living and dying. I will do my best to be a spiritual friend to people who are dying, or someone who deeply realizes that they need to prepare for their own death. I will be there with them,” says Hale. “Literally I’m dying to do this.”

someone else with their pain and suffering, you too will suffer, which is completely untrue, she said.

“When you think about it, we prepare for our children’s birth.

Birth and death are both important things in our life, but no one wants to talk about or prepare for our own death,” says Hale.

To help facilitate that discussion, Hale offers an annual healing day at Bloomfield Gardens, the first or second Saturday each September.

During the free event, there is a special time to walk the labyrinth, there are guided meditations, speakers who give talks in various fields and lunch. Each year for seven years, Hale has had a specific theme for healing day, including addiction and bereavement, but she will now focus solely on all the many different aspects of death and dying.

“They may be grim subjects, but healing day is about being together harmoniously, and learning and feeding each other spiritually,” says Hale. “Sharing food is also big part of me. I always offer lunch for everyone, and we eat together. It’s like a course, an educational tool.”

Hale is a master gardener and holds a master’s degree in Buddhist art history and a minor in archaeology. She said she feels fortunate to have been introduced to both Eastern and Western art and religions. She continues to learn and grow in her spirituality, which also helps her excel in her work with death and dying. She follows the Korean Zen Buddhism tradition, and also studies Buddhism with a Tibetan Buddhist spiritual mentor, or “Doban.”

She refers to her mentor as a “path companion,” a similar concept to her own desire to help others learn the path of death and dying. It’s about compassion and hand-holding.

“You can directly help a dying person by being with them and talking with them, even if they are unconscious or in a delusional state with medication,” says Hale.

“You talk to the person’s spirit.

You are calm, and tell them there is nothing to be afraid of. You can talk in silence to them, and use

Healing Day at Bloomfield Gardens To help facilitate the discussion around living and dying well, Ock Hee Hale offers an annual Healing Day at Bloomfield Gardens, the first or second Saturday each September.

During the free event, there is a special time to walk a labyrinth, to guided meditations, and to hear speakers who give talks in various fields, and lunch. “Healing Day is about being together harmoniously and learning, and feeding each other spiritually,” says Hale. “Sharing food is also big part of me. I always offer lunch for everyone, and we eat together. It’s like a course, an educational tool.”

prayer to help guide the spirit.”

She says dying people generally have a lot of fear, and she likes to help alleviate their fears. But it’s the time before we reach our death beds that Hale is also trying to address through her work and healing day. She likes to work with people in their 60s and older, because she says, how well we die actually depends on our preparation.

“It’s not about dying, it’s about how to live well. We should prepare for our death because death is rebirth,” says Hale. “It’s about doing good things while we are alive.”

Sense of Liberation She is referring to karma, of course. She says it is never too late to change our bad habits into good ones. We can make a vow anytime in our lives to discard our bad habits, think of other people, be consid-

erate, and treat others the way we want to be treated. The idea is, living by those principles we can have our own peaceful transition.

It’s not always easy Hale says, but we cannot give up on ourselves, and we must stay positive.

“To die well, you have to live well, you have to build good karma,” says Hale.

Hale has had many opportunities in her life to expand her karma and experience the paradoxes of life and death, joy and pain, trauma and peace. She used each circumstance as a teaching, relying on Buddhist tenets and her own spirituality to gain deeper understanding and acceptance.

When she recently went through her own brother’s journey with death, Hale was at first devastated by the news of his illness and impending death, and she cried for long periods of time prior to his passing. She said the process of grieving can be tremendous, even while a loved one is alive. But with preparation for death, the actual event can come with deep peace and love. When she received the news of his passing, she says she did not shed a tear. In fact, she had a great sense of liberation on his behalf, because she knew he was free of his immense suffering and pain.

“When we have a wretched, disease-stricken body, like our old clothing, we take it off when we die, and the pain and suffering is gone,” says Hale. “There is a sense of freedom and joy that comes after deep sadness. It is an acceptance that emerges from your heart and comes from a deep understanding.”

It is that understanding that Hale wants to share with others, so they too, can not only be prepared for tragedy and loss, but to heal from it.

“We all know we are going to die, and wish we will live forever,” says Hale. “But if we have intellectual understanding, through someone’s death, we can learn a lesson.”

How to Reach Ock Hee Hale To reach Ock Hee Hale, call 585317-6412 or email ockhee@frontiernet. net. For additional information, visit http://ockheesgallery.com, where you will find information about Ock

Hee, the labyrinth, meditation times, and Healing Day. Bloomfield Gardens is located at 2 Lehigh St., Honeoye Falls, NY 14472.

Phone: 585-624-4730.

Even in Later Life, Exercise Seems to Pay Dividends

A

little exercise late in life may help men live longer, new research from Norway suggests.

“Even in the elderly, there is a lot to gain by being moderately active as compared to being sedentary,” said study lead author Ingar Holme, professor emeritus at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Oslo.

The study of older men found that increasing physical activity benefited life span as much as quitting smoking.

“Given the evidence, physical activity is probably an important factor in getting people to age successfully,” Holme said. “But there are many things that we don’t know in this field.”

Just 30 minutes of moderate activity six days a week was associated with 40 percent lower risk of death, the researchers found.

More exercise reaped even greater benefits, decreasing the odds of death from both heart disease or any cause, the researchers said.

One expert said the study fits in with previous research linking physical activity to better health and quality of life.

“While we may not fully understand all the mechanisms, we do know that exercise, especially as we age, is a critical component in preventing [mental] decline, lowering the risk for depression and other mental health challenges, maintaining muscle mass and function, enhancing cardiorespiratory fitness, increasing social interactions, maintaining balance and coordination, and reducing fall risk,” said Brad Royn at Kalispell Regional Medical Center in Montana.

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decisions

What Is an Advance Directive and Do You Need One? The goal is that if we are unable cognitively to make the decision in the future, our surrogate will follow our wishes at that time

By Miles P. Zatkowsky Editor’s Note: This is the first part of a two-part article. The second part will appear in the next issue of 55 Plus.

L

ife is full of decisions. Some are intuitive and made with little thought, based perhaps on years of experience, and others require deep contemplation.

An advance directive is a decision made while we are not in crisis and have had an opportunity to think clearly about potential future events.

Our goal is that if we are unable cognitively to make the decision in the future, our surrogate will follow our wishes at that time. Essentially, we are making hypothetical decisions in advance.

In future articles, I will specifically discuss financial and medical

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directives, which allow us to make decisions while we are competent and alert, and designate a surrogate to execute our financial, medical or health care decisions at a time in the future when we can no longer understand the complexity or consequences of those decisions. Today’s article focuses on the general concept of an advance directive and surrogate decision making and is broken into two parts; part two will be in the next issue of 55 Plus.

What is an Advanced Directive?

To better understand how advance directives operate, let’s paint a scenario. While we all wish for a lifetime of good health, as we age, we realize that there is only so much control we can exercise over our health. A

healthy diet and exercise may prevent or delay heart disease, diabetes or cancer, but we cannot alter our genes.

Even so, what if you got hit by a car and suffered a traumatic brain injury from the impact? You are healthy today, and prefer not to consider random possibilities, but we know it can happen.

You probably know someone who suffered from a medical issue or accident that was unexpected. These changes can come suddenly. While a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease may be more progressive than sudden, think about what happens to that friend or loved one who was left with some cognitive impairment.

Think about their family and caregivers. With Alzheimer’s disease, diminished capacity is assured. It is un-

likely that we are prepared for such a dramatic change in lifestyle. Who will pay our bills, property taxes, utilities, and avoid those late fees we detest?

What will be our source of income?

Will you lose your house because of failure to pay your bills while you spent months in the hospital or rehabilitation? Who will consider the risks and benefits of medical procedures?

By appointing someone in advance to manage your finances in such an event, you can prevent disaster. The person appointing someone to act for him or her is the “principal” and the person being appointed is the “agent.”

If the principal has financial accounts, such as a bank account, and is the only name on the account, then the principal is the only person entitled to access or information about that account. Talk to an elder law atorney to discuss what is most appropriate in your circumstances.

Investments. IRAs. Retirement & Estate Strategies.

Life, LTCare & DI Insurance.

Diana Apostolova

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Financial Consultant AXA Advisors, LLC 175 Corporate Woods, Suite 250 , Rochester, NY 14623 Tel: (585) 475-8460 Fax: (585) 292-1569 Diana.Apostolova@axa-advisors.com

AXA Advisors, LLC (member FINRA, SIPC). 1290 Avenue of the Americas, NY, NY 10104. AGE-101390A (02/15) (Exp. 02/17)

Having Trouble Hearing

Hire an Elder Law Attorney Ask yourself whether you want a generalist or specialist to advise you and draft your critical documents. As we age, our needs change. Elder law is an area of law that focuses on those needs and the legal issues that surround them. An elder law attorney is more likely to have experience in the multitude of issues to which the agent needs to respond. Those circumstances include safe discharge options from the hospital, nursing home placements, assisted living choices and veteran’s benefits.

Select an elder law attorney with a known reputation and get referrals so that you are reassured with your choice. Next month I will discuss financial powers of attorney.

Attorney Miles Zatkowsky is a partner at Dutcher & Zatkowsky in Rochester and the chairman of the Monroe County Bar Association’s Elder Law Committee.

He limits his law practice to elder law and special needs planning. He may be reached at 585-256-0090 or via email at miles@dutcher-zatkowsky.com.

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tech

Best Ways to Store Digital Photos Cloud, external hard drive, flash drive are some of the options people have to store photos — but which is the best?

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

Y

ou probably possess scads of pictures of grandkids and vacations. But what is the best way to store and back up photos? With cloud storage, thumb drives, external drives, dual drives, and writeable CDs and DVDs, you have plenty of options.

If all your pictures are still on

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your camera, you must back them up before the media, likely an SD card, malfunctions. Your computer and/or printer likely has a SD card slot. Many stores also offer photo kiosks with SD card slots that allow you to burn a CD or upload the photos to cloud storage.

CDs, however, may not last for archival purposes. Four to five years is the estimate many experts give.

“I haven’t come across someone who’s necessarily doing it wrong, but people just aren’t doing it,” said Daniel Jones, owner of Daniel Teaches, a senior tech tutoring business in Rochester. “That’s the biggest thing. Ninety-nine percent of my clients don’t back up their computer and that’s their photos, videos and every-

thing.”

As a minimum precaution, he recommends a thumb drive or flash drive, one to store at home and another with a relative or locked in a safety deposit box. Jones backs up his files with three external hard drives, all stored in separate locations. External drives also ease transitioning from an old computer to a new one.

Physical back-ups aren’t the only options, however. Cloud-based services such as Snapfish, Shutterfly, and Flickr, “offer a safe, secure way of storing your photos for free and it gives family and friends opportunity to view those photos if you give them access,” Jones said. “It allows them to order photo prints if they want.”

If all your photos are on your smartphone or tablet, they’re likely backed up already through cloud storage, but a secondary back-up provides extra safety. Use the USB cord that came with the device to plug it into the USB port on your computer and follow the screen prompts to download the photos and save. Don’t erase them from the device unless you’re pressed for space.

System back-up sites like CrashPlan, which Jones also uses, can make backing up your entire computer a breeze.

Jerry Taylor, owner of SeniorTech in Macedon, teaches seniors technology in the Rochester area. He likes Carbonite to back up his entire system.

“Every time I create a new file, it automatically starts backing it up,” Taylor said. “It’s $60 a year. The downside to saving to the cloud is trust. Will that company be around next year?

“Most of my clients are more comfortable about photos being in a thumb drive in their desk. You know where they are, not up on a cloud.”

Your computer and laptop’s anti-virus service likely offers automatic back-ups (check to make sure); however, these services may not back up as often as you’d like. Also, they may not retain the file organization that you prefer. Still, it could provide one of your multiple means of back-up.

Nearly every means used has a limit. Purge blurry and duplicate photos. Though it may seem tempting to save photos in low resolution, the result may be disappointing later if you crop, enlarge or otherwise manipulate the photo.

Name photo files with the subject’s name, the location the photo was taken and any other meaningful information. The date is already part of the photo’s file.

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Call Lifespan 585-244-8400 www.lifespan-roch.org

Take it on!

Together we can make Rochester the best place to age well.

AARP gives you the information to help care for your loved ones, just like they did with you once. You don’t have to do it alone and it’s okay to ask for help. Visit our website or call now to get practical health and wellness tips to provide even better care for those who once took care of you.

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aarp.org/caregiving 1-877-333-5885

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long-term care

By Susan Suben

My Dad and Hospice Hospice care is meant to improve the quality of life of a patient in his or her twilight hours.

Its goal is to offer palliative care designed for comfort and pain and symptom management as opposed to care designed to cure the ailment

I

n December of 2013 my father, Jerry, who had been in a nursing home for almost a year, became increasingly ill. His diabetes caused a massive sore on his back that was untreatable and septic. He stopped eating and talking. He spent his days staring out the window. An opaque glaze covered his eyes. His breathing was shallow and his body took on the scent of decay. He didn’t acknowledge me. It became quite apparent that he would not be with me much longer.

When you watch a loved one die, the sadness, hopelessness and helplessness that overcomes you is indescribable. There are no words to express how you feel, and often no one truly feels what you are feeling unless they have experienced the same thing.

Thankfully, there is hospice, a service that unfortunately is not readily used by families going through this type of situation because of misunderstandings of what hospice does.

Many families think that hospice care is only for cancer patients or the elderly when in fact it can be provided to any individual who has a terminal illness and is expected to live for six months or less regardless of their age. For example, patients with Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig’s disease, heart failure, and pulmonary disorders can access services. The pa-

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tient can be a child or an adult.

Another misconception about hospice care is that once individuals are receiving services, they cannot use their own doctor. According to Hospice of Central New York, the attending physician need only certify the life expectancy, agree to handle medical treatment and agree to work with the hospice team. A patient does not have to give up an established long-standing relationship with a trusted care team member.

The excellent description of hospice care that I have seen comes from Hospice of Southern Illinois: “Hospice is a special healthcare option for patients and families who are faced with a terminal illness. A multi-disciplinary team of physicians, nurses, hospice aides, social workers, bereavement counselors and volunteers works together to address the physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs of each patient and family… regardless of the patient’s age or ability to pay.”

Care can be provided for days or can last for months in the patient’s home, a hospital, assisted-living facility, nursing home or hospice facility.

Medicare Part A pays for hospice care as does Medicaid, some health insurance policies and long-term care insurance. Medications and equipment can also be paid for by hospice.

Hospice care is meant to improve

the quality of life of a patient in his or her twilight hours. Its goal is to offer palliative care designed for comfort and pain and symptom management as opposed to care designed to cure the ailment. However, a patient can choose to discontinue hospice and seek curative treatment and if necessary go back to hospice at a later time.

Hospice care is not meant to prolong or shorten life. Everyone, from the time they are born to the time they die, deserves to live life to the fullest — to experience the joy of interacting with their families, to laugh, engage in activities and feel loved. Hospice helps individuals “live” until their last breath.

Even after a loved one dies, hospice offers bereavement and spiritual counselors who help with the grieving process.

When I agreed to have hospice take care of my father, the nurses and volunteers assigned to him were compassionate, kind and knowledgeable.

They responded to his needs as well as those of my family. They spoke to him even though he may not have been listening. They placed a soft hand on him even though he may not have felt their touch. They treated him with dignity and respect, rejoicing in the life he led. They brought a turntable into his room and played music from the ‘40s and ‘50s to relax him and hopefully help him recall memories from that time of his life. They made “letting go” easier for all of us.

Susan Suben, MS, CSA, is president of Long Term Care Associates, Inc. and Elder Care Planning, and a consultant for Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Company. She can be reached at 800-4222655 or by email at susansuben@31greenbush.com.

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A New V for the Doice eaf

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National Nurses Week is May 6 – 12. Stories about careers, salaries ($61,000 is the median salary for nurses) and more

GVhealthnews.com

May 2015 • Issue 117

Please bill me later

New Boss at Clifton Springs New leader at Clifton Springs Hospital talks about its affiliation with Rochester Regional and what local people would expect of the hospital

As Michael McRae celebrates his first anniversary as president and CEO of St. Ann’s Community, he seems just a bit surprised at his good fortune.

See story inside

Mental Illness Movie series and walk to highlight mental illness issues in the Rochester area

At Episcopal SeniorLife, Emphasis Is on Living Independently

Lyme Disease Page 7

As temperature goes up, so does the risk of getting Lyme disease

Our Mistake

When I heard that mozzarella cheese has fewer calories and less fat than most cheeses, I nearly choked on my pizza. No way, I thought.

How Medicare Covers In-Home Care

Page 8

May 2015 •

What to do recover fro to working oum t

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in good

Physician Robert McCann talks about being recognized by the American College of Physicians and about his work at Highland, where he serves as chief of medicine

Hip Replacement

Major retailers, including Walgreens and Walmart, asked to halt sales of certain diet and herbal Page 7 supplements

priceless

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March 2015 • Issue 115

Rochester’s Healthcare Newspaper

Supplements Under Attack

Page 7

re Newspa

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Rochester’s Healthcare Newspaper

VACCINES • Understand the ‘Herd Immunity’ Effect • Mother: Why I Don’t Vaccinate My Kid • Vaccination Myths: What’s True, What’s Not Page 21-22

Report: number of hip replacements has skyrocketed

Obamacare Excludes Pregnant Women Missing Enrollment

Do You Need To File a Tax Return in 2015?

Many don’t need to. See the Savvy Senior column inside

YOGA

More children, adults and seniors trying the ancient discipline, researchers report Page 23

Page 16

Saving Lives at 98

Vern Thayer of Rochester is considered one of the oldest blood donors in the country. And he’s still at it — at 98 years of age Page 24

Shana Clark, a Rochester psychiatrist and author of two books, talks about the value of overcoming adversities

Page 11

ter / Gen

ACA coverage gap leaves women two choices: 1) pay for insurance premiums or care out of pocket —to the tune of $10,000 to $20,000 or 2) skip prenatal care

Meet Your Doctor

Mozzarella?

Sports Dr ink or Water ?

Page 8 – Roches

GVhealthnews.com

April 2015 • Issue 116

One Year at the Helm

Supplements Under Attack The April issue of In Good Health ran a story about NYS Attorney General’s decision to ban the sales of certain diet supplements at various retail stores in the state. The attorney general’s office revealed that many of the supplements were found to contain contaminants not identified on ingredient labels. The stores affected by the ban were Walmart, Walgreen, Target and GNC. Because of an editing error, Wegmans was mentioned in the story’s headline, although Wegmans was not one of the stores affected by the ban. We apologize the error.

D HEALTH

in good

Rochester’s Healthcare Newspaper

It is now in our neighborhood and may not go away any time soon

$15 payment enclosed

IN GOO

priceless

Heroin

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Doctor

Highland physician, Roan Glo cker, talks about vas cular sur gery and how it is saving lives

Report Shows Progress in America’s War on Cancer Page 22

IN GOOD HEALTH – Rochester / Genesee Valley Healthcare Newspaper

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Preventing Bad Dog Behavior

Demand for 3-D and 4-D ultrasound grows but local OB-GYN says better images don’t offer many prenatal advantages

Learn a few techniques to help train your dog

HEALTHY ROCHESTER Healthy workforce is a productive workforce: that’s the notion behind the increase in wellness programs sponsored by local companies Page 9

Meet Your Doctor

When my husband and I were first dating, he introduced me to a unique vegetable: fennel.

It was love at first bite!

Since then, I haven’t strayed. Find out why

Dr. David Baum, chief medical officer, says he and his team are working to turn Thompson Health into a regional, more complete hospital

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IN GOOD HEALTH – Rochester / Genesee Valley Healthcare Newspaper

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Getting Geared Up Group of people at JCC in Brighton getting ready for a March 29 triathlon Page 9

Your deli sandwich may come with a side of listeria: study

Come March — when snow and ice still have a death grip on our climate — I pine for pineapples more than at any other time of year.

See why at this month’s SmartBites column

Red Wine One or two glass a day of wine.

Remember when researchers said this was a good thing? Well, a new study says it isn’t so Page 23

NANCY ADAMS: Helping physicians in the Rochester area for nearly two decade. She recently was recognized by the American Medical Association Page 16

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March 2015 •

Energy drinks tied to inattention, hyper behavior in middle schoolers says study

IN GOOD HEALTH – Rochester / Genesee Valley Healthcare Newspaper

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visits 10 Things to Do in Schoharie County, Where the Past is Present Howe Caverns where visitors descend 156 feet below the Earth’s surface to journey through the expansive main cavern marveling at the stalactites and stalagmites.

By Sandra Scott

Drive the historic Route 20 byway between Sharon Springs and Esperance or explore Schoharie County’s less-traveled roads and enjoy the tranquility and beauty of the countryside

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n 1712 the first European settlers arrived in the beautiful and fertile Schoharie Valley, near Albany.

Today visitors can travel the scenic country roads enjoying a step back into the past to a more tranquil time and appreciate the bounty of the local farmers. It is a place to take your time, explore the country roads, learn about history, and discover new places to love. Drive the historic Route 20 dyway between Sharon Springs and Esperance or explore Schoharie County’s less-traveled roads and enjoy the tranquility and beauty of the countryside.

Caverns: Six million years before the first settlers Mother Nature was carving out amazing underground caverns. The most famous is Howe Caverns where visitors descend 156 feet below the Earth’s surface,journey through the expansive main cavern to marveling

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at the stalactites and stalagmites, and then take a boat ride on the underground River Styx. At Howe Caverns there is also a zip line, ropes course, rock wall, H2OGO Balls, a motel and more. Nearby is another underground wonder, the Secret Caverns, complete with a waterfall.

Nature: The Landis Arboretum is one place to enjoy the outdoors.

It is a place where trees and shrubs are grown for study and display. It is one of only three arboreta in eastern North America with old-growth forest. There are several trails open for year-round use.

Don’t miss the Fred Lape Trail where the arboretum’s most notable trees are located. The arboretum sponsors a variety of musical events in its meeting house. Mine Kill State Park is another great place to explore nature. Walk along the Cobleskill Creek Trail.

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Iroquois Indian Museum: The Iroquois, also known as the Haudenosaunee, which means “people who build a long house,” were in NYS before the European settlers. The museum is housed in a building that recalls the traditional longhouse and offers insight into the Iroquois culture by promoting Iroquois art and artists. Interactive exhibits and archeological displays from thehistorical collection tell the vital role the Native Americans played in the development of the area. There is a nature trail plus a variety of festivals, events and learning activities for all age groups.

Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project: Combine education with outdoor fun. At the visitor center, learn about energy and its benefits using state-of-the-art interactive exhibits. Adjacent is the historic 19th century Lansing Mansion,

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listed on the National Register of Historic places, to get a glimpse into a day in the life of the people of a bygone era. The mansion has many unique items such as a 1727 Dutch Bible, a memory quilt in the girl’s room, and a fascinating period kitchen. There are a plethora of events held year round including a quilt show, an antique car show and a wildlife festival.

Old Stone Fort Museum: The Old Stone Fort Museum Complex sports several buildings including a 1700s home, a 1780 Dutch barn, a one-room school house, plus a 1772 stone church that was fortified and later attacked by the British forces in 1780. Take note of parishioners’ names that the builders chiseled into the stones. The treasure hunt of the Fort’s eclectic museum collection is fun for all ages. Try to find a shield from the Philippines, a button with a photograph on it, and a glass tombstone. A variety of historical events are reenacted.

Agritourism: The excellent farmland brought settlers to the area and today agriculture is alive and well in the valleys that George Washington referred to as “The Breadbasket of the American Revolution.” There are farms growing a variety of produce from asparagus to zucchini where visitors can buy fresh produce; several offer prepared food, café lunches, and other products.

Some offer tours and many have u-picks including the Carrot Barn and Pumpkin Pete’s Family Fun Farm.

Old Stone Fort Museum

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Main Street USA: The county is dotted with classic Main Street towns featuring unique shops with locally made goods, art galleries, restaurants and restored turn of the century accommodations.

Step back to an earlier time in Carlisle, Cobleskill, Esperance, Middleburgh, Sharon Springs, and the historic village of Schoharie. The Hive is just one place to shop for antiques and The Apple Barrel has a variety of “wicked cool stuff” and one-of-a-kind treasures. In Sharon Springs don’t miss the Beekman 1802 mercantile made famous in the “Fabulous Beekman Boys” of reality TV fame.

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Golf and more: Enjoy miniature golf at Gobblers Knob where they also have a nine-hole,three-par course; a bungee trampoline; and an ice cream parlor. The Cobleskill Country Club has an 18-hole championship course. Rev up your fun with the go-karts at the Muscle Motor Speedway. Don’t forget all the activities at Howe Caverns where visitors can have fun while honing their skills.

The Schoharie Colonial Heritage Association: The group, in an effort to preserve the local history, maintains the 1743 Palatine House, an example of medieval, German home construction.

(Palatine refers to the German people who settled in Schoharie County in the early 1700s.) They also operate the Railroad Museum sporting a restored 1891 passenger car, a restored 1917 caboose, and other artifacts associated with the railroads.

Uniquely Schoharie County: One of the most outstanding above-ground geological features in the county is Vrooman’s Nose, a promontory near Middleburg with hiking trails, connection to many historical events, and expansive views of the valley. In Middleburg, the 19th century Victorian house of Dr. C. S. Best has an amazing collection of medical items and the 1920s kitchen cabinets are fully stocked with vintage food items.

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10 In Sharon Springs don’t miss the Beekman 1802 Mercantile made famous in the “Fabulous Beekman Boys” of reality TV fame.

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By Mike Costanza

Betty Perkins-Carpenter Eighty-four-year-old CEO plans never to retire Q. How long have you worked with senior citizens?

A. I’ve been working with seniors since 1959. I did a lot of balance exercising in water back then.

Q. You are CEO and president of Senior Fitness Inc., which you incorporated in 1986. Can you tell us a bit about your corporation?

A. We’re training professionals and older adults in the Six Steps to Better Balance.

Q. How does “Six Steps to Better Balance” training help seniors—and the others you train—avoid falls or avoid injuring themselves in falls?

A. It teaches them to have better balance and to reduce injury if a fall occurs.

The first step is stretching in bed. Stretching in bed especially helps someone that’s dealing with arthritis. It’s often the most overlooked element in the total picture of overall fitness, because the older we get the more important stretching becomes. You can increase your flexibility in bed, and when you stretch you’re also increasing bone density, because when you stretch like that a muscle pulls against bone and you’re strengthening bone.

The second step is balance, the third one is bouncing balls, and the fourth one is walking and talking on the telephone indoors. The next one is saving lives all over the country. That’s the XX Martini Slump — it tells you how to fall safely.

The last one is dancing with a pillow. When they’re dancing with the pillow, they’re going forward backward sideways and in circles, and there’s no fear of falling. The music takes them to another time, another place. I had over 100 dancing in the grass at [YMCA] Camp Arrowhead.

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Q. What kinds of people take Six Steps training?

A. I’ve trained many doctors, nurses, PTs, [physical therapists] OTs, [occupational therapists] and other people. I trained the fire department in Dade County, Miami, a long time ago. I’ve been out to Portland, Oregon. I trained the Upstate New York Psychiatric Hospital’s staff. I just trained teachers for the Seneca Indian nation, and they’re teaching the classes. I go to independent living centers to actually do a class in the Six Steps. Wherever we have a class in the Six Steps, we have waiting lists of at least 30plus people. The Six Steps are fun.

That’s why they’re so successful.

Q. In 1976, you traveled to Montreal as coach of the Turkish Olympic Diving Team. How did you come to coach that team?

A. The Turkish Olympic Committee invited me to be their Olympic coach. It’s a four-year commitment — you don’t just go to the Olympic games. I had to go to the Mediterranean games in North Africa with the team, [and] Bucharest [Rumania] for the Balkan games.

It was the first time Turkey ever had divers at the Olympic games.

Q. For four years, you served on what is now called the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition.

A. It was under President Reagan and President Bush senior.

The role of the council is to instill physical fitness and activities in all ages. When you’re on the council you’re sort of a leader in the whole nation in physical fitness, and getting people moving.

Q. You are an Air Force veteran who served during the Korean

War. Recently, you took on the task of helping to identify US servicemen and women who served in the Korean War, and are shown in a stack of photos from that war. Could you tell us about that project?

A. It’s called “Snapshots from the Korean War.” The commander of my veterans post, Korean War Veterans Association Monroe County Chapter 1, gave me almost 300 pictures from the war. They are eight-by-10 black-and-white glossies from June, July and August in 1950. I chose to identify the people in them.

Q. The photos are on Koreanwar.democratandchronicle. com. What can those who think they have identified someone in a photo do to be sure their relative, friend, etc. is that person?

A. They can just call me [and] send me a picture. I have to match it.

Q. What happens if it is a match?

A. I send them the original photo. I found a man who turned out to be a prisoner of war.

Q. At 84, you sustain a level of activity that would exhaust many.

Do you ever plan to slow down?

A. They tell me, “When are you going to retire?” My answer is, “Never?”

Editor’s Note: To contact Perkins-Carpenter about the Korean War photos, call 585-586-7548.

CHERRY RIDGE

SUMMER

CONCERT

SERIES JUL Y 23 NIK AND THE NICE GUYS

A UGUST 20 THE GATESWINGERS

Come with your family and friends to the free Cherry Ridge Concert Series O Picnic fare for purchase starting at 5pm (Hots, Hamburgs, etc.)

O Music starts 6:30pm and goes to about 8:00pm Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy these great free outdoor concerts.

Due to the popularity of this event please RSVP to rsvp@stannscommunity.com and for details and rainy day information. at Cherry Ridge 900 Cherry Ridge Boulevard, Webster, NY 14580

585.697.6700

CherryRidgeCommunity.com

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