June 2020 | Howard County Beacon by The Beacon Newspapers

The Howard County

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More than 30,000 readers throughout Howard County

Ways to help others from home

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PHOTO BY JAMES COLLIER

By Margaret Foster A few weeks into the coronavirus quarantine, Laurie Onofrio-Collier, 57, heard about AARP’s new Friendly Voice program, a call center that offers older adults a free, confidential telephone conversation. (See aarpcommunityconnections.org.) “I told my husband about it, and he said, ‘Calling and chatting with people? That sounds like you,’” Onofrio-Collier said, laughing. Now, from her sunny patio, Onofrio-Collier spends several hours a day reaching out to people who are frightened or lonely. She listens, asks questions and laughs with them. Speaking about a recent phone call with an older woman, she said, “We talked about memories, and vacations with kids and travel, and you could just hear how joyful she was and how delighted she was with the conversation.” Like AARP, which launched its program last month in response to the COVID-19 crisis, many organizations need volunteers, and much of the work can be done from home. There’s a virtual volunteer position for just about everyone, and older adults are especially in demand.

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Digitize historic documents The Library of Congress, for example, launched a program in 2018 called By the People to digitize items from its collection so they can be searched online. (See crowd.loc.gov.) Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can transcribe images of documents such as Abraham Lincoln’s notes, Branch Rickey’s scouting reports, century-old diary entries, and even Rosa Parks’ recipe for peanut butter pancakes. “Anybody can do it,” said Dr. Victoria Van Hyning, the library’s senior innovation specialist and project manager. “You don’t really need to have a knowledge of, or affinity for, a certain subject.” Van Hyning noticed an uptick in volunteers since the quarantine began in March, but with 215,000 pages transcribed and 54,000 of those needing a review for accuracy, she said, “There’s still plenty to do.” Older volunteers are particularly needed. “Being able to read cursive is a huge

ARTS & STYLE Laurie Onofrio-Collier volunteers from her patio, phoning older adults for AARP’s Friendly Voices program. “I try to have a few joyful, uplifting conversations a day, and that’s what I can give,” she said. Many organizations, from the Library of Congress to the National Weather Service, need volunteers who can work from home.

benefit that people over 50 can bring, since it’s not being taught in school anymore,” she said. The goal of By the People, Van Hyning said, is not only to make the library’s content easier to find, but to engage Americans with their national heritage. Similar programs, like the Smithsonian Transcription Center, welcome “anyone with a curious spirit,” according to its website, transcription.si.edu. The National Archives Citizen Archivist program is also open to volunteers willing to transcribe and “tag” an item (label it with descriptive terms) so it’s searchable on Google. (See archives.gov/citizen-archivist.) All three programs have an online

forum, such as the National Archives’ History Hub, where volunteers “meet” and can ask and answer questions. In this way, while volunteering from home, “people form relationships and get to know [other] people,” Van Hyning said. “They’re all retirees, for the most part. It’s a great way to engage with people right now, and people are very welcoming.”

Bring books alive Another way to engage with people is by reading books to students. An audiobook company called Learning Ally trains volunteers to read and record textbooks or See VOLUNTEERS, page 5

Columbia author Alma Katsu’s novels delve into the supernatural; plus, radio host Sheliah Kast is “On the Record” every weekday page 23

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What you have told us First, a thank-you to the hundreds of and 49% had left only one or two times to readers who have filled out and mailed (or run errands or go to work. This has, of course, severetaken online) our “How are ly limited interactions with you faring?” coronavirus panother human beings: 29% had demic survey. not interacted in person with For those who have not yet someone outside their home done so, we will continue to or apartment over the past collect and tally survey results week. And 45% had only enfor a few more weeks. You can reach it through our website countered others once or home page (see “Attention twice in the past week. Readers” at thebeaconnewspaFurthermore, nearly everypers.com), or go directly to it at one (95%) said they have mainbit.ly/tbns0420. tained the recommended soFROM THE In the meantime, I want to PUBLISHER cial distance of six feet when share some of the results and By Stuart P. Rosenthal in the presence of others. comments received to date, as Perhaps due to this excelI think they are enlightening. Below I com- lent level of compliance, only 20% of responbine answers received over several weeks dents personally know anyone who has from all four of the Beacon’s readership come down with COVID-19, the illness areas: Greater Baltimore, Howard County, caused by the novel coronavirus, and only Greater Washington and Greater Richmond. 1% have been exposed to it, to the best of We asked several questions to find out their knowledge. At the same time, people have continhow many readers are complying with the guidance to stay home as much as possible ued to reach out to friends and family to and keep six feet of distance between stay in touch. Nearly all (98%) told us they themselves and others. have communicated with others via teleBy and large, people are complying very phone or computer in the past week. Of particular interest is that many have well. In the week before taking the survey, 21% said they had not left their home once, started using technologies that are new to

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The Beacon is a monthly newspaper dedicated to inform, serve, and entertain the citizens of the Greater Baltimore area, and is privately owned. Other editions serve Howard County, Md., Greater Washington, DC and Richmond, Va. (Fifty Plus). Subscriptions are available via third-class mail ($12), prepaid with order. Maryland residents add 6 percent for sales tax. Send subscription order to the office listed below. Publication of advertising contained herein does not necessarily constitute endorsement. Signed columns represent the opinions of the writers, and not necessarily the opinion of the publisher. Publisher/Editor – Stuart P. Rosenthal President/Associate Publisher – Judith K. Rosenthal Vice President of Operations – Gordon Hasenei Vice President, Sales & Marketing – Alan Spiegel Managing Editor – Margaret Foster Art Director – Kyle Gregory Director of Operations – Roger King

them as a result of the pandemic. More than 61% have begun using video chat services such as Skype and Zoom, 42% have started using social media, one-third are giving streaming video a try, and 26% have had their first telemedicine experience. In addition, 20% have started ordering grocery and meal delivery to their home, and 11% have started shopping online for the first time. These are changes that will no doubt have huge repercussions in the coming months and years. I think it’s wonderful that more older adults are becoming comfortable using these technologies. The impact will, however, no doubt add to the toll the virus has already taken on retail stores, restaurants, and theatre and music venues. Another unfortunate effect, for now at least, has been that many have cut back on exercise (37%), including regular walks (32%). If this is something you have experienced, I encourage you to try working out at home. There are hundreds of exercise classes and videos online (search on YouTube or check your county recreation department’s website), or pull out those old Jane Fonda workout tapes, if you prefer. Regular exercise has many benefits, including keeping our immune system strong and helping keep weight gain in check. Exercise can also help keep our spirits up, which is why some numbers from our survey have been concerning. About one-third of respondents say they feel lonelier, and one-third feel more depressed or anxious, since being asked to shelter in place. Perhaps these feelings will pass as society slowly starts to open up again. But if they continue without let-up, it is important to seek help. Trained disaster distress counselors can be reached 24/7 at 1-800-985-5990. Even while experiencing such feelings, most respondents have “taken advantage” of the slower pace of life brought about by the pandemic to do more things that bring them pleasure (or to simply get necessary things done). More than 70% are reading for pleasure and a similar number are watching more TV and movies. Also popular are calling

old friends (60%) and writing letters (41%). More than half have gone the productive route, cleaning out a room or attic or filing important papers, while 24% have used the time to complete and file their tax returns. I was glad to see that about 15% have gone the creative route — drawing, painting or playing a musical instrument to help fill the time and refresh the soul. This gives us a snapshot of how well Beacon readers are coping in these uncertain and alarming times. The additional comments many respondents shared give us even more insight. To share just a few: “It’s really scary out there.” ”Less pressure on social obligations, more freedom.” ”I believe the crisis has exposed how so many are in desperate economic straits, and I pray this will lead to systemic change.” ”Neighbors have been so helpful in so many ways.” ”Devastated by total loss of work.” ”How quickly time passes even without social interaction!” ”It makes me sick, depressed and angry that nobody ever asks about what tremendous needs a locked-down, high-risk person has, and the sheer terror that goes with that.” “This experience has taught me that even in the midst of chaos there is some good to heal the pain.” ”I’m lonely. Not for activity so much as the intimacy of touch. There’s just something about one hand resting firmly over another’s that says, ‘I really care.’” And one more comment that probably sums up something most of us are thinking: ”My main fear is not knowing when, or even if, life will return to normal, as it was before.” Even though it’s uncertain what tomorrow may bring, our goal at the Beacon is to help light the way forward as best we can. Thank you for completing our survey and thank you for reading.

Letters to the editor Readers are encouraged to share their opinion on any matter addressed in the Beacon as well as on political and social issues of the day. Mail your Letter to the Editor to The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915, or email info@thebeaconnewspapers.com. Please include your name, address and telephone number for verification.

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Dear Editor: I believe that all conservatives and Republicans in the USA should return their relief checks to the federal government so that they do not become “unproductive” and “lazy welfare recipients” who are accepting “government hand-outs” and “something for nothing” as well as being “parasites” who are “subsidized” by the federal govern-

ment which they hate. It is hypocritical for them to accept help from the federal government when they constantly oppose such help for the middle and lower classes who truly need it and who they look down their noses at. Now, they are in their shoes. Stewart B. Epstein Rochester, NY

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WORDS FROM THE WISE From the polio epidemic to WWII, many have been through hard times before THE EARS HAVE IT If you wear hearing aids, here are a few tips to keep them working well at home DRUG DICTIONARY Absurd names for new medications can make us laugh. Take a mock quiz TAKE A BRAIN TEST Help dementia researchers by taking part in a study you can do from your sofa

Restoring visual perception to the blind Courtesy of UCLA Health Although he is blind, Jason Esterhuizen is able to walk on the sidewalk, thanks to an experimental brain implant that enables him to distinguish light areas from dark. Seven years ago, Esterhuizen was in a car crash that destroyed his eyes, plunging him into total darkness. Today, he’s regained visual perception and more independence, thanks to an experimental device implanted in his brain by researchers at UCLA Health. “Now I can do things that I couldn’t do before,” said Esterhuizen, 30, who moved from his native South Africa to participate in the clinical trial at UCLA. “I can sort the laundry, find my way in lighted hallways without using a cane and cross the street more safely. It’s making my life much easier.” The device is geared toward people who used to be able to see but lost their vision to injury or disease. While it doesn’t provide normal sight, it enhances users’ ability to navigate the world by restoring their capacity to detect movement and distinguish light and dark. “This is the first time we’ve had a completely implantable device that people can use in their own homes without having to be plugged into an external device,” said Nader Pouratian, M.D., Ph.D., a neu-

rosurgeon at UCLA Health and principal investigator of the five-year study. “It helps them recognize, for example, where a doorway is, where the sidewalk begins or ends, or where the crosswalk is. These are all extremely meaningful events that can help improve people’s quality of life.”

A breakthrough device Designated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a “breakthrough device,” the system wirelessly converts images captured by a tiny video camera mounted on sunglasses into a series of electrical pulses. The pulses stimulate a set of 60 electrodes implanted on top of the brain’s visual cortex, which perceives patterns of light and interprets them as visual clues. “I’ll see little white dots on a black background, like looking up at the stars at night,” said Esterhuizen, the world’s second research subject to receive the device, which is called Orion. “As a person walks toward me, I might see three little dots. As they move closer to me, more and more dots light up.” Along with the glasses, the system also includes a belt equipped with a button, which patients can press to amplify dark objects in the sun, and press again to visualize light objects in the dark, such as an

oncoming car’s headlights at night. Six people have received the implant: the first three at UCLA Health, two at Baylor College of Medicine, and the sixth at UCLA. Recipients have expressed delight at once again being able to enjoy fireworks and blow out candles on a birthday cake. “It’s still a blast every time I turn it on,” Esterhuizen said. “After seeing absolutely nothing to all of a sudden seeing little flickers of light move around and figuring out that they mean something. It’s just amazing to have some form of functional vision again.”

May help glaucoma patients, others The implant currently stimulates the left side of the patient’s brain. As a result, they perceive visual cues only from their rightside field of vision. Ultimately, the goal is to implant both sides of the brain to recover a full field of vision. “This device has the potential to restore useful vision to patients blinded by glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, cancer and trauma,” Pouratian said. With research subjects’ input, he and his colleagues hope to one day adapt the device to also assist people who were born blind or have low vision. Nearly 39 million people worldwide are

legally blind. Because the Orion, developed and marketed by Second Sight Medical Products, directly stimulates the visual cortex, it can help people like Esterhuizen who have suffered damage to their retinas and optic nerves. Esterhuizen, an upbeat athlete and adrenaline junkie who skydives, bungee jumps and recently competed with his team in the 2019 World Series for “beep baseball” — a form of America’s pastime for people who are visually impaired — credits his accident and the device for changing his life in countless ways. “The day of my car accident, I was 23 and studying to become an airline pilot,” he wrote in his blog. “Life didn’t end there; it just changed for the better. I would not have met the love of my life.” The couple will celebrate their first wedding anniversary in September. “Normally when my wife is mad at me, she’ll be quiet, and I’ll be like, ‘Where are you? I want to speak to you,’” he said. “Now I can find her. She can’t hide from me anymore.” A Wellness Update is a magazine devoted to up-to-the minute information on health issues. Online at awellnessupdate.com. © 2020 www.awellnessupdate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Hope from coronavirus survivors’ blood By Lauran Neergaard and Marshall Ritzel Tiffany Pinckney remembers the fear when COVID-19 stole her breath. So when she recovered, the New York City mother became one of the country’s first survivors to donate her blood to help treat other seriously ill patients. “It is definitely overwhelming to know that in my blood, there may be answers,” Pinckney said. Doctors around the world are dusting off a century-old treatment for infections: Infusions of blood plasma teeming with immune molecules that helped survivors beat the new coronavirus. There’s no proof it will work. But former patients in Houston and New York were early donors, and now hospitals and blood centers are getting ready for potentially hundreds of survivors to follow. The Food and Drug Administration in

April announced a national study, led by the Mayo Clinic, that will help hospitals offer the experimental plasma therapy and track how they fare. The American Red Cross will help collect and distribute the plasma. “There’s a tremendous call to action,” said Dr. David Reich, president of New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital, which declared Pinckney recovered and raced to collect her blood. “People feel very helpless in the face of this disease. And this is one thing that people can do to help their fellow human beings.” As treatments get underway, “we just hope it works,” he said.

Technique often used in past What the history books call “convalescent serum” was most famously used during the 1918 flu pandemic, and also against

measles, bacterial pneumonia and numerous other infections before modern medicine came along. Why? When infection strikes, the body starts making proteins called antibodies specially designed to target that germ. Those antibodies float in survivors’ blood — specifically plasma, the yellowish liquid part of blood — for months, even years. When new diseases erupt and scientists are scrambling for vaccines or drugs, it’s “a stopgap measure that we can put into place quickly,” said Dr. Jeffrey Henderson of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who is helping develop a nationwide study. This “is not a cure per se, but rather it is a way to reduce the severity of illness,” Henderson said. Doctors don’t know how long survivors’ antibodies against COVID-19 will persist.

But for now, “they’re the safest ones on the street,” said Dr. Rebecca Haley of Bloodworks Northwest in Seattle, which is working to identify donors. “We would not be making a dent in their antibody supply for themselves.” Last month, the Food and Drug Administration told hospitals how to seek caseby-case emergency permission to use convalescent plasma, and Houston Methodist Hospital and Mount Sinai jumped at the chance. And a desperate public responded, with families taking to social media to plead on behalf of sick loved ones, and people recovering asking how they could donate. According to Michigan State University, more than 1,000 people signed up with the National COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma See COVID PLASMA, page 4

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Older adults remember earlier hard times By Lindsey Tanner One person remembers the polio epidemic and the hardships of World War II. One is stoic about it all because, he said, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s already â&#x20AC;&#x153;here past [his] welcome.â&#x20AC;? A third, old enough to remember the aftermath of the 1918 flu epidemic, turns to her faith in challenging times. For older Americans, some of the people most likely to be negatively affected by the coronavirus pandemic, these unusual days and the social distancing that they bring are rippling out in varied and nuanced ways. Easter Brown, 77, works with a Washington, D.C., group that provides gro-

ceries, medicine and other services to older inner-city residents. But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pollen season, and she has asthma, making her more vulnerable to coronavirus. So, on doctorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s orders, she has stopped making deliveries. She has also stopped walking outside for exercise and instead strolls her apartment buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hallways for 35 minutes each day. Her daughter and grandson live in the building, so she doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel isolated. Crossword puzzles, studying the Bible, cooking and watching TV keep her busy. Brown takes the small changes in her lifestyle in stride, and is still going strong â&#x20AC;&#x201D; at least, â&#x20AC;&#x153;thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what everybody says,â&#x20AC;? Brown

COVID plasma

search. Would-be donors canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just show up at a blood center. Those with a proven infection whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been symptom-free for several weeks must get tested to ensure the virus is gone.

From page 3 Project alone. Dozens of hospitals formed that group to spur plasma donation and re-

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said with a laugh. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As long as I stay in here, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t worry about catching it,â&#x20AC;? she said.

Reminded of rationing Many older Americans say theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen hard times before. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This kind of thing is not new for us older people,â&#x20AC;? said Mimi Allison, the former director of the National Museum of Dance, who turned 90 recently. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not as stressed as some of the younger people,â&#x20AC;? Allison said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We know that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all going to come out of it. Well, some of us wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, but most of us will, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all going to be better off for it.â&#x20AC;? Allison said sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reminded of the rationing in World War II and the polio epiThey also must be healthy enough to meet the other requirements for blood donation â&#x20AC;&#x201D; plus get an additional test to see if their antibody level is high enough. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to take plasma from someone who had a mediocre immune response. That wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be helpful,â&#x20AC;? said Dr. Julie Ledgerwood of the National Institutes of Health.

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Chinese doctors reported in March that five patients given convalescent plasma all showed some improvement about a week later. But they also received other therapies, and without a rigorous study, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no way to know if the plasma made the difference. Studies are being planned to test convalescent plasma against regular care in sick patients, and to prevent infections among people at high risk of exposure such as healthcare workers. Another approach: Spain-based plasma manufacturer Grifols aims to concentrate donor plasma in a North Carolina factory, creating a high-dose version that also

demic that sickened her brother in the 1940s, when swimming pools and movie theaters were closed and families kept children close to avoid that virus. So far, she said, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not all that different from growing up in Buffalo, New York, when blizzards often brought life to a halt.

Staying connected The key is to maintain some kind of connection, said the Rev. Michael Pfleger, 70, a charismatic Chicago priest who normally feeds off the energy of parishioners but now faces empty pews. His parish in a See HARD TIMES, page 6

would need testing. Separately, NIH researchers are measuring survivorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; antibody levels to learn how strong the vaccines under development must be to protect. Other teams, including at Beijingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tsinghua University, are hunting which antibodies are most potent, to copy in a lab and turn into drugs. But donations from people like Pinckney could be used as fast as blood centers can process it. She got sick the first week of March. First came the fever and chills. She couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t catch her breath, and deep breathing caused chest pains. The single mother worried about her sons, 9 and 16. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I remember being on my bathroom floor crying and praying,â&#x20AC;? the 39-year-old said. So when Mount Sinai, which diagnosed her, called Pinckney to check on her recovery and ask if sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d consider donating, she didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hesitate. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s humbling. And for me, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also a beacon of hope for someone else,â&#x20AC;? she said. AP National Writer Allen G. Breed in North Carolina contributed to this report. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;AP

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You can also use your job experience to coach students or give career advice on the website CareerVillage.org. “We’re looking for professionals in all sorts of fields,” said Gurpreet Lally, community manager for CareerVillage.org. “Students will post questions about anything from welding to medical fields. It’s a huge range.” No training is necessary, just a LinkedIn account or an email address. “It’s a very quick and easy process,” she said. “Anyone can just hop in whenever they have time, spend 20 minutes or so answering questions, and then hop off.” If you’d like to make a difference to people in the local area, Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland needs volunteers to check in on clients by phone twice a week to help stave off loneliness and isolation. To sign up to make these “wellness calls,”

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email volunteer@mowcm.org. Remember pen pals? The nonprofit Winter Growth, Inc., founded in 1979 to provide community-based services for older and disabled adults, would like to connect you to a Howard County pen pal during the pandemic. Write a note about a favorite vacation, share a silly story, explain what life was like growing up in your neighborhood or discuss anything else you’d like to share. Notes can be emailed to penpal.columbia@wintergrowthinc.org. Or, if you play an instrument, share your musical talents and brighten someone’s day by sending an audio or video recording of your performance to colleen.konstanzer@wintergrowthinc.org. To Onofrio-Collier, a virtual volunteer position is a rewarding way to fill up the days. In fact, you can get carried away. Recently, a friend asked her what TV shows she was “binge-watching” during the quarantine. “I said, ‘What? Sorry, I don’t have any time for that,’” Onofrio-Collier said. “I’m busier now than when I was working.” Visit createthegood.aarp.org to search for more volunteer opportunities you can do from home. If you’d like to receive a Friendly Voice phone call, dial 1-888-281-0145. FREE

For less one-on-one social interaction, you can also volunteer from your couch by helping cartographers. If you love maps, you can join the National Map Corps with the U.S. Geological Survey. The agency asks volunteer editors to help update map sites from their home computers. (Email nationalmapcorps@usgs.gov.) “Many of our current volunteers are retirees who enjoy being able to contribute to a citizen-science project without leaving the house, so this is an ideal stay-at-home/social distancing opportunity,” project manager Emily Anderson said. After creating an account and reading a brief how-to guide, Map Corps volunteers can get to work right away. Add new points

There are also volunteer options for nature lovers. If you spend your time fishing, some states, such as Maryland, need anglers to report basic information on the size, species and location of their catch. They can send data with a smartphone. Amateur wildlife photographers can upload photos to the iNaturalist app or website, contributing them to a database for biologists. (See iNaturalist.org.) Birdwatchers can report sightings via iBird — an online checklist organized by the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. (See iBird.com.) You can help save lives by reporting floods, hail or tornadoes with a quick phone call or email. The National Weather Service is always on the lookout for “weather weenies,” as agency meteorologist Jeremy Geiger put it. Geiger trains people officially called “spotters” to report storms via a program called Skywarn. The two-hour training sessions are entirely online now, and no experience is necessary. “Average Joes to geniuses” are welcome, he said. The on-the-ground weather reports

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young-adult novels for students who are blind or dyslexic. (See learningally.org.) Other volunteers are paired up with narrators to give them one-on-one feedback on each recording’s sound quality, speed or pronunciation. A third tier of volunteers double-checks the final product before the book is distributed to 30,000 children — and hopefully sparks a lifelong love of reading. “Most of the kids who use our products struggle with reading,” said Paula Restrepo, volunteer nation lead, “so we need to make sure that first book is really engaging.”

from their 400,000 trained severe weather spotters are crucial, Geiger said, enabling the agency to issue a warning and save lives. (See (weather.gov/skywarn.) “With a radar, you can only see so much,” he said. Retirees are particularly helpful. “People who are retired have a little more time,” he said.

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From page 1

to a map or make sure that existing points correctly identify schools, hospitals and other structures. If you get stuck, there’s a Q&A forum where people can ask questions or answer them for newbies.

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J U N E 2 0 2 0 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

A new target in fight against dementia By Veena J. Alfred, Ph.D. The body’s immune system can turn against itself: what evolved as a protective mechanism can, under different circumstances, actually cause harm. Scientists have discovered that there is, in fact, something in the brain that plays an immensely important protective and beneficial role but can also, under certain circumstances, cause damage — and they have linked it, possibly, to Alzheimer’s. This new culprit in the search for the cause of Alzheimer’s is astrocytes. These star-shaped cells (hence their name) constitute an essential part of the central nervous system and are the most abundant cells in the brain. They perform a number of important functions, including: —creating and maintaining synapses (links between brain cells),

—serving as gatekeepers of the bloodbrain barrier (which prevents toxins and other harmful elements from entering the brain through the blood supply), —maintaining chemical balance, —producing antioxidants (to counteract oxidative stress), and —controlling immune system responses to injury in the central nervous system. Astrocytes also release chemicals into the brain that are associated with memory and learning and the establishment of new connections between brain cells.

The role of glutamate One of the key functions of astrocytes is the control of the amount of glutamate around brain cells. Glutamate is a chemical that excites brain cells into communicating with each other. Too much glutamate and excessive exci-

tation can be harmful to the brain cells, and it is the job of the astrocytes to keep glutamate at the right level and convert the excess glutamate to glutamine. When amyloid-B plaques accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, an inflammatory response is triggered. The inflammation causes the astrocytes to clear the amyloid plaques from the brain. In the process of reacting to the buildup of amyloid plaques, the astrocytes undergo various changes. One of these changes is that the astrocytes become less efficient at controlling the amount of glutamate around the brain cells. What is more damaging, the amyloid plaques can actually cause the astrocytes to release glutamate that they had already taken in for reprocessing into glutamine. High levels of glutamate surrounding the brain cells cause overactivation of the

cells, and this results in cell damage and even cell death. It is this damage and death of brain cells that is responsible for the memory loss and other cognitive impairments experienced by Alzheimer’s patients.

Potential treatments Researchers are now looking into the possibility of developing drugs that will target astrocytes — and, in particular, their mechanisms for controlling glutamate levels. Of the more than 1,000 drugs approved by the FDA, more than 20 have been shown to be effective in stimulating the astrocyte mechanism to control glutamate levels. This is a new approach to the treatment of Alzheimer’s. It shifts the focus away from the amyloid plaques and tau tangles to astrocytes. Early findings of this approach look extremely promising. Veena J. Alfred, Ph.D., is a certified dementia practitioner and CEO/Administrator of AlfredHouse.

Hard times From page 4 struggling South Side neighborhood includes many adults his age and older who are sequestered in their homes. He has turned to live-streaming mass on Sundays. Instead of handshakes and embraces, he’s urging phone calls, especially for seniors without internet access or smartphones. “It’s so important to stay connected right now because what depression does with people is have them turn into themselves and close their world,” Pfleger said. Mental health experts agree. Almost one in three older adults live alone, and many have chronic health problems. Those factors make them vulnerable to loneliness and depression; suicide rates among those aged 75 and older are among the highest in the nation. For those accustomed to being more active, being confined to home and reliant on others for groceries and basic needs can be disempowering. Family members can help by talking about health risks and the need for social distancing. Helen Anstead, 106, isn’t fazed by the COVID-19 pandemic because, she said, she has pretty much seen it all. Anstead mostly stays indoors, pays attention to the news but doesn’t worry about getting sick. Raised in a church-going family, she said she relies on her faith and watches mass on TV every day. “When you’re isolated, you reach for spiritual help,” she said, “and it works for me.” In New Hampshire, Pete Thomas lives by himself. “At 88, I am sort of here past the welcome, as the saying goes,” Thomas said. “It will be what it is, and you deal with it as you will. I see no point in getting myself concerned about something I have no control over.” —AP

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U N E 2 0 2 0

Is it my usual hay fever allergy or COVID? By Michael Rubinkam The spring breezes of 2020 are carrying more than just tree pollen. There’s a whiff of paranoia in the air. For millions of seasonal allergy sufferers, the annual onset of watery eyes and scratchy throats is bumping up against the global spread of the new virus that produces its own constellation of respiratory symptoms. Forecasters predicted a brutal spring allergy season for swaths of the U.S., which hit at the same time that COVID-19 cases started rising dramatically. That’s causing angst for people who never have had to particularly worry about their hay fever, other than to stock up on antihistamines, decongestants and tissues. Now they’re asking: Are these my allergies? Or something more sinister? “Everyone is sort of analyzing every sneeze and cough right now,” said Kathy Przywara, who manages an online community of allergy sufferers for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

Symptoms differ Never mind the differing symptoms — that sneezing and runny nose, hallmarks of hay fever, are not typically associated with COVID-19, which commonly produces coughing, fever and, in more serious cases,

shortness of breath. Never mind that allergies don’t cause fevers. Allergy sufferers fret that there’s just enough overlap to make them nervous. Allergy season is already underway in Oceanside, California, where Ampie Convocar is dealing with a runny nose, sinus pain, headache and an urge to sneeze. Last year, she would’ve considered her symptoms mere annoyance. Now they cause tremendous anxiety. People with asthma, like Convocar, may be at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. “I consider it as something that could kill me because of COVID-19 floating around,” Convocar wrote via email. With a family member still traveling to work every day, she said, “I don’t know what he got out there.” Many garden-variety hay fever sufferers, of whom there are about 19 million adults in the U.S., are also on heightened alert. They’re taking their temperatures each day, just in case. They’re hiding their sneezes and sniffles from suspicious neighbors and grossed-out grocery shoppers. They’re commiserating with each other and sharing memes on social media (“I don’t know if I should buy Zyrtec or turn myself in to the CDC”). Pamela Smelser is reminded of allergy season every time she looks out the win-

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dow of her home office, where her cherry tree is blooming. Spring came early to Maryland, she said, and lots of people are coughing and sneezing from the pollen. “You do what you have to do: You take your meds for allergies and stay away from people,” Smelser said. “People get really hinky about coughing right now.”

No test to prove it’s allergies Though she’s had allergies for years,

Smelser, a semi-retired social worker and community college teacher outside Baltimore, admits to being a touch paranoid. She takes her temperature every day because she’s 66 and, well, you can never be too careful. “I can’t rule out that I have anything,” she said. “That’s the paranoia: You can’t even get a test to say, ‘This is all seasonal allergies.’” —AP

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J U N E 2 0 2 0 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

At-home strategies for hearing aid users Courtesy of the American Speech-LanguageHearing Association Hearing aids require special care to ensure that they work properly. You should have a hearing aid cleaning brush and a user manual that can assist in performing routine maintenance. If you need replacement parts, check with your audiologist to see if these can be shipped to your home during this unprecedented time. To keep your hearing aid in good working order: Perform visual checks daily. Take a good look at the whole hearing aid body, starting with the portion that goes directly in your ear. Check for any wax that may be blocking sound from coming in properly. You also should check for cracks in the hearing aid body or tubing. If you have an open-fit hearing aid, check for any wax on the hearing aid dome. Refer to the user manual for tips on how to clean the dome or how to replace it if there is too much wax. Check for breaks in the wire that connects the dome to the hearing aid. If your device has a thin/slim tube but no wiring, remove the dome attached to the tube, and use a thin plastic wire to

clean wax and debris from the tubing. You can even use a piece of fishing line to clear a thin/slim tube. Check batteries. Batteries should last about five to 10 days, depending on the hearing aid model, the battery size and the use of connectivity (Bluetooth) options. If you have a battery tester at home, check that the batteries are at full strength so that hearing aids are working at peak performance. If you do not have a battery tester, keep a written log, and note how long your batteries are lasting. Be sure to do the following: Always keep spare batteries with you, and store them in a cool, dry place (but not the refrigerator). For rechargeable hearing aids: Give hearing aids the recommended number of hours to reach a full charge. Your user manual should provide this information if you need a refresher. Keep a log of how long your hearing aids last. If they are not staying charged as expected, contact your audiologist if you can. Clean the hearing aids regularly with a soft, dry cloth. Check for dirt and wax buildup on your hearing aids, earmolds, domes and/or tubing.

For hearing aid users who utilize earmolds, note that these can be removed from hearing aids. Once the earmold(s) are detached from the hearing aids, they can be washed in warm (not hot) soapy water, then rinsed well. Make sure earmolds are dry before reattaching them to the hearing aids again. Dome-shaped earpieces used with openfit hearing aids should be cleaned with a dry cloth or special tool provided by your audiologist. Some audiologists may provide a backup supply of domes. If your dome is discolored, cracking and/or deteriorating, remove it and attach a new dome to your device. Minimize moisture in the hearing aids. A hearing aid drying container will help keep moisture from building up inside hearing aids and will lengthen their life. If you have one, use it nightly. Remove batteries before placing hearing aids in storage containers. If you live in a very humid area, ask your audiologist if a hearing aid drying container is a good idea. There are more sophisticated dryers available if a simple jar or canister drying container isn’t sufficient. Improve the listening experience at home. Family members can take these steps to improve your listening experience:

Wait until you are in the same room to talk with others. Ask your conversation partner to slow down their speech if you have difficulty following. Ask your conversation partner to face you when speaking — no backs turned or heads down looking at screens. Let the person speaking know if you are having trouble hearing or understanding (don’t pretend to understand). Use closed captioning (a.k.a subtitles) when watching television or movies. Take some dedicated quiet time (listening breaks). It takes more energy to listen when you have hearing loss — and feeling tired can cause you to mix up conversations. For family members, being at home with loved ones for an extended period of time may make hearing challenges more obvious (e.g., turning the volume way up on the television, complaining frequently about people mumbling). Although now isn’t the ideal time for a hearing evaluation due to shelter-in-place restrictions, you may want to start laying the groundwork for a visit to an audiologist once it is safe to go out in public again. Lear n more about hearing loss at asha.org/public.

BEACON BITS

June+

BITES FOR BETTER WELLBEING

Quarantining can be a stressful time, so take care of yourself. Enjoy Jewish Community Services’ “brief bites” — self-care tips that take less than 30 minutes. Visit jcsbalt.org/virtual-library for more information.

June+

VIRTUAL ART MUSEUM

Visit the Baltimore Museum of Art online by touring virtual galleries and discovering behind-the-scenes stories of the artists and their artwork. You can even download instructions for art projects. For more information, visit artbma.org.

June+

SOCIALLY DISTANCED GARDEN FESTIVAL

Help preserve one of the top five gardens in North America, Ladew Topiary Gardens in Monkton, by participating in the Socially Distanced Garden Festival. Buy spring plants from participating garden vendors, and 10% of the sale will support Ladew Gardens. To get a list of the vendors, visit ladewgardens.com.

June+

VIEWS OF MARS

Embrace your inner astronaut with a real recording of the surface of Mars by a NASA rover. A brief history lesson is included. To access, visit accessmars.withgoogle.com.

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U N E 2 0 2 0

If you’d like to eat less meat, try ahi tuna By Wolfgang Puck Many people today wonder if they’re maybe eating a little too much red meat, and are looking for alternatives. I suggest they try fresh tuna. To me, a good sushi-grade ahi tuna steak is the closest thing you can eat from the sea that tastes like a great piece of beef. Deep rosy red in color, firm in texture and richly robust in flavor, fresh tuna is definitely the fish you want to eat if you’re trying to take a break from meat. Unlike red meat, it also provides heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids (though it isn’t as high in them as fattier fish like salmon). To enjoy ahi at its best, I cook it no more than medium rare, leaving a definite layer of deep red at its center. That ensures the relatively lean fish doesn’t dry out, yielding the best possible taste and texture. I prepare it simply, too, quickly searing it over high heat after seasoning it with a sprinkling of salt and a layer of crushed black peppercorns like you’d find on a classic beefsteak cooked in the French au poivre (with pepper) style. I also like to add a finishing touch in the form of a sauce, first deglazing the pan with a little port wine and cognac (the high heat evaporates most of the alcohol) and then whisking in some butter — just half a tablespoon per serving.

Seared Tuna Steak Au Poivre Serves 4 Ingredients: ¼ cup black peppercorns 4 sushi-grade ahi tuna steaks, about 6 ounces each Kosher salt 1/3 cup port ¼ cup cognac ¾ cup good-quality low-sodium chicken stock or broth, or vegetable stock or broth, briskly simmered until reduced to about ½ cup 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 or 4 pieces 2 teaspoons bottled green peppercorns, drained Directions: Put the peppercorns in a small sealable food storage bag. Seal the bag, squeezing out any air. Place the bag flat on a work surface. With a meat mallet or the bottom of a heavy skillet, crack peppercorns into coarse pieces. Season the tuna steaks lightly on both sides with salt. Pour the cracked peppercorns onto a large plate or a sheet of wax paper and press each steak into the pepper, turning to coat both sides evenly. In a small saucepan, combine the port and cognac. Place the pan over mediumhigh heat and simmer briskly, stirring oc-

casionally, until the liquid reduces to only about 2 tablespoons. Pour in the reduced stock or broth and continue simmering until the mixture thickens to a consistency thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove the pan from the heat and briskly whisk the butter a piece at a time into the reduced liquid. Adjust the seasoning to taste with a little more salt, if needed. Cover the pan and keep warm. Heat a nonstick skillet large enough to hold the 4 tuna steaks in a single layer over

high heat. Add the tuna to the hot skillet and sear on both sides until rare to medium-rare, 45 seconds to 1 minute. To serve, cut each tuna steak crosswise into slices ½ inch thick. Spoon the sauce in the center of four warmed serving plates and arrange the tuna slices on top, overlapping them slightly. Garnish with green peppercorns. Serve immediately. © 2020 Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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J U N E 2 0 2 0 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Stand Up Straight and Feel Better Discover the Perfect Walker, the better way to walk safely and more naturally It’s a cruel fact of life, as we age, gravity takes over. Our muscles droop, our bodies sag and the weight of the world seems to be planted squarely on our shoulders. We dread taking a fall, so we find ourselves walking less and less- and that only makes matters worse.

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U N E 2 0 2 0

A chance to smile at stupid drug names By Susan Goldfein Every year, I write about the 10 stupidest drug names from the year before. And 2019 was indeed a bountiful year for stupid drug names. The Big Pharma Scrabble players were in rare form as they concocted high-scoring, unpronounceable letter combinations with which to christen the latest medicines and put my Spellcheck on hyper alert. But alas, there’s not one cure for the common cold among them. Take the quiz below to determine your Rx IQ, and hopefully, you will not be needing any of these medications. (For the doubters out there, these names are real.) Dayvigo a. Opposite of Nightvigo b. Asking someone named David to leave c. A song made famous by Harry Belafonte d. Not this again! Brilinta a. The third, little known witch from The Wizard of Oz b. A clever device to remove fuzz from sweaters c. The capital of Germanyta d. All of the above Oxbryta a. A water filter for a team of farm animals b. The feminine form of Oxbryto c. A word attempt by a novice at pig Latin d. A, b and possibly c Adakveo a. An animal that eats ants b. The opposite of a light veo c. A commercial for an Akveo d. Are we there yet? Reblozyl a. A holy man from Lozyl b. To blozyl again c. Something you do after you sneezle for the second time d. None of the above Brukinsa a. A shadow company for Burisma b. What you have when your cutting blade snaps c. What you get when you cross a NYC borough with Bill Clinton’s home state d. Give me a break!

BEACON BITS

June+

ASK A MUSICIAN

Xenleta a. A liberal Hindu religion b. The 10th enleta c. Atelnex spelled backwards. d. I’m getting a headache! Wakix a. What’s left when part of a Hawaiian beach washes away b. A treatment for removing ear wax c. An old breakfast cereal with a new name d. Take two aspirin and call me in the morning Rozlytrek a. The latest installment of the never-ending space travel series b. A difficult journey traveled by Rozly c. A town in Holland d. A, b and possibly c Vyleesi a. An attractive Italian actress

b. Someone who rents, rather than buys, a Vy c. An Eastern European requesting an explanation from Leesi The runner-ups include: Xpovio, Skyrizi, Vyndaqel, Nubeqa and Enhertu. So, how was your Rx IQ? If you have any interest left at all, the real answers are below:

Dayvigo: insomnia; Brilinta: prevent blood clots; Oxbryta: Sickle Cell disease; Adakveo: Sickle Cell disease; Reblozyl: anemia; Brukinsa: lymphoma; Xenleta: pneumonia; Wakix: narcolepsy; Rozlytrek: lung cancer; and Vyleesi: female libido disorder. Susan Goldfein is the author of How to Complain When There’s Nothing to Complain About.

BEACON BITS

June+

MILLIONS OF BOOKS ONLINE If you’re missing your local library, there’s now a national archive

available to you online. Millions of books are available, including in other languages, for fun or scholarly reading, and there is no waitlist. To access, visit https://bit.ly/NatEmergencyLibrary.

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PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY Park View at Bladensburg: 301-699-9785 • 55 & Better Park View at Laurel: 301-490-1526 Park View at Laurel II: 301-490-9730

Do you have questions about music, specifically orchestras? The music director of the Columbia Orchestra, Jason Love, answers questions every week. Email him at askjason@columbiaorchestra.org.

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J U N E 2 0 2 0 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Finally… a better mobility solution than Scooters or Power Chairs. The Zoomer‘s versatile design and 1-touch joystick operation brings mobility and independence to those who need it most. If you have mobility issues, or know someone who does, then you’ve experienced the difficulties faced by millions of Americans. Once simple tasks like getting from the bedroom to the kitchen can become a time-consuming and potentially dangerous ordeal. You may have tried to solve the problem with a power chair or a scooter but neither is ideal. Power chairs are bulky and look like a medical device. Scooters are either unstable or hard to maneuver. Now, there’s a better alternative… the Zoomer. After just one trip around your home in the Zoomer, you’ll marvel at how easy it is to navigate. It is designed to maneuver in tight spaces like doorways, between furniture, and around corners. It can go over thresholds and works great on any kind of floor or carpet. It’s not bulky or cumbersome, so it can roll right up to a table or desk- there’s no need to transfer to a chair. Its sturdy yet lightweight aluminum frame makes it durable and comfortable. It’s dual motors power it at up to 3.7 miles per hour and its automatic electromagnetic brakes stop on a dime. The rechargeable battery powers it for up to 8 miles on

Who can drive a Zoomer? – everyone! The secret to the Zoomer is its simple steering system. You operate it with a simple-to-use joystick, giving you precision maneuverability and the ability to navigate tight spaces easily with a 25” turning radius. It is designed to let you pull right up to a table or desk. You no longer have to move to another chair to work or eat at your table Zoomer conveniently rolls beneath table or desk

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U N E 2 0 2 0

Health Studies

INFORMATION ON AREA CLINICAL TRIALS

Help Alzheimer’s researchers from home By Margaret Foster What if you could advance our understanding of Alzheimer’s by simply taking a survey from your sofa? Researchers at Boston University and Savonix hope to enroll 400,000 people in a study nationwide that will search for the causes of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The results could contribute to our ability to diagnose the disease. “It’s a game-changer to be able to say, ‘Can we anticipate, diagnose, prevent dementia?’” said Dr. Sandro Galea, dean of Boston University’s School of Public Health, in a video. “If we can do that, we are going to improve the lives of millions.” The study, known as the Assist study, can be accessed via computer, tablet or smartphone.

“The good thing about this study is that people can do it from their own home,” said Reynald Hiole, director of marketing for Savonix, a brain health app. Participation takes about 45 minutes. You will be asked to complete a confidential health questionnaire and then take a cognitive test via Savonix’s mobile app, which can be downloaded for free at savonix.com. The test, a series of brain teasers, takes about 20 minutes. After one year, researchers will contact you and ask you to answer the same questions again. The study is expected to last three years. People who use FitBits or Apple watches will be asked to share their electronic health data for the study, too. Researchers will note their Zip code, sleep quality and

BEACON BITS

June+

DO YOUR OWN ART

Use your creativity to make art from home. Learn how to etch, cast paper, dye fabric and print patterned paper. Videos are released weekly from the Pyramid Atlantic Art Center. To watch, visit https://bit.ly/PyramidAtHome.

June+

ZOOMING TO THE ZOO

Get in touch with nature by watching free livestream zoo cams from across the country that highlight apes, koalas, whales, giraffes, penguins and other animals. To check it out, go to https://bit.ly/ZooVideos.

June+

GRAMMY GALORE

Get all the benefits of the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles from your couch. Watch interviews and concerts with musicians and learn how to do basic video production with free classes. Visit grammymuseum.org/museum-at-home for more information.

June+

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Don’t forget to exercise, even in quarantine. Take free dance classes on Zoom any day of the week with Jane Franklin Dance. There are multiple dancing options, including ballet barre, floor work, jazz, stretching, improv, modern dance, fitness and clogging. To register, visit janefranklin.com/online-classes.

other lifestyle factors, such as tobacco or alcohol use. “We’re going to look at all those factors together to see if there’s a correlation,” Hiole said. “We’re going to use artificial intelligence to look at that health data.” Participants will be kept up-to-date on the study via emails from Savonix. At the end of

the study, the company will share the results with participants first. In addition, after the study concludes, you will receive a report about your cognitive condition. There is no compensation for participation. To participate, or for more details, visit assiststudy.org.

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A Publication of the Department of Community Resources and Services

Building Stronger Support for Older Adults

ccording to the U.S. 2010 Census, 11 million, or 28% of people aged 65 and older, lived alone at the time of the census. As people get older, their likelihood of living alone increases. The AARP reports that the number of adults with no children continues to increase. That means that there are fewer family members to be — JUNE 15 — part of the support network for those individuals. While living alone does not inevitably lead to social isolation, it can certainly be a contributing factor. Why does combating social isolation matter? According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, social isolation creates greater risk for older adults to experience elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. National Institute of Health research has linked social isolation and loneliness to higher risks for a variety of both physical and mental conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease, and also increased mortality rates. At a time like this, due to COVID-19, we need each other more than ever, especially the older adults in our community. Social contacts tend to decrease as we age for reasons such as retirement, the death of friends and family, or lack of mobility. Additionally, perceived social isolation, the feeling that you are lonely, is a struggle for many older adults. Perceived loneliness contributes to cognitive decline and risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease according to Dr. John Cacioppo, a neuroscientist and psychologist at the University of Chicago. National Institute of Aging-supported research by Dr. Cole and others shows that having a sense of mission and purpose in life is linked to healthier immune cells. Helping others through caregiving and volunteering helps people feel less lonely. Elder Abuse Awareness Day is June 15. What can you do to show you care and help build strong supports for older adults in our community? Contact the Office on Aging and Independence (OAI) to explore opportunities to advocate for older adults or volunteer in our community.

Volume 10, No. 6 • June 2020

A Message from Howard County Executive

Calvin Ball

mid the ongoing pandemic, our community has remained resilient and is working together to respond to the COVID-19 crisis in unprecedented ways. I am especially proud of our team at the Ofﬁce on Aging and Independence (OAI), who have been behind-the-scenes heroes ensuring access to services, resources, support and information during our COVID-19 response. Our ombudsman and guardianship programs have continued to provide essential advocacy to our most vulnerable older adults; our 50+ CENTERS have provided virtual programming to ensure social connectedness and decrease social isolation; a GRAB & GO meal distribution has been set up to ensure food access; and our LOAN CLOSET is providing equipment distribution to individuals who are experiencing acute needs. This is just to name a few of the activities; every day our team is working incredibly hard, adapting to the changing situation, and innovating to provide services during this crisis. Throughout the pandemic response, OAI’s Maryland Access Point (MAP) has been a trusted resource for information and assistance. MAP information specialists are available weekdays to take your calls at 410-313-1234 (voice/relay).

Even though many of us are still physically distancing, it is more important than ever to stay in touch with our loved ones, neighbors, and friends. June is National Safety Month and, with many of us spending more time at home, it is a good time to take the time and make sure our homes are safe to prevent falls. To reduce the risk of falls at home, remove anything on your floor that is a trip hazard; arrange furniture so there is plenty of room to walk; and put essential items within easy reach. Wishing you and your family a safe and healthy month ahead.

Ways to Connect Volunteer programs that deliver essential services to older adults: • Social Call Program (formerly Friendly Connections) • Long-Term-Care Ombudsman • Neighbor Ride • Meals on Wheels Learn more about volunteering with older adults through OAI by contacting Maryland Access Point of Howard County (MAP) at 410-313-1234 (voice/relay) or www.howardcountymd.gov/aging. For more information about World Elder Abuse Awareness Day and elder abuse prevention, visit www.howardcountymd.gov/eldersafety.

The 50+ Connection is published monthly by the Howard County Ofﬁce on Aging and Independence. This publication is available in alternate formats upon request. To join our subscriber list, email kahenry@howardcountymd.gov 9830 Patuxent Woods Drive, Columbia, MD 21046 410-313-6410 (VOICE/RELAY) • www.howardcountymd.gov/aging Find us on

www.Facebook.com/HoCoCommunity

Kim Higdon Henry, Editor • Email: kahenry@howardcountymd.gov Advertising contained in the Beacon is not endorsed by the Ofﬁce on Aging and Independence or by the publisher.

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The 50+ Connection

Say you saw it in the Beacon

Neighbor Ride Shifts Gears to Help County Thrive

or years, Neighbor Ride’s volunteer transportation service has met a critical need, driving older adults in Howard County who want to remain healthy, active, and engaged. Transportation is often a common barrier for older adults to access health care services and community activities that support their desire and ability to age in place. During "normal" times Neighbor Ride’s volunteer drivers provide up to 1,500 trips a month; this number dropped tremendously in response to the pandemic. “When the impact of COVID-19 started to take shape, we saw that access to food would become a challenge for many in the county — not just older adults — and we knew we could help,” said Bruce Fulton, executive director of Neighbor Ride. “Knowing our team of 400 volunteers was ready and willing to help, we reached out to the Howard County Food Bank and the Office on Aging and Independence (OAI) to offer meal delivery service for their clients with food access issues.” “With 50+ Centers closed, our members cannot take advantage of our congregate meal program, so we developed the Grab & Go meal distribution program to fill that void,” said OAI Administrator Jenna Crawley. “With the support of Neighbor Ride and the county’s Roving Radish — which provides onsite refrigeration for the meal kits and delivers them to several senior living facilities — this program helps to ensure that older adults have easy access to nutritious meals.” “The Roving Radish has always focused on healthy food access, and we feel very fortunate that we can assist with the Grab & Go program,” said James Zoller, Roving Radish program manager. “In difficult times, we are all tested; we are proud to be part of this great team effort to meet our community’s needs.”

A Recent Survey Reﬂects Experiences From NR Drivers • Driving for NR has always been important to me... volunteering during the crisis has made me more aware of how interdependent our community is and how easily our elderly can become isolated. I love working with a group of people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and ask, “How can we help?” — Andrea C. • Although our clients always express thanks for the service we provide, our food delivery clients are truly grateful to receive much needed supplies. It not only brings food to their door; it also protects them from the coronavirus. — Paul S.

• If I lived alone and needed food, I would like to think someone would step up to help. Volunteering during this crisis has also made me feel less isolated. — Kathy H. “Food delivery has truly been a win-win partnership for everyone involved,” said Fulton. “This partnership with the Office on Aging and Independence and others is a great example of how we can work together effectively and efficiently. That makes me smile the brightest – to see local organizations working together and members of our community supporting each other!” For more information about Neighbor Ride, visit www.NeighborRide.org. For eligibility guidelines or registration details for the Grab & Go program, contact Maryland Access Point of Howard County at 410-313-1234 (voice/relay) or email map@howardcountymd.gov.

FIRE SAFETY YOUR HOME! IN

• Smoke alarms should be installed on every level of the home, FOR ASSISTANCE OR inside each bedroom and outside each sleeping area ADDITIONAL INFORMATION • Test monthly by pushing the test button 410-313-2016 • outreach@hcdfrs.org • Replace every 10 years

50+ Centers Transition to Virtual Classes

ven — or perhaps especially — during a global health pandemic like COVID-19, it is important to stay active and take steps to maintain your health and wellbeing. The Howard County Office on Aging and Independence is here to help. While our Patuxent Woods offices, 50+ Centers and the Loan Closet of Howard County are closed to the public, our staff continues to find innovative ways to provide resources and services which meet the needs of older adults in Howard County during these uncertain times. One new and exciting way we are connecting to the community is through virtual programming offered via WebEx. A full class schedule is available on our website, offering a wide range of programs to engage, inspire and motivate county residents and 50+ Center members. These programs have been created to benefit one's physical, mental and/or emotional health and include exercise classes in various formats and levels (from Sittercise and Strength Training to Yoga and Mat Pilates); lifelong learning for history buffs; creative outlets through craft classes and demos, and social opportunities such as Coffee Chat. All of our virtual exercise and classes are free, and accessible through WebEx. Visit www.howardcountymd.gov/aging and click on the Virtual Program Guide to access the current schedule. To register for a class, simply click on the links provided in the guide for each class, enter the meeting access code and you are ready to participate. When you “join” a class, be sure to mute your computer in order to eliminate background noise and maximize the class experience. We hope you will benefit from this new mode of activity, and we look forward to seeing you again in person soon!

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Money Law &

How to handle the recent bond market chaos? See story on p. 18.

How to raid retirement funds in a crisis By Liz Weston In an ideal world, your retirement accounts would be left alone for retirement. But you’ve probably noticed that we’re not living in an ideal world. Early withdrawals can have serious repercussions, including big tax bills today and potential shortfalls in the future. Please look for other solutions first. You might: — Halt ongoing retirement contributions to free up cash. — Trim expenses. — Tap other savings and nonretirement investment accounts. — Sell unneeded possessions. — Ask lenders for concessions on debt payments. — Seek government or charitable help if you can’t pay your bills. If you must raid your retirement funds, there are ways to reduce the financial impact. If you’re unlikely to pay the money back, your best option may be to take money from a Roth IRA. If you can pay it back, using the new

“coronavirus hardship withdrawal” contained in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act may be your best bet. Here are more details on those options, plus a few more ideas: Coronavirus hardship withdrawal Savers impacted by the pandemic can take up to $100,000 from their 401(k)s and IRAs as part of the recently enacted economic stimulus package. The withdrawal is not penalized, and there’s no mandatory withholding. You also have longer to pay the resulting taxes, since the income can be spread evenly over tax years 2020, 2021 and 2022. And if you can pay back the amount you took out within three years, you can claim a refund on those taxes. These distributions are allowed if you, a spouse or dependent has been diagnosed with COVID-19. They’re also allowed if you’ve experienced adverse financial consequences from coronavirus-related issues, such as having your hours reduced; being quarantined, laid off or furloughed; not hav-

BEACON BITS

June+

SLAVERY IN THE WHITE HOUSE Presidents aren’t the only ones who resided in the White House. In an effort to remember the people who built, worked at and

lived in the executive mansion, the White House Historical Association has created a podcast, interactive tour and index of enslaved people. To access, visit whitehousehistory.org/spn/introduction.

ing the child care that would allow you to work; owning a business that’s closed or reduced its hours; or “other factors as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury,” according to the text of the CARES Act. Withdraw Roth contributions You can always withdraw the amount you contributed to your Roth IRA tax- and penalty-free. It’s only when you start taking out investment earnings on those contributions that you can incur taxes and penalties. If you’ve converted a traditional retirement account to a Roth, withdrawals of the converted money won’t be taxable but can be penalized if the conversion is less than five years old. A short-term IRA loan Long-term IRA loans aren’t allowed, but if you have a temporary cash crunch — you have to pay a bill while waiting for your tax refund, for example — the “60day rule” may help. Money taken from a regular, rollover or Roth IRA isn’t taxed or penalized if it’s re-deposited within 60 days. You’re allowed to do this only once in any 12-month period. Borrow from your 401(k) You can now borrow up to 100% of your vested balance in a current employer’s workplace retirement plan, up to a maximum of $100,000. Generally such loans are repaid over five years, but the stimulus package allows borrowers to delay payments owed in 2020 for up to one year. The danger of any retirement plan loan

is that you won’t be able to pay the money back. That triggers income taxes as well as penalties if you’re under 59½. Withdraw from your IRA If you don’t qualify for a coronavirus-related hardship withdrawal, you can still take money from traditional and rollover IRAs. Distributions are generally taxable, and you can be penalized if you’re under 59½. Regular hardship withdrawal If you don’t qualify for a coronavirus-related hardship withdrawal, you may still be able to get a regular hardship withdrawal from your 401(k) or other workplace retirement plan if you can prove an immediate and heavy financial need that requires the distribution. Examples include medical expenses, tuition, a home purchase, funeral expenses, and payments to prevent eviction or foreclosure. Hardship distributions are taxable, with a mandatory 20% withholding, and often are subject to 10% early withdrawal penalties. Each of these options has too many specific rules and exceptions to cover here. It’s best to consult with a tax pro. Also, talk to a bankruptcy attorney before using retirement money to pay credit cards, medical bills or other debt that could be erased in bankruptcy. Retirement money typically is protected from creditors. It would be a shame to drain your retirement accounts only to wind up in bankruptcy court anyway. —AP/NerdWallet

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When will the U.S. economy recover? By Anne Kates Smith Mark Zandi is the chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. He spoke with Kiplinger’s Anne Kates Smith in a series of interviews on March 26 and 27. This is an edited transcript of their conversations. Q. What’s your outlook for the economy? How deep a recession do you see? A: It’s going to be a struggle between now and this time next year. We’re in the teeth of the downturn now. We expect gross domestic product to have fallen 2% to 3% in the first quarter and to fall close to 20% in the second quarter — 18.7%, to be precise. I’m assuming the virus plays out by the third quarter [from July to September] — not gone away, but no longer closing businesses. We’ll get a double-digit pop in GDP as people go back to work. In the fourth quarter, we’ll get some growth, but the economy will be limping along. For calendar 2020, I expect U.S. GDP to be down 2.3%. Unemployment should peak in the second quarter at 9%, but on a monthly basis, we could get to double-digit unemployment. What shape will the recovery take? We won’t kick into gear until they find a vaccine or a medical treatment that is effective for the virus. Until that happens, I don’t see people traveling; global trade will struggle; and businesses, weighed down

by uncertainty, won’t invest or hire aggressively. We’re in the soup, more or less, until we have some solution to this virus. Is the $2.2 trillion fiscal stimulus enough? Ultimately, it won’t be enough, but it was a very timely, positive step. It was a valiant effort, and I think it will make a difference. Without it, we’d see a secondquarter decline in GDP of close to 30% — a complete wipeout. Even with the economy down 18.7%, there’s a lot of pressure on the financial system. The stimulus is designed to generate a pop in economic growth, but then it goes away. We’ll probably need more in the fourth quarter, possibly including more in unemployment benefits, help for the states, maybe more aid to smaller businesses. I suspect there will be a lot of business failures. Will it take years to recover? No. If we solve the virus, we’ll quickly get our groove back. There will be pent-up demand, and interest rates will be low. Assuming the finance system is not taken out, we’ll see a period of good strong growth in the second half of 2021 going into 2022 — as long as the script for a vaccine holds true. What do you mean about the financial system being taken out?

There will be some problems in the financial system that the Federal Reserve can’t control — in the shadow banking system — that might impair the flow of credit to some degree. The shadow system includes the overnight debt-repurchase market, corporate bonds, asset-backed securities, pension funds, insurance, derivatives, payment processors, crypto-currencies — everything outside banks and credit unions. The shadow system is not transparent, and we don’t have much information about it. If one institution gets taken out, it becomes systemic very quickly, and the shadow system plays a key role in the economy. For example, the Federal Housing Administration mortgage market is dominated by non-banks. I expect the Fed to set up and provide a credit facility to mortgage banks. It would be cataclysmic if FHA lending got shut down, and ironic, considering the Federal Housing Administration was set up during the Depression to funnel money directly to the mortgage market. Is the Fed doing enough to keep markets functioning and support the economy? The Fed is on DEFCON 1 — it’s all in; it has broken the emergency glass. Interest rates are at 0%. They’ve launched infinite quantitative easing to buy every kind of

bond they can legally buy, lowered bank reserve requirements and set up all kinds of credit facilities — some new and some used in the financial crisis. They’re very committed and very creative. They should succeed in keeping the system from cracking up. The risk is that there are fault lines they might not be able to manage quickly enough. Do you see any unintended consequences from this unprecedented monetary and fiscal stimulus? Could it trigger inflation? Prices for certain goods in scarce supply will jump, but I don’t expect a broadbased acceleration in inflation. Demand for goods and services has been hammered, which will weigh on prices. What about the increasing debt load, for the federal government and for companies? Government deficits and corporate debt will surge, but this is a problem for another day. Governments need to use all their resources to address the health and economic crisis. If they don’t, we will suffer an economic depression, creating fiscal problems that are much worse. One lesson we can take from this dark time is that in the good times we should See ECONOMIC RECOVERY, page 18

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Where to turn amid bond market chaos? By Jeffrey R. Kosnett I won’t mince words: “Lower for longer,” my overriding view of fixed-income yields, is trending toward “lowest imaginable.” Expect the imminent return of zero, or near-zero, rates on money market funds, three- and six-month certificates of deposit (CDs) and bank deposits. Bonds with 4% and 5% coupons will be called in bunches by their issuers. Mortgage refis will cut the payouts from Ginnie Mae funds. More dividend erosion is in store for short- and intermediate-term bond funds. Is the slide in yields a disaster for you and me? Not immediately, if you own, directly or through funds, noncallable investment-grade bonds or government and municipal bonds with decent coupons and many years to maturity. Credit is sound — outside of retail and oil and gas, and maybe airlines — so 98% of all bonds will pay on schedule even if economic growth hibernates this summer.

Interest rate fears But the daily pressure for interest rates to plunge further comes from many sides. And that’s what frightens me. Start with the stock market: It’s an impulsive polling booth where orderly price declines due to tactical selling are supercharged by technical scourges such as rapidfire hedge-fund trading, margin calls and impaired liquidity in options and futures. The trillions of dollars escaping stocks are hyper-inflating bond prices (that means lower yields, which move in the opposite direction). Meanwhile, politicians and central bankers imagine that interest rate cuts can repel economic havoc. That’s questionable. The real nightmare scenario is that you lock your money in a low-yield prison just in time for normalcy to return to the financial markets. At some point, the interestrate curve will trace a V — because if 10year Treasury yields can travel from 1.5 to 0.5% in a fortnight, the reverse is also possible. A reversal could start as soon as the

Consider munis Where would I look instead? Municipal bonds are mostly keeping their distance from this chaos. And the ratio of tax-free to taxable yields is again favorable. Consider Vanguard Tax-Exempt ETF (symbol VTEB, $52). It yields 1.2%, equivalent to 2% for some taxpayers. My favorite closed-end tax-exempt fund, BNY Mellon Muni Bond Infrastructure (DMB, $12), pays a secure monthly dividend and yields an annualized 5.3%. After

briefly trading above its net asset value, the fund is discounted again. Actively managed, go-anywhere bond funds are made for challenging times, including FPA New Income (FPNIX), Metropolitan West Flexible Income (MWFSX), Osterweis Total Return (OSTRX), PGIM Total Return (PDBAX) and RiverNorth DoubleLine Strategic Income (RNDLX). Their net asset values won’t fall apart if Treasury yields bounce. Nor will the payouts crater — though I grant they may shrink a little — because of their mix of assets. Well-screened high-yield bonds and preferred stocks are worth a look. AT&T’s 4.75% series C preferreds, issued at $25 in February, are a good value at $23, for a yield to call in 2025 of 5.8%. A junk fund with low exposure to energy — think TCW High Yield (TGHYX), yielding 3.3% — is fine. Don’t get too fearful. Fear rarely pays. © 2020 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Economic recovery

returns for savers? Yes, I expect 0% short-term interest rates through at least 2021, and likely longer. After the financial crisis, the Fed didn’t begin raising rates from zero at the low end of the range until the unemploy-

ment rate was falling through 5%. That’s at least two years away. Is there any ammunition left for further crisis, or the next crisis? We have ammunition, but not nearly enough to feel good about it. As soon as we

From page 17 work hard to reduce deficits and debt. Will 0% interest rates be the new normal far into the future, depressing

health headlines are less dire and stocks rally for longer than a few hours. Fixed-income markets will then confront a simultaneous buying strike and profit-taking spree. Positive total returns — such as the 2.4% delivered year to date through March 13 by the Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate Bond index — could flip to losses. I would consider exiting longterm Treasuries rather than blindly using them as a haven from chaos elsewhere.

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Travel Leisure &

Laotian girls perform a traditional dance in Luang Prabang. See story on p. 21.

Why just camp when you can glamp? from the owners’ dogs lying on their backs with their paws in the air, eager for belly rubs from the incoming guests. But you could also call it Pounds Up due to the food you will eat during your stay.

Fun for all ages My family and I stayed at the ranch last year to celebrate my mother’s birthday. We had a wide array of ages in our group — from 19 to 72 — but that was fine, as many of the ranch’s activities are meant to be multi-generational. “You’re not going to be limited by any means by what you can and can’t do,” Robertson said. Members of my family took advantage of every activity on and near the ranch. My mother, her husband and my brother went rappelling down a rocky ledge, enjoying an overlook of the Blackfoot River and the green acres of the ranch. Later, I joined them for an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) ride, racing across fields and down dirt roads. The ATV tour is for all levels: I was a relative beginner, while my brother has years of experience. At the start of the ride, I was careful going around each turn. By the end, however, I was gunning the ATV through mud piles and deliberately lifting the machine off the ground. During these adventures, my uncle — a 72-year-old with Parkinson’s disease — sat outside the cabin in the sun, reading a

PHOTO BY RESORT AT PAWS UP

By Ivey Noojin Editor’s Note: As of the time of publication, the COVID-19 virus has spread throughout the world. Especially for vulnerable adults, this is not the time to travel anywhere for enjoyment. Please enjoy this travel section as armchair entertainment and for planning your future travel in healthier times. Camping in the outdoors is all fun and games until your back seizes up or the mosquitos attack. But if you want to do something “woodsy” without the suffering, there’s a solution: glamorous camping, also known as glamping. Although you’re immersed in the wilderness while glamping, you have a bed, running water, a proper toilet, a kitchen with real appliances (none of those devices that threaten to start a forest fire) and shelter from bugs. A ranch in Greenough, Montana, 35 minutes northeast of Missoula, has taken glamping to the extreme. Voted the best glamping destination by Forbes, the Resort at Paws Up is a 37,000-acre ranch with wooden homes, luxury tents and plenty of activities for everyone in the family to enjoy. The resort “found that there was a missing niche in the market for luxury hospitality in Montana and [determined] that luxury camping — now called glamping — was the best way to establish that,” said Amelia Robertson, resort spokesperson, in an email. The Resort at Paws Up got its name

Travelers can find plenty of room to commune with nature and social distance on the 37,000 acres of Resort at Paws Up, a luxury Montana ranch. Intrepid travelers can explore the ranch on horseback, on all-terrain vehicles or in canoes, while others can stay close to camp, enjoying spa treatments and taking in the scenery from a private deck.

book and listening to the sounds of the river. When we returned, we asked if he was relaxed. His response: “Quite.”

For horse lovers

PHOTO BY RESORT AT PAWS UP

My mother and I have enjoyed horseback riding for most of our lives, so we couldn’t wait for this part of the trip. We spent several hours on the trails in the mountains, and we led 30 cows from one end of the ranch to the other. Real devotees can enjoy wagon team driving and wrangling. But you don’t have to know how to ride a horse at all. The ranch offers lessons and guided trail rides. Kids can ride ponies in an enclosed arena, and all ages can enjoy carriage rides. Additionally, there is a new equestrian program for those who want to learn more about interacting with the large animals. The resort’s equestrian manager leads “horse whispering” mindfulness sessions that teach people how to establish “authentic and lifechanging equine connections,” as the website puts it.

Target practice

Nature on a silver platter: Cabins at the Resort at Paws Up include a hot tub, a fireplace and Wi-Fi. Even the resort’s tents are luxurious, with chandeliers and en suite bathrooms.

Paws Up also has a “Wild West”-themed rifle range. Halfway through the week, my whole family went to the shooting range. My uncle, despite recent back surgery and a shaky hand, was able to hit the tar-

gets, thanks to the support and encouragement of the staff. More advanced shooters can take aim at sporting clays, where you travel across a course in the mountains and shoot at moving targets. Prior knowledge of guns, however, is not necessary to enjoy the rifle range. And don’t worry; the riflery activities are too far away from the campgrounds to scare the youngins (or even the fish).

Relax at the spa If living in a lodge or luxurious tent is still too outdoorsy for you, spend the day at the spa center. You can enjoy a massage, other spa treatments and yoga classes with the sounds of the wind and birds in the background, while the rest of your family is driving through mud in an ATV or standing in the river trying to catch fish. Dogs are also welcome at the spa center, with a complimentary massage available for them with any 60-minute spa service.

If you go There are no hotel rooms at the Resort at Paws Up. Instead, there are lodges with space for up to eight guests and tents for up to six. Homes begin at $441 per night per perSee GLAMPING, page 22

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Laos, Southeast Asia’s spiritual heart

Capital charms Located at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers in Northern Laos, Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with classic Buddhist temples,

quiet and shady streets, and world-class dining and shopping. Established in the 14th century and still one of Asia’s best-preserved former capitals, it is surrounded by a countryside of lush mountains, waterfalls, caves and rivers. The town is an intimate, living museum of life, culture and architecture in a beautiful, serene setting. During my visit to Luang Prabang, I loved to wander down its leafy lanes and hidden pathways. Often, my explorations lead me to ornate temples tucked away in quaint neighborhoods among simple houses and sleepy cafes. The temples, rarely crowded, are perfect places for reflection and meditation, whether you’re a Buddhist or not. I also made sure to climb the steps that lead to the temple at the top of Phousi Hill to watch the reflection of the setting sun in the orange waters of the Mekong. From the top of the hill, the highest point in Luang Prabang at over 300 feet, you can see the entire town, two rivers, the surrounding hills and the spires of several temples in the distance. After sunset, I descended the stairs and wandered through the night market on Sisavangvong Road, the bustling main street that runs through the heart of town and the tourist district. Sisavangvong Road is lined on both sides with inexpensive restaurants, guest-

houses and numerous shops selling the high-quality handicrafts and art for which Luang Prabang is known: hand-woven silk, saa paper (from mulberry bark) and silver jewelry. These shops attract high-end shoppers, including Mick Jagger, whose photo can be found in more than one shop.

Ceremonial rice to French pastries

at dawn. In this tradition, hundreds of Buddhist monks, with shaved heads and vivid saffron-colored robes, walk silently down the street in the early morning mist, past kneeling locals and tourists. Most place small handfuls of sticky rice in the monks’ black lacquered bowls. These donations make up a significant portion of the monks’ daily diet and are said to

Another one of my favorite activities was watching the daily alms-giving ceremony

See LAOS, page 22

PHOTO © GALYNA ANDRUSHKO, DREAMSTIME

By Don Mankin As our boat glided silently up the wide Mekong River, I dozed off in the breeze. Occasionally I opened my eyes to look at the lush scenery gliding by, the children playing in the water, and the fisherman in their slim boats tossing their nets into the river. My mind drifted as I let the sights, sounds and fragrances of the river wash the chatter from my mind. I was on a slow boat just a few miles downstream from Luang Prabang, the ancient capital of Laos, on the last full day of my most recent visit. Laos, a former French protectorate and one of my favorite destinations in the world, is the soul of Southeast Asia. Under Communist control since 1975, Laos has been largely overlooked by Western tourists for the past 30 years. Because it is relatively isolated and has no beach resorts, it’s still an underdeveloped country, only now awakening to its tourism potential. As a result, it remains a sleepy, gracious country that offers an excellent opportunity to experience life in Southeast Asia as it once was.

Buddhist temples and a night marketplace illuminate the ancient capital city of Luang Prabang. Located in northern Laos on the Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers, the low-key tourist spot reflects life as it once was throughout Southeast Asia.

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Laos From page 21 ensure a good life for the donors. Afterwards, I visited the morning market on a narrow lane leading down to the Mekong. The variety, color and abundance of the produce, much of it unfamiliar, is impressive, stirring my appetite for the bountiful buffet waiting for me back at my hotel. Luang Prabang even has a cuisine all its own, featuring fish from the Mekong, local greens grown on its bank, water buffalo stew, purple sticky rice, and a fiery condiment called jaew bawng, a paste made from pounded buffalo skin, garlic and chilies. Upscale restaurants and excellent bakeries abound, a legacy from the many years that Laos was a French protectorate.

Limestone caves Several miles upstream on the Mekong

Glamping From page 20 son, and luxury tents begin at $470 per night per person. The cost includes daily

are the Pak Ou Caves, accessible only by boat. As you pound through the current, the riverbank teems with life. Women wash laundry, men tend crops on the gently sloping banks, and children splash in the shallows, washing the family’s water buffalo. Boats from China ferry staples, furniture and machinery to towns and villages along the river. After an hour or so, a towering limestone cliff appears. Local people, almost all of them devout Buddhists, have visited the cliff’s caves for four centuries to offer small statues of the Buddha. Thousands of statues of all sizes, materials and styles perch in niches in the rock, on ledges or crevices in the dusky caves. The overall effect is both reverent and spooky. The Kuang Si waterfalls and pools are about a 45-minute drive south of Luang Prabang. You can hike up a steep trail along the falls for a spectacular view of the countryside, then descend and cool off with a re-

breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The rates also include several activities per person during the stay. Guests can purchase additional activities.

Write a letter to the editor. See page 2.

J U N E 2 0 2 0 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

freshing swim in the turquoise pools at the base of the falls while fish nibble at your toes. When I visited the falls last October, I returned to Luang Prabang via a lunch cruise on the Mekong. As the boat slowly made its way back, I sat for a couple of hours in a state of what I call Mekong meditation. My mind drifted between thinking about many things and not thinking at all. But it kept returning to the most salient thought of all: How soon would I be able to return to this magically serene and seductive place?

Round-trip airfare from BWI is about $1,200 on Qatar and Bangkok Airways via Doha and Bangkok. Luang Prabang has many attractive, inexpensive, small boutique hotels. I recommend the Maison Dalabua (maisondalabua.com), a short walk from the tourist dis-

trict, or the Grand Luang Prabang (grandluangprabang.com). The latter, located just outside of town, provides a shuttle to and from town. Both cost less than $100 per night. For upscale dining, I recommend 3 Nagas (3-nagas.com) and L’Elephant (elephant-restau.com). A less fancy and expensive, but still excellent, choice for lunch, is Khaiphaen (facebook.com/Khaiphaen), run by an organization founded by Friends International that helps street children in Laos. Menu items range from $5 to $7. The Mekong cruise to the caves was run by Khopfa Mekong Cruise, khopfamekong-cruise.com/kuang-si-cruise. Cost: $15. For more information and photos, see Don Mankin’s website, adventuretransformations.com. He is scheduled to lead a trip to Northern Thailand and Laos, including Luang Prabang, in the fall of 2021. For more information, go to explorer-x.com.

The ranch provides transportation to and from the Missoula airport, a savings of $150 in cab fare. Additionally, vans drive guests to activities during the day and in the evenings. “You don’t have to wait until summer to have your family reunion,” Robertson said. And you also don’t have to wait for the coronavirus to recede. The resort is currently open and practicing social distancing

for your safety, but check cdc.gov for current travel recommendations. Reservations and activities are available throughout the year, from fly fishing in the summer to skiing in the winter. The closest airport is the Missoula International Airport. A roundtrip ticket from BWI to Missoula costs around $325. For more information about Paws Up, visit pawsup.com or call 1-877-580-6343.

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PHOTO BY NORMAND BERNACHE

Style Arts &

Journalist Sheilah Kast hosts a radio show every weekday. See story on p. 24.

A life filled with spooky work and stories ly became a trilogy, was honored as a top ten debut novel by Booklist and has since been translated into more than 10 languages. The Hunger, a work of historical fiction about a group of pioneers migrating through the West in the mid-1800s, was named one of NPR’s 100 best horror stories when it was published in 2018, and earned the praise of

PHOTO BY TIM COBURN

By Ivey Noojin Columbia resident Alma Katsu cannot be constrained to one occupation. She’s a former analyst for the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency. She’s a consultant for emerging technologies in the government and private industry. But she’s also an award-winning author who can’t even be contained within one literary genre, with novels in romance, historical fiction and horror. “I’m having a better career for having it later in life than if I had found early success,” Katsu said. Katsu, now 60, published her first novel, The Taker, at the age of 51 in 2011. The Taker, a paranormal romance that eventual-

See SPOOKY STORIES, page 25 As a child, Columbia resident Alma Katsu dreamed of becoming a writer. In her 50s, after decades as an intelligence analyst, she made the dream come true. In a decade, she has written five novels and several short stories, with more on the way.

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For 40 years, journalist pursues her love By Susan Ahearn “From WYPR, I’m Sheilah Kast. We’re On the Record.” That’s the line Sheilah Kast delivers each morning as she introduces her daily public radio program, “On the Record,” on WYPR in Baltimore. Kast has hosted daily programs at the station since 2006. But she has been a journalist working in newspapers, network television news and public radio for 40 years. The award-winning journalist, now 71, said in an interview with the Beacon that age discrimination has never been an issue for her. “I was already in my 30s when I started in television, so I was never a super youngster,” Kast said. Then she “fell in love with radio at about the time when an aging face might have been an issue for television jobs.”

On a path since high school Her interest in journalism began as a teenager, when her mother suggested that she work for the school paper at her tiny Indianapolis high school. “I got to be the editor-in-chief because there really wasn’t that much competition,” Kast said. The position, she said, “set me on a path.” She went on to work on her college newspaper at the Catholic University of

America in Washington, D.C., where she originally was studying chemistry, planning to attend medical school. But Kast said her love of journalism won out. “Especially when you’re a little shy, being a reporter gives you the license to ask anybody anything…I didn’t realize that was important to me, but it was.”

porter there. But her newspaper career came to an end when the Star shut down in 1981. Kast said the demise of the Star happened partly because of competition from television newscasts. “I was very aware that television seemed to be the future, but there was a lot that I, as an outsider, didn’t understand,” Kast said.

First taste of the newsroom

Moving on to television

After graduating in 1971 with a liberal arts degree (with a concentration in French literature), Kast decided to apply to the two newspapers that existed in Washington D.C. at the time. The Washington Post was not interested in someone like her, without professional journalism credentials. But she was hired by The Washington Star as a dictationist, typing up writers’ stories when they phoned in from the field. On her first day in the newsroom, President Nixon imposed wage price controls, which was “a big story,” she remembered. “The atmosphere in the newsroom was electric. It was everything I thought a newspaper would be,” Kast said. After about a year at the Star, Kast moved to Richmond to work as a reporter for the Richmond News Leader. She was soon rehired at the Star in late 1973, eventually becoming a business re-

Intrigued, she transitioned from print to television, learning on the job as a reporter at the Washington bureau of ABC News. There, she learned to appreciate the different ways reporters have to relate to their audience in broadcasting. “You have to make them want to listen to you. You have to learn to convey enough authority by both the way you write and the way you deliver what you write,” Kast said. “I loved learning it. I loved realizing the difference.” During her 15 years at ABC, Kast covered a number of major news stories, including the attempted coup in Moscow in August 1991; the 1990 budget battles between President George H.W. Bush and Congress; President Reagan at the Berlin Wall in 1987; and the Reagan-Gorbachev summits in Iceland and Moscow in 1986 and 1988. Kast stepped away from daily journalism when her husband, Jim Rosapape, was

appointed U.S. ambassador to Romania by President Bill Clinton in 1998. They lived in Romania until 2001, later publishing a book together about that former Communist country titled Dracula Is Dead. During the ambassadorship, the couple saw first-hand that “attitudes were changing, that Romanians were waking up to democracy and were taking more responsibility for their own future,” she said. “And [they] were very interested in engaging in democracy.”

On to radio and her own show After returning from Romania, Kast freelanced for CNN and eventually went to work for NPR in a position that involved both television reporting and radio hosting. At NPR, she said, she “fell in love with radio.” Then she heard that WYPR Radio in Baltimore was planning to increase its staff. Hoping to host her own show at a smaller station, she applied and was hired. Kast began hosting “Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast” in 2006. The program featured several interviews each day focused exclusively on the people, events and issues of Maryland. That program won the prestigious DuPont-Columbia journalism award in 2014 for its year-long coverage of the inSee JOURNALIST, page 25

BEACON BITS

June+

SHAKESPEARE PLAYS You can still enjoy the world-renowned Globe Theatre in London

by watching its Shakespearean plays online. You can view more than 70 plays by renting them for $6 or buying (and keeping forever) for $14. Check it out at globeplayer.tv.

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viding videos of the views and sounds of their location. Go to https://bit.ly/HotelCams for the virtual travel opportunity.

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DANCING WITH A PARTNER Grab your roommate and learn some dance moves! Dances include the fox trot, swing, tango, waltz, cha-cha and more.

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U N E 2 0 2 0

Spooky stories From page 23 horror writer icon Stephen King. As she heads into relative retirement, soon leaving Maryland for West Virginia with her husband, Bruce, Katsu is finally living the life she had imagined as a young girl.

A creepy childhood Katsu was born the third of four children in Fairbanks, Alaska. When she was 7 years old, she and her family moved to Concord, Massachusetts, which she described as “a creepy little town in New England” filled with old cemeteries and funeral homes. Inspired by her surroundings, Katsu became obsessed with gothic literature and dreamed of becoming an author. “When you’re a big reader, at some point it crosses your mind that you would like to try to write a novel,” Katsu said. After graduating high school, Katsu attended Brandeis University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in literature and writing in 1981. Although she wanted to be a journalist, she struggled to find a steady income, working as a freelancer for several news outlets for around a year. Katsu’s older sister, Linda, suggested she apply for a job at the National Security Agency. On a whim, Katsu took the application test and, after scoring well, accepted a job offer. “I went for the weird life experience, and I ended up staying in intelligence for 30 years,” Katsu said. The agency, however, wanted Katsu to

Journalist From page 24 equalities separating residents in Baltimore, a series called “The Lines Between Us” — an important recognition for WYPR. “For a relatively small public radio station to win a DuPont was real testimony to the serious reporting that we did,” Kast said. Kast hosted that show until October 2015, and one called “Midday” for the next year. After WYPR decided to change its programming, she began hosting “On the Record,” a half-hour program that focuses on one or two issues each day. Kast commutes to Baltimore from her home in College Park, where she lives with her husband, now a Maryland state senator

quit writing for news organizations. “The intelligence community doesn’t really like their people in the public eye,” she said. So, in 1982, she decided to give this new career a chance and moved near the NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland.

Balancing two careers In 2000, however, Katsu developed a neurological problem that forced her to limit her time on computer screens. Even though she still managed to do her work at the NSA, her brain needed a break from anything too stimulating while at home. As a form of escape, she took to pen and paper, crafting a new universe of paranormal romance that would eventually become The Taker Trilogy. Katsu then told herself, “’If I get better, I’m going to try to learn to really write a novel.’” After recovering, in 2001 Katsu decided to attend graduate school part time at Johns Hopkins University. She took classes on evenings and weekends, and began to write every day, flexing her creative muscles. She moved from the NSA to the CIA in 2003, earning a master’s degree in fiction a year later. “By this point, I had a fairly successful career in intelligence,” she said. “I knew how hard you have to work to be successful.” For almost 10 years, she continued her intelligence work with the CIA, writing at night and on the weekends. Then in 2010, The Taker was picked up by a publisher. She left the CIA the next year, attempting to be a full-time author, but she didn’t who represents northern Prince George’s County and western Anne Arundel County. The veteran journalist enjoys her job as a radio host at WYPR, but she considers her 37-year marriage her biggest accomplishment. “I think the partnership I have with my husband…probably means the most,” Kast said. Even with all of her accomplishments, Kast has no plans to retire anytime soon. “I’m having so much fun doing what I’m doing that I don’t have any plans to stop doing it,” Kast said. She intends “to keep asking people questions, and listening to what they say, and sharing it with other people,” she said. “That’s both a joy and something I think I’m good at.”

ANSWERS TO CROSSWORD

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like the financial insecurity she felt. So, in 2012 she joined the Rand Corporation, a think tank focusing on global policy for the U.S. military. Eventually, she returned to the NSA. Two years ago, Katsu officially retired from the intelligence community, but she still maintains a hectic schedule, between her writing and her consulting work for the private sector.

Hitting her stride as a writer Despite juggling the two careers, Katsu has dedicated herself to a number of writing projects. She has written five books, contributed to a serialized graphic novel with illustrator Victor Santos in the magazine Porsche Panorama, and created a podcast called “Damned History” to explain the historical

background of The Hunger and of her most recent book, The Deep. Published in March, The Deep is a suspenseful, fictionalized tale based on the true story of one woman who survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912 and also traveled on its sister ship, the HMHS Britannic, in 1916. Katsu is also working on her first spy novel, Red Widow, set to release next March, and another historical horror novel about World War II. “A lot of people feel like they have at least one novel in them,” Katsu said. After already publishing five novels, Katsu is only getting started. The Deep is available in hardcover on Amazon for $18.39. To learn more about Alma Katsu and her novels, visit almakatsubooks.com.

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The Alzheimer’s Foundation’s caregiver helpline chat system is available online at alzfdn.org in the lower, right-hand corner of the main page in over 90 languages. It is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays; from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends.

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ARMY BAND CONCERTS

Enjoy the U.S. Army Band’s concerts online on Facebook. They play live every Tuesday at 2 p.m., Thursday at 7 p.m. and Friday at 4 p.m. You can also view the archived versions of their concerts later on their Facebook page. To listen, go to facebook.com/usarmyband.

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Crossword Puzzle

Daily crosswords can be found on our website: www.TheBeaconNewspapers.com Click on Puzzles Plus Bundle Up 1

By Stephen Sherr

26 33

38 41 44

45 52

23 24

HC620

Scrabble answers on p. 25.

48 55

Across

Down

1. Big talk from a small dog 4. Features of pianos and pianists 8. Beat like a sore thumb 13. California wine valley 14. Declare firmly 15. “You could ___ pin drop” 16. Founding member of The Avengers in 1963 17. Workbench staple 18. Champing at the bit 19. “The next great American novel,” perhaps 22. Cookie first made into a cereal in 1997 23. Donate 10% 24. LP spinners 26. Cut, carat, or clarity (to a jeweler) 27. Agricultural college degrees 30. Handyman’s guidance for sprucing up the walls 36. SEC foe of Ole Miss 37. “___ white at my wedding” 38. It goes before gamma 39. Have a quick meal before the early show 42. “Uno mas, ___ favor” 43. On the ___ (being chased by a bounty hunter) 44. Single Sign-On, simply 45. Criminal’s pseudonym 48. Bombeck, who birthed 15 books 51. Responds to a computer virus 57. First name mentioned in the Koran 58. “Sorry, but it’s not ___ me” 59. “The ___ Lady is at the door” 60. Walk like a crab 61. Quinceanera celebrant 62. Kissers 63. Cleans an elephant 64. Environmental Studies acronym 65. Badminton net, racquets, and birdies

1. Internet search pioneer! 2. “Riches are ___ mistress” (Francis Bacon) 3. Driving test obstacle 4. Hawaiian land creator 5. Boot out 6. Hit the slopes 7. Yellow option from the Green Giant 8. “Leave a message at the sound of ___” 9. Recuperate 10. Maker of Chunky Marinara Pasta Sauce 11. One who digs for minerals 12. Sharp insult 13. Letters in National Tire and Battery’s logo 20. 2020 Best Picture nominee, ___ Rabbit 21. Govt. investigators 25. According to boxing’s Louisville Lip 27. “Tres ___!” 28. Toss in a chip 29. One honored on the Hollywood Walk of Fame 30. Measuring spoon marking 31. City midway between Dallas and Austin 32. Actor Sharif 33. Type of warning 34. “You reap what you ___” 35. Oddballs 40. Lightning bursts 41. “OK; ___ what you mean” 46. Home to Colorado’s Snowmass resort 47. Fills up 49. American Beauty, Pie, or Graffiti 50. Take as one’s own 51. Blowout party 52. Hodgepodge 53. His four children could say “That is my father’s mobile” 54. Short story 55. Helvetica, for one 56. An inning has two more than an outing

Answers on page 25.

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HOW TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD All classified ads must be submitted and paid for online, via our website, www.thebeaconnewspapers.com/classifieds Deadlines and Payments: To appear in the next issue, your ad text and payment must be entered by the 5th of the preceding month (for Baltimore and Howard County editions); by the 20th (for Washington and Richmond editions). Cost will be based on the number of characters and spaces in your ad: • $25 for 1-250 • $35 for 251-500. • $50 for 501-750 (maximum length). The website will calculate this for you. Note: Maryland contractors must provide a valid MHIC number. • Each real estate listing qualifies as one ad. • All ads are subject to publisher's discretion. Payment will be refunded if unacceptable for any reason.

To place your classified ad, visit www.thebeaconnewspapers.com/classifieds Legal Services

Wanted

APPLYING FOR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY or Appealing a Denied Claim? Call Bill Gordon & Assoc. Our case managers simplify the process & work hard to help with your case. Call 1-866-970-0779 FREE Consultation. Local Attorneys Nationwide [Mail: 2420 N St NW, Washington DC. Office: Broward Co. FL (TX/NM Bar.)]

CASH FOR JEWELRY; I buy a wide range of jewelry; gold, silver, costume, watches, turquoise, coins, school rings, etc. Gary Roman; 301-520-0755.

TV/Cable DISH NETWORK. $59.99 for 190 Channels! Blazing Fast Internet, $19.99/mo. (where available.) Switch & Get a FREE $100 Visa Gift Card. FREE Voice Remote. FREE HD DVR. FREE Streaming on ALL Devices. Call today! 1-844-560-5837. DIRECTV - Switch and Save! $39.99/month. Select All-Included Package. 155 Channels. 1000s of Shows/Movies On Demand. FREE Genie HD DVR Upgrade. Premium movie channels, FREE for 3 mos! Call 1-888-572-4953.

MONEY, TIME TO SELL! CALL GREG, 1717-658-7954. We buy sterling silver flatware, jewelry, gold, silver, coins, watches, paper money, antiques, toys, bottles, comic books, records, pottery, art glass, vintage military and old sporting items (baseball, football and boxing) just about anything old. Make the right choice! You have something to sell give me a call. Greg 1-717-658-7954. CASH FOR ESTATES, moving etc; I buy a wide range of items. Buy out/clean up. www.atticllc.com Gary Roman; 301-520-0755.

Thanks for reading the Beacon!

BEACON BITS

June+

BROADWAY ON DEMAND

Take your love of the famed New York City street to your computer or TV. Stream Broadway musicals, dramas, even Cirque du Soleil productions online for $9 per month, with a seven-day free trial. Visit broadwayhd.com for more details.

June+

VIDEOS OF NATURE

Relax with the plants from the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle. Watch a live stream of the flora of the famous greenhouse every day at 5 p.m. on Instagram. Check it out at Instagram.com/vpconservatory.

ADVERTISERS IN THIS ISSUE Clinical Studies

Home Improvement

Retail/Services

Stroke Rehabilitation Study . . . . . . . . . . . .13

J. Johnston Roofing & Contracting . . . . . . .7 Kelbie Home Improvement . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Columbia’s Village Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Oakridge Auction Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Perfect Sleep Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Perfect Walker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Spectrum Floor Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Zoomer Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Events COGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Funeral Services Cremation Society of Maryland . . . . . . . . . .8 Going Home Cremations . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Harry H. Witzke’s Family Funeral Home, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 MacNabb Funeral Home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Sol Levinson & Bros., Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Home Health Care A-1 Action Nursing Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Homewatch Caregivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Options for Senior America . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Housing Brooke Grove . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Enterprise Residential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Residences at Vantage Point . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Park View Apts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Shriner Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Senior/Government Services

Medical/Health

Howard County 50+ Connection . . . . .14-15 Subscriptions The Beacon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Medical Eye Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Nourishing Life Wellness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Technology

Real Estate Coldwell Banker/Debbie McGrann . . . . . .17 Sachs Realty/Ruth Lyons . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

TheBeaconNewspapers.com..................... 19

Volunteers/Employment Meals on Wheels......................................... 9 The Beacon................................................ 18

28 Subscribe for half-price. See p. 26

J U N E 2 0 2 0 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Free webinar series

SELLING REAL ESTATE DURING COVID-19

Presented by Realtor Eric Stewart, SRES, Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.

You can still sell your home for top dollar! During this webinar series, you’ll review the virtual sales process, learn how to choose a realtor, discover investments that are guaranteed to increase the value of your home, identify five mistakes to avoid when selling, and much more.

Thursday, June 11 10–11 a.m.

Thursday, June 18 10–11 a.m.

Thursday, June 25 10–11 a.m.

“Selling for Top Dollar”

“How to Prepare Your Home”

“How COVID-19 has Affected the Real Estate Market”

The sales process

Downsizing

Virtual marketing

Decluttering

Best Day to Go on the Market

Staging

Condition and Pricing Marketing

For a link that will allow you to connect to one or more of these Webinars, RSVP to Toni Davis at tdavis@bgf.org by the Tuesday prior to each seminar.