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Composer ‘paints’ with music
NOVEMBER 2015
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By Carol Sorgen Vivian Adelberg Rudow is an award-winning, internationally recognized composer who got a late start, professionally-speaking. As a young woman, she said, “I had no desire for a career whatsoever. Let’s get one thing totally clear. I got married to be married and to raise a family.” And that she certainly did. Married for almost 60 years to attorney David Rudow, the 79-year-old Roland Park resident is mother to three grown sons, and relishes her role as wife, mother and grandmother. But when her sons were young, Adelberg Rudow started writing children’s songs. The children’s magazine Humpty Dumpty paid her $25 for a song, and she thought, “I got paid for that? This is fun!”
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For wholesome entertainment and live music, try Branson, Missouri; plus, wineries abound in nearby Middleburg, Va. page 21
Excelling early It’s not that Adelberg Rudow’s musical talent sprang up out of the blue. Though she came from a family with no musical interest (“Zero!” she laughed, when asked), she began studying piano at the age of 6 at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. She was so talented that she was offered a full scholarship — not only to Peabody but to a prestigious private school so that she would have been able to arrange her schedule to practice more. Her father refused, however, wanting her to have a more traditional childhood. “It wasn’t my destiny,” she said of becoming a scholarship student. Nevertheless, Adelberg Rudow continued her piano lessons at Peabody (and also studied dance until the age of 16, when she had to choose between that and piano). There, in addition to performance, she learned music theory, the basis for composition, which she describes as “a language, just like English.” “By the time I graduated high school, my musical ‘vocabulary’ was complete,” said Adelberg Rudow. It would be more than 20 years, however, before she began to use that vocabulary. That’s when she returned to Peabody, at the age of 38, to earn her undergraduate and graduate degrees in music. From then on, Adelberg Rudow, who calls herself a “sound portrait painter” (“what artists see with their eyes, I see
Although she studied music in her youth, Vivian Adelberg Rudow didn’t begin composing until she was nearly 40. Now she is in demand internationally for her creative compositions and live performance art, some of which utilizes electronic elements such as synthesizers and remote-controlled tape decks. Adelberg Rudow’s “Earth Day Suite” will be performed at a free concert on November 1 at Har Sinai Congregation, together with works by Vivaldi and others.
through my music”), has earned one accolade after another. Among them, in 1982 she became the first Maryland composer to have a work performed by an orchestra in Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, with Sergiu Commisiona conducting the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Her career is still going strong, and she has recently been invited to compose music to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Chapter Four, for an upcoming international tour of Hong Kong pianist Stanley Wong.
Experimenting with electronic music Adelberg Rudow uses her music to express emotions, life experiences, hopes and dreams, using both traditional and
more contemporary idioms. For example, she believes that pop music rhythms and vocabulary are today’s folk music, and that they may be incorporated in classical music just as Brahms and Bartók used folk music in their compositions. One way she does this is through her fluency with not only classical acoustic instruments, but also the tools of electroacoustic music. The latter uses traditional instruments as well as electronic musical instruments, such as the electric guitar, and electronic technology, such as the sound synthesizer. “I love electronic music for the new sounds you can create,” she said. “And now See COMPOSER, page 28
ARTS & STYLE
Actor’s skills range from Shakespeare to Scrooge; plus, Baltimore Jewelry Center opens new space and exhibit page 25 TECHNOLOGY k How to avoid “tech neck” k Online shopping warnings
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FITNESS & HEALTH k Do your genes make you fat? k Flu vaccine options
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LAW & MONEY 16 k Free stuff for Fido k Dump emerging market funds? ADVERTISER DIRECTORY
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Blowing our horn Each year, we enter a selection of our nance and improvement of standards, and writers’ original stories in the national jour- the improvement of business conditions nalism competitions of the within the publishing indusNorth American Mature Pubtry. lishers Association (NAMPA) NAMPA’s annual journaland the National Mature ism competition attracts hunMedia Awards. dreds of submissions every We do this for two reasons: year and is judged by internaOne, as a way to be sure we tionally respected faculty at are keeping up the quality of the University of Missouri our writing compared with School of Journalism. This other publications throughyear, we received 17 NAMPA out the country. awards. Two, because we’re pretty FROM THE Both the Greater Washingconfident about reason one PUBLISHER ton and Greater Baltimore (that is, we believe our writ- By Stuart P. Rosenthal Beacons won second place ers are among the best any“General Excellence” awards where), and want to give them the oppor- in their circulation categories, as well as tunity to earn kudos they will treasure “Best of Show” awards for the most total from well-respected, objective judges. awards in their categories. I’m happy and proud to report that The judges found that the Baltimore every one of our regular writers and free- Beacon “features good writing and good lancers came away with one or more hon- editing,” “has a relevant mix of news and ors in these competitions this year. features that are sure to draw in readers,” NAMPA is an association of publishers and that it “has taken the pulse of its comproducing newspapers and magazines munity and knows the issues that matter.” specifically for the mature market. It focusOur Baltimore contributing editor, es on sharing best practices for publication Carol Sorgen, won two first-place feature enhancement, exchange of ideas, mainte- writing awards. For our January cover
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story, “Being gay and gray in Baltimore,” the judges called her work “an informative account” and praised her for “a terrific job of finding good subjects.” Her story in our April Housing & Homecare section, “Reverse mortgages let your home pay you,” was called “truly news one can use.” Sorgen also won a second place award for her profile of Baltimore artist, Gianni Toso, “World-renowned glassblower,” which appeared on our March cover. Other stories in our Washington and Howard County editions won NAMPA awards in the Feature Writing, Senior Issues, Profile, Travel, Reviews and Topical Issue categories. Writers of these stories include our managing editor Barbara Ruben, our editorial assistant Rebekah Sewell, feature writer Robert Friedman, travel writers Victor Block and Glenda Booth, theatre reviewer Michael Toscano, columnist Bob Levey, and yours truly. The declared goal of the Mature Media Awards is “to recognize the nation’s ‘best and brightest’ materials and programs produced every year for older adults.” The prestigious competition attracts entries from national organizations like AARP, the Arthritis Foundation and the Mayo Clinic. We are especially pleased that this year, eight of our 11 entries were recognized with Mature Media Awards.
Our September 2014 issue won a Silver Award. We also won a Bronze Award for a cover story about inventor Bob Fischell, which appeared in all three of our regional editions. And six additional cover stories from our Baltimore, Howard County and Greater Washington DC editions won Merit Awards. Writers responsible for these winning stories include, again, Carol Sorgen (for our May 2014 Baltimore cover story, “One flag with many meanings,”), Barbara Ruben, Rebekah Sewell, Robert Friedman and Michael Toscano. Of course, whatever awards we do or do not win, what matters most to us is that you, our readers, find the news, practical information and entertainment you are looking for each month in the Beacon. Please let us know what you think — even (actually, especially) if you think we are missing the boat in any particular area. Also feel free to share ideas for future stories, and to recommend your fellow citizens for profiles. Your opinions and suggestions are always welcome, whether you contact us by mail, phone, fax, email or online. I look forward to hearing from you.
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 e-mail to barbara@thebeaconnewspapers.com. Please include your name, address and telephone number for verification. Dear Editor: First, your October cover story about the medical foster home program provides much-needed information benefitting senior citizens. I apologize, but I must bring to your attention a few errors in the story. First, our name is Veterans Affairs (VA), not Veterans Administration. It’s a common error. Second, the Maryland Medical Foster Home program began in July 2012, not June of this year.
Importantly, the caregivers do not need to own their homes. They can be renting them. Also, veterans do not need to have served in a war to qualify. They only need to serve during wartime to qualify to receive a VA pension and other aid and assistance. Finally, the cost to veterans ranges from $1,800 (not $1,000) to $3,500 per month. Rosalia Scalia, MA Public Affairs Specialist VA Maryland Health Care System
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BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2015
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Technology &
Innovations ‘Tech neck’ a hazard of the electronic age When Mom nagged you to “sit up straight,” she likely had no idea how important that advice would become, thanks to our reliance on smartphones and tablets. One study suggests that the average person spends two to four hours every day on electronic devices. That’s thousands of hours every year spent in a position that puts several extra pounds of stress on the neck. Heavy users of handheld technology aren’t the only ones at risk. Other activities, from reading to driving, can strain your neck, as well. Bill Boissonnault, associate professor at the University of Wisconsin (UW) School of Medicine and Public Health, and Lori Thein Brody, physical therapist with UW
Sports Medicine and Spine Center, share the following tips to give your neck a break.
Supporting your head The human head weighs an average of 12 pounds, and your body is designed to hold it up all the time. It’s actually the inclination, or angle, of your neck that worries many physicians. Brody said the problem — and the solution — lies in simple physics. The more you tilt your head down, the farther you’re separating the axis of rotation (in this case, the neck) from the mass of the limb (the head). This creates more work for the back of your neck as it tries to hold your head up. Boissonnault uses the analogy of a bowl-
ing ball to break down the science. If you grab a 12-pound ball in one palm, and bend your elbow so the ball is close to your torso, it’s easy enough to hold for some time. But as soon as you start to straighten that elbow, and your hand moves farther away from your body, the ball feels heavier. Only in recent years have people begun using smartphones and tablets for several hours a day. And because the effects of maintaining the same posture for long periods of time can take years to manifest, researchers aren’t yet sure how this will affect users long-term. Even so, Boissonnault has serious concerns. As seen in other instances of poor posture, muscles can fatigue and cause sore-
ness and pain. If the muscles tire too much, he said, they may stop supporting the neck’s ligaments and joints altogether and put more weight on discs and joints, which in turn could increase the risk of arthritis. Brody wonders whether younger generations who start using electronics at ever earlier ages will essentially train their neck muscles to become stronger. “Will humans evolve to have stronger neck muscles in response to this kind of load?” she asks. So, you say, you’re not addicted to electronics? If you don’t pay attention and straighten up once in a while when reading books or newspapers, driving, or even
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Beware: Not all online shopping is alike By Andrea N. Browne I’m an avid online shopper, but last year I had an online shopping first: I made several purchases through third-party sellers on Amazon.com and Etsy.com. [Thirdparty sellers are usually small businesses or individuals operating their own miniwebsites within a larger online operation.] You can tell whether an item is being offered by a third-party seller on Amazon by checking the “sold by” and “fulfilled by” fields on a product page. Products that aren’t fulfilled by Amazon typically only list the “sold by” information on the product page. In contrast to Amazon, all items on Etsy are sold by third parties. The entire site is like a mall for independent sellers of handmade products and art. My experiences with both sites were rather frustrating. Looking back, I partly blame myself. My issues ultimately were re-
solved, and I received full refunds. But had I done my homework first, I probably could have avoided the problems altogether. Here are five things you should keep in mind before buying from a third-party seller on Amazon or Etsy: 1. Past customers can be your best guide. Do some research on a third-party seller before you commit to a purchase. Start by checking the seller’s customer ratings and reviews via their store page. “Read through the kinds of experiences other people have had interacting with these stores, because the reality is you’ll have to deal with them directly, not with Amazon or Etsy [if your transaction goes awry],” said Seth Barnes, head of marketing for Savings.com, a coupons and deals website. When using Amazon, for example, customers should look for sellers with detailed
product information on their listing pages, as well as clear information on shipping options and costs so there aren’t any surprises, said Erik Farleigh, a spokesman for Amazon. 2. There’s no such thing as a standard shipping policy. One of the biggest issues I had was dealing with a seller who had listed on its storefront page that its items shipped from New York, when in fact they shipped from China. Needless to say, my order took much longer to arrive than expected. Instead of four to seven days, it took two weeks. To help avoid this type of inconvenience, contact the seller directly before you buy. Ask upfront where its products ship from. On Etsy, you can narrow down your store options to sellers who are located near you by using the Etsy Local function. This is helpful if you’re in a time crunch and need to boost the odds of a
product arriving by a certain date. 3. Amazon Prime membership doesn’t guarantee free shipping. Free two-day shipping on purchases is one of the biggest draws of a $99-a-year Amazon Prime membership. However, what some members may not realize is that only items sold by Amazon (as well as many items fulfilled by Amazon) qualify for that option. Look for the Prime logo. If it’s not there, the product is not covered for free shipping. Products sold and fulfilled by third parties do not qualify for Prime shipping and should display this note: “Not eligible for Amazon Prime.” In addition, according to Amazon policy, comingling purchases isn’t a loophole. If you place an order that contains some See ONLINE SHOPPING, page 5
Tech neck From page 3
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cooking — repeated over months and years — you could put yourself at risk. “(Maintaining) any single posture for prolonged periods of time, (or repeating) a certain activity over and over, can get people into trouble,” Boissonnault said. He also urges extra awareness of “tech neck” for anyone with a previous neck injury, or whose work requires them to sit at a desk for long periods of time, with the head in a forward position.
Tips to straighten up To avoid straining your neck: 1. Bring your device (or reading material) higher and closer to your face, allowing your head and neck to stay erect. 2. Try using a hands-free bookstand, music stand or pillow. The key is to bring whatever you’re looking at closer to your face, and up to eye-level. 3. Prop a hand under your chin so your neck muscles are not supporting the weight of your head all alone. 4. Move around. Try these stretches and postures to get unstuck: • Gently roll your head to its normal position, roll your shoulders and squeeze your shoulder blades together and down. • Keep an eye on your hips, too. Boissonnault said posture problems often start with the hips and lower back, so it’s important to stay balanced (keeping your hips in a vertical line with the rest of your body), and not slump into the low back. • Tight pectoral muscles can pull your torso into a rounded posture. Try stretching your front with this exercise: Face a corner with your elbows extended, grab the corner and lean in, leading with your chin. WhatDoctorsKnow is a magazine devoted to up-to-the minute information on health issues from physicians, major hospitals and clinics, universities and health care agencies across the U.S. Online at www.whatdoctorsknow.com. © 2015 Whatdoctorsknow.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
casts and videos. You’ll also learn about websites from expert storytellers that
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❏ Brain Imaging Study (see ad on page 13) ❏ Early Alzheimer’s Diet Study (see ad on page 12) ❏ Falls Prevention Study (see ad on page 12) ❏ HYPNOS Diabetic Sleep Study (see ad on page 13) ❏ Parkinson’s Drug Study (see ad on page 12) ❏ Parkinson’s Singing Study (see ad on page 13) ❏ Pelvic Prolapse Study (see article on page 12) ❏ Stroke and Healthy Volunteers Study (see ad on page 13)
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items that are eligible for free Prime shipping and some that aren’t, you’ll be charged shipping fees for the ineligible items. 4. Returns are at a seller’s discretion. When dealing with major retailers, there’s comfort in knowing that if you don’t like a purchase, you can always exchange it or get a refund. Sure, some return policies are more generous than others, but these retailers offer some form of recourse for unwanted items. That’s not always the case when you buy an item online through a third-party seller. On both Amazon and Etsy, thirdparty sellers set their own return, refund and exchange policies. It’s important to read a seller’s return policy in its entirety before making a purchase.
back at midnight. Be sure to document correspondence with a third-party seller just in case you have to escalate the situation to customer
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5. You’ll need to try to settle disputes yourself. Because neither Amazon nor Etsy has direct access to order information for transactions sold and fulfilled by thirdparty sellers, they encourage customers to work through any issues directly with the seller before they’ll step in. A dispute could be something like requesting a refund from a seller with a noreturns policy for an item that looks drastically different in person than it did online. This can be especially common with artwork, as colors don’t always appear true on your computer screen. This process can be time-consuming, especially if you’re dealing with an international seller. As I mentioned, one of the sellers I bought from was overseas. It took hours to get responses to my inquiries, largely due to the time difference. I’d send a message in the morning and get a reply
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Say you saw it in the Beacon | Technology & Innovations
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NOVEMBER 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON
Health Fitness &
BUBBLES AND BONES While some carbonated beverages may not affect bone health, colas can AVOID MEDICARE MISTAKES Remember to review plans annually, and make sure your doctor is covered LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE Beets, walnuts and flaxseed can lower blood pressure, as can going meatless GRAND ADVICE Qs and As on when to weigh in or keep quiet on grandkid issues
Genetic predisposition to obesity found By Marilynn Marchione Scientists have finally figured out how the key gene tied to obesity makes people fat — a major discovery that could open the door to an entirely new approach to the problem, beyond diet and exercise. The research was led by scientists at MIT and Harvard University and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The work solves a big mystery: Since 2007, researchers have known that a gene called FTO was related to obesity, but they didn’t know how, and could not tie it to appetite or other known factors. Now experiments reveal that a faulty version of the gene causes energy from food to be stored as fat rather than burned. Genetic tinkering in mice and on human cells in the lab suggests this can be reversed, giving hope that a drug or other treatment might be developed to do the same in people. The gene glitch doesn’t explain all obesity. It was found in 44 percent of Europeans but only 5 percent of blacks, so other genes clearly are at work, and food and exercise still matter. Obesity affects more than 500 million people worldwide and contributes to a host of diseases. In the U.S., about one-third of adults are obese and another one-third are more modestly overweight.
Having the glitch doesn’t destine you to become obese, but may predispose you to it. People with two faulty copies of the gene (one from mom and one from dad) weighed an average of 7 pounds more than those without them. But some were obviously a lot heavier than that, and even 7 pounds can be the difference between a healthy and an unhealthy weight, said Manolis Kellis, a professor at MIT.
Two types of body fat The FTO gene turns out to influence obesity indirectly, functioning as a master switch that affects two other genes that control thermogenesis, or burning off energy. It’s long been known that brown or beige fatty tissue — the so-called “good fat” — burns calories, while the more common white fat stores them. The body constantly makes fat cells, and the two genes determine whether they become brown or white ones. In one experiment described in the medical journal, researchers blocked the faulty gene’s effect in mice and found they became 50 percent leaner than other mice despite eating a high-fat diet, and burned more energy even when asleep. In other tests on human cells, blocking the gene’s effect increased energy burn-
ing in fat cells. Editing out the problem gene in human cells in the lab also restored normal metabolic function. Researchers don’t know the impact of having just one faulty copy of the gene, but think it has less of an effect than having two copies. Several companies are trying to develop treatments to stimulate brown fat, and the new research suggests a novel approach. “It’s a potential target” for drug development, said Dr. Sam Klein, an obesity researcher at Washington University in St. Louis. He called the work “an amazing study” and “a scientific tour de force.” Some earlier research suggests the FTO gene may also influence other aspects of obesity, such as behavior and appetite. “It’s possible there are several mechanisms being affected,” and that fat-burning is not the whole story,” said Dr. Rudolph Leibel, an obesity expert at Columbia University in New York.
Could lead to new drugs The discovery challenges the notion that “when people get obese it was basically their own choice because they choose to eat too much or not exercise,” said study leader Melina Claussnitzer, a genetics specialist at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical Center. “For the first time, genetics has revealed a mechanism in obesity that was not really suspected before” and gives a third explanation or factor that’s involved. Independent experts praised the discovery. “It’s a big deal,” said Dr. Clifford Rosen, a scientist at Maine Medical Center Research Institute and an associate editor at the medical journal. “A lot of people think the obesity epidemic is all about eating too much,” but our fat cells play a role in how food gets used, he said. With this discovery, “you now have a pathway for drugs that can make those fat cells work differently.” Several obesity drugs are already on the market, but they are generally used for short-term weight loss, and are aimed at the brain and appetite; they don’t directly target metabolism. Researchers can’t guess how long it might take before a drug based on the new findings becomes available. But it’s unlikely it would be a magic pill that would enable people to eat anything they want without packing on the pounds. And targeting this fat pathway could affect other things, so a treatment would need rigorous testing to prove safe and effective. — AP
New cancers form in 1 of 5 cancer patients By Marilynn Marchione Second cancers are on the rise. Nearly 20 percent of new cases in the U.S. now involve someone who has had the disease before. When doctors talk about second cancers, they mean a different tissue type or a different site — not a recurrence or spread of the original tumor. Judith Bernstein of suburban Philadelphia is an extreme example. She has had eight types of cancer over the last two decades, all treated successfully. “There was a while when I was getting one cancer diagnosis after another,” including breast, lung, esophageal, and the latest — a rare tumor of her eyelids, she said. “At one point, I thought I had cancer in my little finger.” About 19 percent of cancers in the Unit-
ed States now are second-or-more cases, a recent study found. In the 1970s, it was only 9 percent. Over that period, the number of first cancers rose 70 percent while the number of second cancers rose 300 percent. Strange as it may sound, this is partly a success story: More people are surviving cancer and living long enough to get it again, because the risk of cancer rises with age.
Why multiple cancers occur Second cancers also can arise from the same gene mutations or risk factors, such as smoking, that spurred the first one. And some of the very treatments that help people survive their first cancer, such as radiation, can raise the risk of a new cancer forming later in life, although treatments have greatly improved in recent
years to minimize this problem. Psychologically, a second cancer often is more traumatizing than the first. “I think it’s a lot tougher” for most people, said Julia Rowland, director of the federal Office of Cancer Survivorship. “The first time you’re diagnosed, it’s fear of the unknown. When you have your next diagnosis, it’s fear of the known,” and having to face treatment all over again, Rowland said. Robert Ulrich, 58, a contractor and building inspector in Wasilla, Alaska, said that when doctors told him in 2013 he had advanced colon cancer, two decades after he had overcome Hodgkin’s lymphoma, it was like “they put a time stamp on your existence ... it makes your head spin.” He is making end-of-life plans, while fight-
ing the disease with aggressive chemotherapy. “My outlook on it is, I got 30 years out of the first go-round, which gave me an opportunity to raise my family and enjoy my bride. So whatever time I get forward here I consider free time,” he said. Imagine what it has been like for Bernstein, 72, the Philadelphia-area woman who has had skin, lymphoma, breast, two types of lung, esophageal, thyroid and now the eyelid cancer, a form of lymphoma. She went to a psychiatrist after one diagnosis, and “spent four days very upset” after the latest one. But she said that exercising has helped her feel well through treatments, and that See CANCER, page 9
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BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2015
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Lots of options for flu vaccines this year By Lauran Neergaard Give flu vaccine another chance: This year’s version got a recipe change that should make it more effective after last winter’s misery from a nasty surprise strain of virus. “It doesn’t matter which flu vaccine you get. Just get one,’’ Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said before rolling up his own sleeve for a regular shot last month. Typically, flu vaccine is 50 to 60 percent effective. Flu-related hospitalizations of seniors last year were the highest recorded in the decade that CDC has counted. The H3N2 flu subtype is always harsh, especially for older adults. And last year’s vaccine was only 13 percent effective against the mutated version that caused most of last year’s illnesses, he said. Fortunately, “so far the strains in this year’s vaccine seem likely to match,’’ Frieden said, stressing that CDC is closely monitoring genetic fluctuations to see if that changes. The vaccine protects against three or four different strains, depending on the brand, said Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University, who noted that even if one strain mutates, vaccination remains “the best defense against flu.’’
Who should be vaccinated Everybody starting at 6 months of age, the CDC says. Flu is especially dangerous for people over age 65, young children, pregnant women, and people with chronic health conditions, such as asthma or heart disease. But healthy young people can get seriously ill, too, as well as spread the disease. CDC said at least 145 children died of flu last year. That was above the yearly average of 100, a number Frieden called an underestimate. Only about half of children who die from flu have underlying health problems, noted Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson of Seattle Children’s Hospital. Only about half of Americans get an annual flu immunization. CDC says, on average, flu kills about 24,000 people a year in the U.S. New CDC data shows vaccination rates last year were highest for children ages 6 months to 23 months — at 75 percent, the only age group to meet public health goals. Children ages 2 to 4 weren’t far behind, at 68 percent, and 62 percent of 5- to 12-year-olds were vaccinated. About two-thirds of seniors were vaccinated. But only about a third of adults ages 18 to 49 were, making them the least protected group. About half of pregnant women get im-
munized — important not only for mom’s health, but because the vaccine also protects her baby during its first six months of life, Swanson noted.
When to get vaccinated About 40 million of this year’s doses already have been shipped to doctors, drugstores and other locations, and vaccinations are under way. It takes about two weeks for protection to kick in, and while flu typically peaks between December and February, there’s no way to predict when outbreaks will begin. Most are covered by private and government health insurance, often without a copay. For those paying out of pocket, prices can range between $32 and $40.
Which kind to choose One option this year is a needle-free device called a jet injector that forces the vaccine into a stream of fluid that penetrates the skin. It is recommended for adults 18 to 64. The CDC said it can result in some of the same soreness as a traditional shot. The nasal spray is the most widely known alternative to the traditional shot, and can be used by healthy people ages 2 to 49. Other choices are targeted to different age groups and health conditions, and include the “intradermal’’ or skin-deep shots that use tiny needles; a version for people allergic to the chicken eggs used in brewing most flu vaccine; and a high-dose verSee FLU VACCINES, page 8
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NOVEMBER 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON
Fears about bubbly or caffeinated drinks By Dr. Howard LeWine Q: Do all carbonated beverages rob the bones of calcium? How about club soda or sparkling mineral water? A: Warnings about the harmful effects of carbonated beverages on bone emerge from time to time. The theory is that the phosphoric acid (phosphate) used to enhance flavor in some carbonated beverages can interfere with calcium absorption and result in the loss of calcium from bone. Fortunately, there’s no good evidence that a high phosphate intake affects bone metabolism or bone density. Teenage girls who drink a lot of carbonated beverages are more likely to have lower-than-expected bone density. But that’s most often because of insufficient intake of healthier beverages
that provide calcium and vitamin D. The picture is less clear in adults. Researchers at Tufts University examined data from 2,500 women and men (ages 49 to 69). They assessed dietary intake, and measured bone mineral density (BMD). Non-cola carbonated drinks were not associated with low BMD. Cola and other caffeinated beverages are still suspects. In the Tuft’s study, cola intake was associated with lower BMD at the hip in the women, but not in the men. The more cola a woman drank, the lower her BMD. Women who drank more cola didn’t drink less milk, but they did have a lower intake of calcium. We have less direct information regarding carbonated water. The results of one
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small study comparing bone metabolism in women who drank noncarbonated vs. carbonated mineral water showed no difference between the two groups. It seems likely that you can enjoy carbonated water without worry. But don’t overdo the caffeinated beverages, whether carbonated or not. And if you suspect that you are drinking a lot of carbonated water or other soft drinks, you may be reducing your intake of healthy beverages.
Make sure you get enough calcium (1,000 to 1,300 milligrams per day) and vitamin D (600 to 1,000 IU per day) from other sources to compensate. Howard LeWine, M.D., is an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. For additional consumer health information, please visit www.health.harvard.edu. © 2015 President and Fellows of Harvard College. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Flu vaccines
CDC is working with manufacturers to cut vaccine production time, giving more time to spot it if a mutation is forming, Frieden said. The bigger goal is to create a “universal vaccine’’ that could work on many flu strains. In August, researchers reported a small step toward that goal by targeting vaccines to a slightly different spot on the flu virus. But Frieden cautions that more broadly effective flu vaccines are “a few years away at best.’’ — AP
From page 7 sion for people 65 and older, whose immune systems typically don’t respond as robustly to flu vaccine as younger people’s. The vaccine is changed yearly to keep up as influenza viruses mutate, and production takes months. It protects against two Type A strains — H3N2 and the H1N1 subtype, such as the swine flu so common a few years ago — plus either one or two milder Type B strains, depending on the brand.
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As a podiatrist with over 30 years experience, I have always focused on non-surgical treatment of foot and leg pain. I find that most people with foot or leg symptoms (arthritic, aching, burning, cramping or difficulty walking) , even those who have had other treatments, including surgery of the foot (or back), can be helped, usually in 1 or 2 visits. — Dr. Stuart Goldman
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BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2015
Cancer From page 6 having endured many tragedies among her friends and family has given her resilience. “She is so upbeat,” said Barbara Rogers, a nurse practitioner at Fox Chase Cancer Center who has treated Bernstein for more than a decade. For most patients, “it is harder the second time around, or third.”
Fewer treatment options Medically, second cancers pose special challenges. Treatment choices may be more limited. For example, radiation usually isn’t given to the same area of the body more than once. Some drugs also have lifetime dose limits to avoid nerve or heart damage. “The body has a memory for the radiation or chemotherapy” and can’t endure too much of the same type, said Dr. Alan Venook, a colon and liver cancer expert at the University of California, San Francisco, who treats Ulrich, the Alaska man. A second cancer means doctors need to assess genetic risk to the patient and possibly the family, Venook said. “We’ve failed if a woman who had a BRCA1 mutation and had breast cancer develops colon cancer,” he said. The gene mutation means she should be monitored and screened often enough for other cancers to have any precancerous colon growths removed, he said.
How to cope Experts have this advice for cancer survivors: • Have a formal survivorship plan — a blueprint for the future that includes a detailed summary of the treatment you received and what kind of monitoring is needed. “Anyone who’s had a first cancer needs to understand what kinds of symptoms they need to be alert to and what kind of medical follow-up” they need, said Elizabeth Ward, an American Cancer Society researcher who authored a recent report on second cancers. • Don’t neglect screenings for other forms of cancer besides the one you were treated for. Make sure to get any recommended tests, such as colonoscopies, mammograms, and HPV or Pap tests. • If you get a second cancer, “take a deep breath,” Rowland said. Treatments improve every day; there are more resources, including social media, for support, and doctors are more used to treating cancer more than once. “No one’s giving up on you,” she said. To learn more about research on second cancers, see: • http://tinyurl.com/opoq6ss • http://tinyurl.com/nkwglrm • http://tinyurl.com/obvyeuf Advice for survivors can be found at: • www.journeyforward.org • www.asco.org/practice-research/cancer-survivorship — AP
BEACON BITS
Oct. 28+
BABY BOOMER/SENIOR EXPO Older adults, baby boomers, caregivers, families, persons with dis-
abilities and professionals are invited to visit the annual Expo at Maryland State Fairgrounds, 2200 York Rd. in Timonium, on Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 28 and 29. Explore 300-plus exhibitors and vendors. Enjoy continuous entertainment, bid on silent auction items, or take advantage of free health screenings. View the works of talented older adult artists competing in the Art and Craft Contest and Show, receive an annual flu shot, or try a new exercise class. Investigate career and training opportunities at the Job Fair or visit the Veteran Resource Muster for resources and information. Admission is $2 or two cans of non-perishable food. Proceeds support the Seniors In Need Fund. The annual meeting of United Seniors of Maryland will also be held on Oct. 28, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Cow Palace at the Fairgrounds. For more information, call (410) 887-2012, email seniorexpo@baltimorecountymd.gov or visit www.seniorexpoonline.com.
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NOVEMBER 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON
Avoid these common Medicare mistakes By Kimberly Lankford Medicare can be so complicated. Watch out for the following common mistakes when signing up for coverage or, if you’re already eligible, choosing among prescription drug, Medigap or Medicare Advantage plans each year. Mistake 1: Keeping your Part D (prescription drug) plan choice on autopilot. Open enrollment for Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plans runs from Oct. 15
to Dec. 7 every year, so now is a good time to review all of your options. The cost and coverage of your policies can vary a lot from year to year — some plans boost premiums more than others, increase your share of the cost of your drugs, add new hurdles before covering your medications, or require you to go to certain pharmacies to get the best rates. And if you’ve been prescribed new medications or your drugs have gone generic over the past year, a different plan may
now be a better deal for you. It’s easy to compare all the plans available in your area during open enrollment. Go to the Medicare Plan Finder at https:// www.medicare.gov/find-a-plan/questions/ home.aspx and type in your drugs and dosages to see how much you’d pay for premiums plus co-payments for plans in your area. Mistake 2: Automatically buying the same Part D plan as your spouse. There are no spousal discounts for Medicare Part D prescription-drug plans, and most spouses don’t take the same medications. One plan may have much better coverage for your drugs while another may be better for your spouse’s situation. You can each type in your drugs and dosages on the Medicare Plan Finder to estimate out-of-pocket costs for each of you under the plans in your area. Just be careful if you and your spouse sign up for plans with different preferred pharmacies; some plans only give you the best rates if you use certain pharmacies, so you could end up paying a lot more if you get your drugs somewhere else. Mistake 3: Not checking that your doctors, hospitals and other providers are still covered by your Medicare Advantage plan each year. If you choose to get coverage through a private Medicare Advantage plan — which covers both medical expenses and prescription drugs — you usually need to use the plan’s network of doctors and hospitals to get the lowest co-payments (and some plans won’t cover out-of-network providers at all, except in an emergency). As with any PPO or HMO, it’s important to make sure your doctors, hospitals and other providers are covered in your plan from year to year. You can switch Medicare Advantage
plans during open enrollment each year, and you can compare out-of-pocket costs for your medications and general health condition under the plans available in your area by using the Medicare Plan Finder. After you’ve narrowed the list to a few plans, contact both the insurer and your doctor to make sure they’ll be included in the network for the coming plan year. [For information on new Medicare Advantage plans available in this area, see “New Medicare Advantage plans” on the next page.] Mistake 4: Not realizing that you may be able to switch Medicare Advantage plans after open enrollment. Even though open enrollment for Medicare Advantage plans runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, you may still be able to change plans during the year. For example, you can switch plans outside of open enrollment if you have certain life changes, such as moving to an address that isn’t in your plan’s service area. And if you have a Medicare Advantage plan in your area with a five-star quality rating, you can switch into that plan anytime during the year. Also, you can switch from a Medicare Advantage plan to traditional Medicare plus a Part D prescription-drug plan from Jan. 1 to Feb. 15 (although you could be denied Medigap coverage or charged more for it). Mistake 5: Not picking the right Medigap plan when you first enroll. If you buy a Medicare supplement plan within six months of enrolling in Medicare Part B, you can get any plan in your area even if you have a pre-existing medical condition. However, if you try to switch plans after that, insurers in most states can reject you or charge more because of your health. See MEDICARE MISTAKES, page 11
BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2015
Medicare mistakes From page 10 Some states let you switch into certain plans regardless of your health, and some insurers let you switch to another one of their plans without a new medical exam. Find out about your state’s rules and the plans available at your state insurance department Web site. You can also find more information about Medigap policies in your area at Medicare.gov or speaking with your local SHIP (Senior Health Insurance Program) experts. Mistake 6: Forgetting that you can sign
up for Medicare at 65, even though the full retirement age for Social Security is now at least 66. If you’re already receiving Social Security benefits, you’ll automatically be enrolled in Medicare Part A and Part B when you turn 65 (although you can turn down Part B coverage and sign up for it later). But if you aren’t receiving Social Security benefits, you’ll need to take action to sign up for Medicare. If you’re at least 64 years and 9 months old, you can sign up online. You have a seven-month window to sign up — from three months before your 65th birthday month to three months afterward
New Medicare Advantage plans Two well-known Maryland healthcare institutions are launching new healthcare plans for Medicare beneficiaries. Johns Hopkins HealthCare and the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) are both entering the Medicare Advantage market for 2016 — Hopkins with two PPO plans, and UMMS with one HMO plan. These plans will be available during the current open enrollment period (which runs through Dec. 7) to Medicare beneficiaries residing in Baltimore City and County, as well as Howard and Anne Arundel Counties. UMMS’s plan will also be open to Harford County residents. The Johns Hopkins Advantage MD PPO offers access to all Johns Hopkins medical providers, plus thousands of other network providers across Mary-
land. There are no deductibles or referral requirements, and doctor’s visits are as low as $10 each. The plan offers chiropractic care, acupuncture, routine dental, vision and hearing care, as well as prescription drug coverage. Advantage MD Plus members also have access to a free fitness program, Silver&Fit. For more information, call 1-866-3249820 or visit www.hopkinsmedicare.com. UMMS acquired Timonium, Md.based Riverside Health, Inc. and will provide beneficiaries with access to a large local physician and hospital network. There is a $50 deductible, and primary care doctor visits are $15. Specific details of plan benefits can be found online at www.UMMedicareAdvantage.org or by calling 1-844-262-1122. — Barbara Ruben
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(you can enroll in Social Security later). You may want to delay signing up for Part B if you or your spouse has coverage through your current employer. Most people sign up for Part A at 65, though, since it’s usually free — although you may want to delay signing up if you plan to continue contributing to a health savings account. See the Social Security Administration’s Applying for Medicare Only at www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/justmedicare.html for more information. If you work for an employer with fewer than 20 employees, you must sign up for Part A, which will become your primary insurance (ask your employer whether you can delaying signing up for Part B). Mistake 7: Not signing up for Part B at 65 if you have retiree or COBRA coverage. When you turn 65, Medicare is generally
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considered to be your primary insurance, and any other coverage you have is secondary, unless you or your spouse has insurance through a current employer with 20 or more employees. But the coverage must be with a current employer. Other employerrelated coverage, such as retiree coverage, COBRA coverage, or severance benefits, isn’t considered to be primary coverage after you turn 65. That means if you don’t sign up for Medicare, you may have gaps in coverage and be subject to a lifetime late-enrollment penalty of 10 percent of the current Part B premium for every year you should have been enrolled in Part B but were not. You may also have to wait to get coverage. If you miss the window for enrolling when you turn 65 or eight months after See MEDICARE MISTAKES, page 13
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Health Studies Page
NOVEMBER 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON
THE PLACE TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION ON AREA CLINICAL TRIALS
Study compares two surgeries for women By Carol Sorgen The Weinberg Center for Women’s Health and Medicine at Mercy Medical Center is participating in a nationwide
study to compare the treatment success rates and safety of two surgical treatment options for pelvic organ prolapse. Pelvic organ prolapse is a condition in
which one or more pelvic organs (bladder, uterus, bowel) herniate or bulge into or out of the vagina. Symptoms include the feeling of a lump bulging into or outside the vagina, heavy feeling in vagina and/or lower back, difficulty emptying the bladder or bowel, urinary or fecal incontinence, and discomfort during sexual intercourse. The study, sponsored by American Medical Systems, is being conducted at Mercy by Dr. R. Mark Ellerkmann, assistant professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is also director of the Center for Urogynecology at Mercy Medical Center.
Two FDA-approved options The two surgical treatment options being studied are Native Tissue Repair and the Elevate Prolapse Repair System. Those who participate in the study will determine with their doctor which surgical treatment option is right for them. The Elevate Prolapse Repair System is an FDA-cleared medical device that has been used since 2009 as a treatment to repair pelvic organ prolapse in women. Native Tissue Repair uses the woman’s own tissues to reconstruct the anatomy to its normal position. While both of these
methods are approved for treatment of prolapse, the FDA is requesting studies to compare these two treatment options. After their surgery, patients will be followed for 36 months to assess their health and quality of life. Those who participate will receive standard medical care and a $50 stipend at a pre-surgery visit and at each post-surgery visit (at two, six, 12, 18, 24 and 36 months), for answering questionnaires on their quality of life.
Participating in the study Participants must be at least 18 years old and have pelvic organ prolapse that the patients can feel or see. Patients cannot take part in the study if they have had cancer involving pelvic organs, have an active or chronic urinary tract infection, have a systemic connective tissue disease, such as lupus, or have a neurologic or medical condition affecting bladder function. Mor e infor mation is available at www.ClinicalTrials.gov. Search for the Embrace Study-NCT02121977. For more information on the study, contact Kristin Purdum at the Weinberg Center for Women’s Health and Medicine, (443) 275-5050 or kpurdum@mdmercy.com.
BEACON BITS
Oct. 31
GREATER BALTIMORE WALK TO END ALZHEIMER’S The Alzheimer’s Association invites the Greater Baltimore commu-
nity to participate in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, Saturday, Oct. 31, (rain or shine) at Rash Field (201 Key Hwy.) along Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The familyfriendly event will feature trick-or-treating and other Halloween activities, plus live performances by the band the Norwood Project throughout the morning. Registration begins at 9 a.m. Stay after the 2.5-mile walk for additional entertainment and activities, including the Kids’ Corner, and food provided by Baltimore Coffee & Tea, Giant Food and Panera. For more information, visit www.alz.org/maryland or call (800)-272-3900.
Seeking Men and Women The University of Maryland & Veterans Affairs of Baltimore are conducting a research study to better understand balance & prevent falls as we age. With your participation you will receive: • Health evaluation • Balance, step, strength, and/or flexibility exercises • Compensation for your time
For Information, please call the Baltimore VA/University of Maryland Gerontology Recruitment Phone Line
410-605-7179 Mention code: LIFT *You must be at least 65 years old and in good health *Participants will be seen at the Baltimore VA Medical Center and University of Maryland School of Medicine for approximately 41 visits for 1 to 4 hours of time per visit
BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2015
Medicare mistakes From page 11 you leave your job, you can only sign up for Medicare between January and March each year, with coverage starting on July 1. For more information, see the Medicare Rights Center’s Medicare Interactive page at www.medicareinteractive.org about enrolling in Part B. Mistake 8: Forgetting about the deadline for signing up for Part B after you leave your job. If you have coverage through an employer with 20 or more employees, you don’t have to sign up for Medicare at 65. Instead, you may choose to keep coverage through your employer so you don’t have to pay the Part B premiums. But you need to sign up within eight months after you leave your job or you may have to wait until the next enrollment period (January through March, for coverage to begin on July 1). That means you could go for several months without coverage. You may also get hit with the 10 percent lifetime late-enrollment penalty. Mistake 9: Making financial moves that boost your Medicare premiums. Most people pay $104.90 per month for
Medicare Part B premiums. But if you’re single and your adjusted gross income is more than $85,000 (or more than $170,000 for joint filers), you’ll have to pay from $146.92 to $335.70 per month! And you’ll have to pay a high-income surcharge for your Part D prescription-drug coverage, too, which can boost your premiums by $12.10 to $69.30 per month. If you’re near the income cutoff, be careful about financial moves that could increase your adjusted gross income and make you subject to the surcharge, such as rolling over a traditional IRA to a Roth, or making big withdrawals from tax-deferred retirement accounts. Mistake 10: Not contesting the highincome surcharge for the year you retire. Your Part B and Part D premiums are higher if you earned more than $85,000 if single or $170,000 if married filing jointly. The Social Security Administration uses your most recent tax return on file (generally 2013 for 2015 premiums) to determine whether you’re subject to the surcharge. But you may be able to get the surcharge reduced if your income has dropped since then because of certain life-changing events — such as marriage, divorce, death of a spouse, retirement or a reduction in
BEACON BITS
Ongoing
HOPEWELL CANCER SUPPORT HopeWell offers a wide range of approaches to healing your body,
mind and soul if you are suffering from cancer. Offered at no charge, all of HopeWell’s programs are open to people with cancer at any stage of the disease: newly-diagnosed, in treatment, post-treatment, and living with cancer as a chronic condition. Survivors, family members, friends and loved ones are welcome. See more at www.hopewellcancersupport.org or call (410) 337-0937. HopeWell is located at 10628 Falls Rd. in Lutherville.
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work hours. Mistake 11: Signing up for Medicare Part A if you want to keep contributing to a health savings account. You can’t contribute to a health savings account after you sign up for Medicare, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to stop making HSA contributions at age 65. If you or your spouse has health insurance through your current job, you can delay signing up for Part A and Part B and
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keep contributing to an HSA. This isn’t an option if you’ve already signed up for Social Security or your employer has fewer than 20 employees. Be careful about your contributions in the year you leave your job and sign up for Medicare — you must prorate your HSA contributions based on the number of months before you were covered by Medicare. © 2015, Kiplinger. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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When grandpa should weigh in, keep quiet Dear Solutions: I think I’m being a really good grandpa, and then I get hit with complaints. Both my son and daughter-in-law work long hours. They don’t have a lot of time to spend with their children, so I try to fill in and help the kids keep up with their schoolwork.
Once a week, I have them over for a “Hamburger Fest,” and I check up on the schoolwork. Now my daughter-in-law tells me they don’t like to come because I “grill” them. Shouldn’t they — including my daughter-in-law — appreciate what I’m doing? — The Grandpa
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Dear Grandpa: gets there, he won’t go in the water. Grill the hamburgers, not the children! She thinks if he doesn’t go, he’ll never Sure, it’s great that you’re willget over his fear. I think she ing to spend time with them, should leave him alone. but not if they feel that they’re — Just call me Grandpa “doing time” when they’re Dear Grandpa: with you. It just goes to show — you Since their parents are such can lead a child to water, but high achievers, it’s likely that you can’t make him swim! I your grandkids are constantly think your grandson is overin an atmosphere of achieve, whelmed and may be too achieve, achieve. What they young for this intensive dating need from you is unconditional game. He could probably benSOLUTIONS love and appreciation of them efit from a “do-nothing date.” By Helen Oxenberg, as individuals, no matter how Children’s imagination and MSW, ACSW they do in school. creativity have a chance to deWhen they’re with you, lisvelop when they have some ten to them. Encourage them to talk about time to just invent their own play activity, with their friends and their activities: What do no adult telling them how. I would advise they like, what do they hate, what are they your daughter-in-law to back off for a while. scared of? He can get in the swim later, when he’s ready. Provide a place for them to talk about Dear Solutions: themselves, and also tell them you want to I’m a 70-something widower. When my know about young people today. So let them wife was alive, we both wanted to go on an tell you their jokes, play their music, play their “around the world” cruise, but we kept games, etc. They would probably be interest- putting it off. Now I would like to go, but ed in what their father was like as a little boy, until last week I had no one to go with. so you could tell them some stories also. At a senior group meeting, I met a You don’t have to be their judge, you woman who said she would like to go as don’t have to be their critic, and the only well and had no one to go with. I’m thinkteaching you have to do is to teach them ing we could go together and take sepahow to spell Grandpa: L-O-V-E! rate rooms. Dear Solutions: I like this woman, but I feel guilty I don’t know whether my problem is going when my wife never had the with my daughter-in-law or with my chance. Also, someone said, “Wouldn’t grandson. He’s 4 years old and my you feel guilty spending your childaughter-in-law has him enrolled in dren’s money?” every activity possible. The thought of going is very exciting, He has dancing class dates, tutoring but then I get pulled back by all these dates, swimming dates, play dates, other feelings. What do you think? etc. Now he’s refusing to go to the — Harry swimming class, but my daughter-inlaw insists he should go, and when he See SOLUTIONS, page 15
Don't let your loved one be a victim.
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Healthy people, living, working, and playing in Baltimore County Gregory Wm. Branch, M.D., MBA, CPE - Director, Health and Human Services Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and the Baltimore County Council
Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health
BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2015
15
Easy chicken with apples, fresh spinach Quick and easy meals that are delicious and nutritious are always welcome, and this recipe fits the bill. Apples and spinach are at their seasonal peak, abundant at farmers’ markets and grocery stores. This month, we combine them with chicken in a one-pan dish. Searing chicken first enhances flavor and produces moist, tender bites. Seasoning with mustard gives the chicken a deeper, earthier flavor, which contrasts beautifully with the sweetness of the apples. Adding fruit to main dishes is becoming more popular because they add a nutritional boost and more flavor and texture. The tart quality of the Granny Smith apples bal-
ances the sweetness of the red apples. Apple cider is the perfect acidic liquid to pull together the flavors of garlic, mustard, apple and chicken. Tossing in spinach at the end of cooking lets it just wilt while keeping its bright green color and nutrients. Spinach is a nutritional powerhouse loaded with fiber, vitamins K, A, C, folate, iron, magnesium, and many health-promoting carotenoids including beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin. It is purported that in the 1930s, United States spinach growers credited the cartoon character Popeye, the sailor man with a 33 percent increase in consumption. Popeye knew the power of spinach, I’m
Solutions
will that give her back the lost opportunity?” 2. If you like the woman who wants to go with you, think of her as a friend or companion, not a date. Whether you take separate rooms or not is entirely up to the two of you, and nobody else’s business. 3. Leaving money to one’s grown children is a gift, not a given. You are entitled to fulfill your dreams and, hopefully, your children will be happy for you. So go, Harry! If not now, when? © Helen Oxenberg, 2015. Questions may be sent to: The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915, or email the author at helox72@comcast.net.
From page 14 Dear Harry: You have a golden opportunity for a giltedged trip depending on how you spell it. Gilt? Guilt? Let’s try being rational: 1. It’s sad that your wife didn’t have the opportunity to go. However, since you both postponed the trip, the first thing you have to do — unless you murdered her — is to give up responsibility for her missed trip. You can feel bad and cry over it, but when you finish, ask yourself, “If I don’t go now,
strong to the finich, cause I eats me spinach… and apples.
Chicken with Spinach & Apples Serves 4 2 Tbsp. olive oil 4 (4-oz.) skinless, boneless chicken breasts Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 2 large cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp. spicy brown mustard 2/3 cup apple cider 1 medium granny smith apple, sliced lengthwise 1/8-inch 1 medium red apple, sliced lengthwise 1/8-inch (e.g., Gala, Fuji or Pink Lady) 8 cups packed fresh baby spinach In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high
heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Sear chicken, cooking 6 to 7 minutes on each side until browned. Remove chicken and let sit a few minutes. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces, cover and set aside to keep warm. To skillet, add garlic, mustard and cider and stir to combine well. Add apple slices and reduce heat to medium. Let simmer 5 to 6 minutes, stirring often. Return chicken to skillet. Stir occasionally as sauce thickens, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add spinach to skillet. Stir until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Serve hot. Per serving: 257 calories, 9 g. total fat (1 g. saturated fat), 17 g. carbohydrate, 28 g. protein, 3 g. dietary fiber, 139 mg. sodium. Courtesy of the American Institute for Cancer Research.
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NOVEMBER 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON
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Money Law &
CLAIMING WHAT’S YOURS Don’t pay to find out if you have unclaimed tax refunds, savings bonds and other money. Instead, use free databases to track them down
MERCK’S MERITS Shares of Merck & Co. offer both dividends and the potential for growth. The company continues to develop new drugs, including those for cancer
Contrarian advice on emerging markets By Bernard Condon and Matthew Craft If you think investors in U.S. stocks have had it rough, consider the hapless folks who followed Wall Street’s advice to buy emerging-market stocks. The MSCI Emerging Markets index has lost 25 percent over the past year, while the most widely held U.S. fund, the Vanguard Total Stock Market index, is down less than 1 percent. After the financial crisis, plowing money into emerging markets seemed like a sure bet. China was gobbling up raw materials from Brazil, Indonesia and Russia, and their stock markets were soaring. Wall Street cranked up its marketing machine, creating 246 funds to ride the boom. “Whatever is hot, Wall Street will race out with new products to catch the investor’s eye,” said Larry Swedroe, head of research at Buckingham Asset Management. The blitz worked. In the five years through 2013, investors poured $104 billion into emerging-market stock funds. The amount of money in these funds more than quadrupled. Now, in classic fashion, investors are re-
versing course: They’ve yanked $40 billion from emerging-market stocks this year, a record pace of withdrawals, as a slowdown in China has hammered companies that supply raw materials. But the selling has also created real value, some savvy investors say. It costs half as much to buy a dollar of earnings from emerging-market companies now as it does to buy a dollar of earnings from U.S. companies. The zigzagging fortunes of emerging markets reveal the pitfalls of chasing the hot new thing, and how the best time to buy may be precisely when everyone else is selling.
Emerging market funds Betting on emerging markets has never been for the faint of heart. Values soar as money floods in from investors hoping to profit from rapid economic growth. Along comes a crisis, currencies collapse and inflation spikes. Values plummet and money rushes out. Why they’re falling now: Fear that Chinese demand for Brazilian steel, In-
donesian coal, Chilean copper and other goods could slow further. Sliding currencies in these countries squeeze companies trying to pay back loans taken out in dollars. Memories of the 1997 Asian financial crisis aren’t helping. Back then, investors fled Thailand, Indonesia and other Asian tigers, and the fallout threatened to spark a global recession. Why investors may be wrong: Companies in developing countries have taken out more loans in their own currencies, so they’re better prepared when their currencies fall against the dollar. Manufacturers in South Korea and Taiwan import a lot of raw materials, so they benefit from falling commodity prices. And many big Indian companies rely on local customers, providing banking services and consumer goods to the country’s swelling middle class. The value case: It will cost you $13.23 to buy a dollar of their average annual earnings over the past decade, less than the $14 it cost during the panic selling of the 2008 financial crisis, according to Chris Brightman, chief investment officer
at Research Affiliates. Before that crisis, investors paid $35 for a dollar of earnings, nearly triple the price now. The problem is, prices could get cheaper still. Brightman warns that investors tend to overshoot during busts, just as they do during booms, because they think “what is happening currently will go on forever.”
Commodity funds The drops are stunning. Oil falling by more than half in the past year, iron ore plunging by a third, coal and copper off by more than a quarter. Even prices for wheat and corn — people can’t stop eating, can they? — have fallen by more than half in two years. Pimco’s largest raw materials fund, the Commodity Real Return Strategy fund, has lost a third of its value over the past year. That’s after a rocky ten years, during which the fund rocketed as high as 30 percent and plunged as much as 60 percent. See EMERGING MARKETS, page 17
Lucky dogs get free grooming, treats, more By Robert Long The cost of caring for Fido is so doggone expensive these days: The ASPCA says the minimum annual budget to care for a small dog is $1,314. Bigger dogs cost more, and unexpected veterinary care — plus boarding and dog-walking fees if you’re away from home for long stretches of time — can hike those costs considerably. So dog owners should take advantage of every freebie they can. We’ve rounded up eight free goods and services for your dog — no purchase necessary. My beagle Bailey and I have taken advantage of nearly every one of these freebies. Take a look.
Public pools and happy hours This once-a-year freebie comes up at the end of summer, so keep it in mind for next year. Public swimming pools across the country generally close to humans around Labor Day weekend. But many municipalities, before cleaning and shutting down their outdoor pools for the sea-
son, allow dogs in to splash and practice their doggie paddling on one special day. In many big cities, Rover and his canine pals can enjoy free treats and water — as their humans consume discounted food and drinks — during happy hour at a variety of popular establishments. Some restaurants even have entire menus for dogs or give away branded water bowls.
Free health resources, grooming You can better understand Sparky’s routine health care needs, and learn how to spot symptoms of distress, at no cost via trusted pet-care Web sites. The American Veterinary Medical Association recommends WebMd’s Pet Health Community, which includes an A to Z directory of conditions and symptoms afflicting dogs, plus discussion boards where licensed vets respond to users’ queries. Also bookmark the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center for proactive and reactive guidance on toxins Sparky might ingest.
But in an emergency, don’t waste time trying to diagnose Sparky’s ills yourself, even with the help of online guides. “You know your pet better than anyone,” said the AVMA’s Michael San Filippo. “When you notice signs of illness or that something’s not right — a change in behavior, appetite or appearance, for example — contact your veterinarian.” Just as beauty schools for humans offer discounted haircuts and other services for customers willing to take a risk with student practitioners, veterinary schools may offer free basic grooming services for your dog — tooth brushing, hair brushing, nail clipping. Donations are generally encouraged. Contact your local shelter, or look up local veterinary schools to ask about upcoming grooming events.
Free hotel stays When you drive away on your next road trip, don’t stick Snoopy in an unfamiliar kennel — at a cost of $50 per night or more. Instead, scout out dog-friendly ho-
tels along your route, and bring your best friend along for the ride. But note: There’s a difference between “dogs allowed” and “dogs stay free.” Some hotels will tack on a fee of $25 to $50 per night, plus perhaps a cleaning fee of as much as $100 at the end of your stay. Others, such as Red Roof Inns and the Kimpton hotels, do not add a fee. (Some Kimpton locations even employ four-legged “directors of pet relations” to greet your dog.)
Stickers, training, etc. Imagine that you’re away from home when an electrical fire breaks out. A sticker on your front door or window can tell firefighters that pets are awaiting rescue inside. Get a window decal from the ASPCA, whose free Pet Safety Pack includes the decal and a fridge magnet with a phone number for pet poison-control specialists. At Petco’s Unleashed stores, take advantage of a free, 30-minute training seminar for See DOG TREATS, page 17
BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2015
Emerging markets From page 16 Why they’re falling now: Too many companies pulled too much out of the ground before the financial crisis. China’s massive stimulus program fueled even more drilling and digging. With the big investments already made, companies figure they might as well keep pumping oil and extracting ore. Investors speculate that supply may overwhelm demand for a long time yet. Why investors may be wrong: Small drillers and miners are starting to go out of business as prices fall below their cost of production. That should ultimately squeeze supply, and lead to prices stabilizing. The value case: The commodity glut is hardly a secret, so prices may already reflect it. Market strategists at Northern Trust wrote in a recent report that prices
Dog treats From page 16 adopted dogs and their owners. Learn basic commands, such as “sit” and “down,” as well as how to provide positive reinforcement to correct behaviors common in rescued dogs. For dogs of all kinds, the stores offer
17
Enticed by higher interest rates than in the U.S., investors plowed into emergingmarket bond funds in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis. Warnings that the U.S. govern-
ment would struggle to pay its rising debts added to their appeal. Governments in Brazil, Turkey and other developing countries had scaled back their borrowing, and with their economies expanding rapidly, it seemed they would have no trouble making their payments. In the four years after 2008, the amount of money these bond funds had at their disposal tripled to $77 billion. Why they’re falling now: Brazil and Russia have fallen into deep recessions, and emerging-market currencies have plunged around the world. The sorry history of emerging markets suggests a wave of corporate defaults, a jump in inflation, and rising political instability as anger spreads on the streets. After the Asian financial crisis, student protests in Indonesia, one of the hardest hit countries, helped depose the country’s ruler after three decades in power.
Why investors may be wrong: These countries are better prepared for financial shocks. They have lower debt burdens than many developed countries, and built up foreign reserves to defend their currencies. “You would have seen social instability and bank runs” in previous years, said Samy Muaddi, a portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price. “But that’s not happening today. I take it as a positive sign.” The value case: Just 2.3 percent of emerging-market companies that rating agencies consider the riskiest missed a payment so far this year. That’s just a hair above the 2.2 percent default rate for similar U.S. companies. That default rate could jump, of course, but investors get paid more to take that risk. According to Barclays Capital, emerging-market bonds yield 5.7 percent, a full percentage point higher than a year ago. — AP
other free seminars that focus on specific training topics — such as interacting with kids or excessive barking. Be ready for an up sell for one of Unleashed’s six-week training classes to build on the basic lessons of your free session. Check with your local Unleashed location for dates of upcoming seminars.
Novice, well-intentioned dog owners determined to pick up Spot’s every poop might be tempted to plunk down $5 to $10 a month for a package of poop bags from, say, Target or Petco. Hey, they’re biodegradable. Hey, look at the cute design — dog bones all over the bag! Snap out of it — you’re paying $100 a year for plastic.
Trust me, you can find enough poop bags for free in your life — perhaps delivered to your doorstep once daily with the morning newspaper, or handed to you every time you bring home take-out. All contents © 2015 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
are looking more compelling, and recommended that investors consider the FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources fund, which contains 120 commodity producers. They like the fund’s exposure to food giants such as Bunge and Archers Daniels Midland. It’s not for the timid, though. The fund is in the middle of a three-year losing streak, capped by a 19 percent drop in the last three months. In fact, these investments may need five to 10 years before they become truly attractive, said Rudolph-Riad Younes, a portfolio manager at R Squared Capital Management. Buying now is “a loser’s game.”
Emerging-market bonds
BEACON BITS
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Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money
CONSUMER ISSUES FACING OLDER ADULTS
The Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition (MCRC) holds events to provide older adults in Baltimore City with valuable information and services. MCRC partners with financial institutions, legal service providers, housing counselors, health practitioners, financial institutions, benefits screeners and others to provide direct assistance. Event dates/locations are: Oct. 19, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Allen Senior Center, 1404 S. Charles St.; Oct. 28, 1 to 3 p.m., Hatton Senior Center, 2825 Fait Ave.; Nov. 6, 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., Senior Network of Baltimore, 5828 York Rd.; Nov. 9, noon to 2 p.m., Oliver Senior Center, 1700 N. Gay St.; and Nov. 10, 10:30 a.m. to noon, Harford Senior Center, 4920 Harford Rd. For more information, contact your local senior center.
LOOKING FOR A LOW-COST, LEGAL ALTERNATIVE TO BANKRUPTCY? Are you a Senior, Veteran or Disabled Person Living on Social Security, Disability, Pensions or Veteran’s Benefits? Federal law protects your income from creditor garnishment. Debt Counsel for Seniors, Veterans and the Disabled (DCSD) can protect you from creditor harassment. If you can’t pay your credit card or medical bills or your student loans or payday loans, you can stop paying them without filing for bankruptcy. We are celebrating 15 years of helping seniors with their debt without filing for bankruptcy and protecting them from letters and calls from collection agents. You too can live worry-free, as thousands of our clients do.
Call Debt Counsel for Seniors and the Disabled For a Free Consultation at 1-800-992-3275 EXT. 1304 Founded in 1998 Jerome S. Lamet Founder & Supervising Attorney • Former Bankruptcy Trustee www.debtcounsel.net info@lawyers-united.com
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NOVEMBER 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON
Don’t pay to recover unclaimed property You may be contacted by a company informing you that you have unclaimed property held by state authorities. The company may tell you the property is available to you for a fee, such as 10 percent or more of the value. But there is no reason to pay a fee to any entity without searching on your own first, which you can do easily and at no cost. According to the National Association of Unclaimed Proper ty Administration
(NAUPA), assets worth more than $35 billion are held by various states and can be claimed by rightful owners. These assets are typically derived from sources such as savings and checking accounts, common stocks, uncashed dividends, refunds, payroll checks, trust distributions, travelers’ checks, uncashed money orders, life-insurance proceeds, annuities, security deposits, certificates of deposit or safe deposit proceeds.
-
-
Free online databases
ies named in the will. Subsequently, the asset was turned over to State laws require that, under specific the state of Florida. A few years circumstances, financial instiafter the estate was settled, I actutions and other organizacessed Florida’s database, entions turn over unclaimed astered the name of my relative, sets to the state. For example, and determined that there was if you have a savings account property turned over to Florida that has become dormant (as (the value of the CDs). defined by state law), the fiMy relatives and I turned nancial institution must turn over the required information the asset over to the state after to the state — namely, a copy a public notice is issued. of the will — plus the names Every state maintains a free and addresses of all the benefiaccess database that identifies THE SAVINGS ciaries, with signatures. Withthe owner of the asset. If you GAME in 30 days we received the progo to the NAUPA website By Elliot Raphaelson ceeds, which exceeded $3,000. (www.unclaimed.org), you can access the database. Another free website is missingmoney.com which contains infor- Find lost savings bonds If you believe that you may have lost mation for multiple states. I recommend that you use different track of savings bonds you own, visit the spellings of your and your relatives’ Department of Treasury website Treanames, in case of record-keeping errors. suryDirect.gov and use the feature “TreaYou will have to provide proof that the as- sury Hunt.” It will inform you whether you sets belong to you, but the process is not are the owner of a savings bond that has complex. There is no statute of limitations stopped earning interest but has not been cashed. for claiming assets held by a state. The site provides information regarding If you have been the beneficiary of an estate, access the database of the state of Series E and Series EE bonds issued in the decedent and enter the name of the in- 1974 or later. You only have to enter your dividual who bequeathed you assets. The Social Security number. If you aren’t sure executor of the state may not have been who the registered owner of the bonds is, aware of all the assets of the decedent, and enter the Social Security numbers of all some assets may have been turned over to members of your family. There is no advantage in holding onto the state. For example, a relative of mine died, savings bonds that are no longer earning and members of my family, including me, interest. If you had bonds that were lost or were beneficiaries. Probate was filed, but it stolen, you can submit Form PDF 1048, turned out that my relative owned a certifi- available from the TreasuryDirect website. Elliot Raphaelson welcomes your questions cate of deposit without naming a beneficiary. The executor was not aware of that and comments at elliotraph@gmail.com. © 2015 Elliot Raphaelson. Distributed by asset, and accordingly did not distribute the proceeds of that CD to the beneficiar- Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Merck: a great dividend stock for retirees By Daren Fonda Dividends are the lifeblood of Big Pharma stocks. The payouts ensure a steady income stream even when a company’s shares stagnate. But a healthy dividend isn’t the only reason to consider the shares of Merck & Co. (symbol MRK). Not only does the drug maker’s stock deliver a 3.3 percent yield, it also has potential for gains. With more than $39 billion in annual sales, Merck makes money from more than 50 prescription medicines. Top sellers include Januvia, a blockbuster diabetes drug, as well as drugs to treat cancer, high cholesterol and other ailments. Vaccines and animal health products round out Merck’s lineup. Sales have dipped from a peak of $48 billion in 2011, partly because Merck sold its consumer-products business in 2014. Analysts expect profits per share to inch up by just 3.5 percent over the next 12 months (compared with earnings in the 12-month period that ended June 30). The stock has lagged far behind such rivals as Pfizer (PFE) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), trailing each by more than 20 percentage points over the past year. But Merck could be on the cusp of breaking out of its rut. The Kenilworth, N.J., company recently spent $8.4 billion to acquire Cubist Pharmaceuticals, a leading maker of
antibiotics, including drugs to treat “superbugs” that can cause pandemics. Merck said Cubist will add more than $1 billion to revenue in 2015 and bolster earnings per share in 2016. But more compelling from a profit perspective is Merck’s pipeline of new products, including several with potential for more than $1 billion in annual sales.
Merck’s next blockbusters? Leading the way is Merck’s cancer drug Keytruda, part of a new class of “immunooncology” medicines that harness the body’s defenses to shrink tumors. Already approved to treat melanoma, a form of skin cancer, Keytruda has shown effectiveness in treating some types of advanced lung cancer — a potentially much larger market. The Food and Drug Administration is slated to rule on Merck’s application for Keytruda to treat non-small-cell lung cancer in early October. Assuming Merck gets the green light and receives FDA approvals for other uses — two big ifs — Keytruda sales could reach $9 billion by 2023, estimates Bank of Montreal Capital Markets analyst Alex Arfaei. Other potential hits include a new drug for hepatitis C; a weekly diabetes drug (potentially expanding Merck’s share of the diabetes-treatment market); and an anes-
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thesia drug that has already been approved in Australia, Europe and Japan, and is under review by the FDA. All told, Merck is “on the verge of five to six years of strong growth,” said Arfaei, who recently upgraded the stock from a rating of “neutral” to “outperform” and raised his 12-month price target to $70 per share — more than 40 percent above Merck’s closing price on Oct. 13 of $49.47. Merck still faces tough competition. Keytruda and other drugs vie for sales
against rivals, and pressure from insurance companies could force Merck to lower prices, reducing profitability. Moreover, although future products look exciting, some may never reach the market. And there’s always the chance that doctors will favor treatments made by other companies. Yet investors aren’t paying a steep price for Merck’s future profit potential. The See MERCK, page 20
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2016 Social Security, Medicare changes By Stephen Ohlemacher For just the third time in 40 years, Social Security recipients, disabled veterans and federal retirees can expect no increase in benefits next year, which is unwelcome news for more than 70 million Americans. They can blame low gas prices. By law, the annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is based on a government measure of inflation, which is being dragged down by lower prices at the pump. Congress enacted automatic increases for Social Security beneficiaries in 1975, when inflation was high and there was a lot of pressure to regularly raise benefits.
Since then, increases have averaged 4 percent a year. Only twice before, in 2010 and 2011, have there been no increases.
Higher Medicare costs, too More bad news: The lack of a COLA means that some older adults will also face higher healthcare costs. Most have their Medicare Part B premiums for outpatient care deducted directly from their Social Security payments, and the annual cost-of-living increase is usually enough to cover any rise in premiums. When there’s no COLA, a long-standing federal “hold harmless” law protects the
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The Cockeysville Precinct 7 Police Community Relations Council meets the fourth Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m. at Maryland Agriculture Resource Council, 1114 Shawn Rd. Find out what’s happening in your area. For more information, call (410) 252-1501.
Nov. 13
majority of beneficiaries from having their Social Security payments reduced. But that leaves about 30 percent of Medicare beneficiaries on the hook for a premium increase that otherwise would be spread among all. Those who would pay the higher premiums include 2.8 million new beneficiaries, 1.6 million whose premiums aren’t deducted from their Social Security payments, and 3.1 million people with higher incomes. Their premiums could jump by about $54 a month. (Medicare Part B could cost as much as $509.80/month for those with the highest incomes.) Furthermore, all beneficiaries would see their Part B annual deductible for outpatient care (the annual amount patients pay before Medicare kicks in) jump by $76, to an estimated $223. “This kind of an increase is unprecedented,” said Tricia Neuman of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.
FIRST WOMEN’S VETERANS CONFERENCE
Women veterans and non-veteran professionals and entrepreneurs are invited to attend the First Women’s Veterans Conference, “Transitioning to the Next Level,” on Friday, Nov. 13, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Chesapeake Innovation Center, 2288 Blue Water Blvd., in Odenton. Tickets are $15 for veterans, $25 for Baltimore Washington Chamber of Commerce members, $45 for non-members, and $75 at the door. To register, call (410) 792-9714 or visit www.bwcc.org.
Use a different COLA? By law, the cost-of-living adjustment is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, a broad measure of consumer prices generated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It measures price changes for food, housing, clothing, transportation, energy,
Merck From page 19 shares trade at 14 times estimated earnings of $3.60 per share over the next 12 months. That’s roughly in line with the price-earnings ratios of Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). But investors may be underestimating
medical care, recreation and education. The COLA is calculated by comparing consumer prices in July, August and September each year with prices in the same three months from the previous year. If prices go up, benefits go up. If prices drop or stay flat, benefits stay the same. The numbers for July and August show that, overall, consumer prices have fallen since last year. Fuel prices are down by 23 percent from a year ago, according to the August inflation report. But prices for some other goods and services, such as healthcare and housing, are up. Advocates argue that the government’s measure of inflation doesn’t accurately reflect price increases in the goods and services that older Americans use. “The COLA is determined by the buying power of younger working adults,” said Mary Johnson of the Senior Citizens League. Many advocates for seniors want Congress to adopt an experimental price index that seeks to capture the inflation experienced by Americans 62 and older. The Social Security Administration estimates it would increase the annual COLA by an average of 0.2 percentage points — which still might not be enough to generate a COLA for next year. — AP
the value of Merck’s pipeline of new products, said Morningstar analyst Damien Connover. Even if the stock doesn’t bounce over the near term, investors can collect that healthy dividend yield as they wait for all those drugs to reach pharmacy shelves. All contents copyright 2015 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2015
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Many wineries in Loudoun County, Va., offer tastings and tours. See story on page 23.
Branson, Mo. — family fun on grand scale soak up entertainment in 50 theaters and fill 57,000 seats. Many fans hold season tickets and forge first-name-basis friendships with the nearly 1,000 performers. Home of movie heartthrob Brad Pitt, Branson is a proving ground for many performance artists — country, pop, swing, rock ‘n’ roll, gospel and classical music; Broadway-style productions; comedy acts; acrobatics and magic shows. “There’s a lot of talent here,” one local offered. “More talent than Nashville.” Mike Patrick, a native, is in his 25th year as the master of ceremonies at the Grand Jubilee, a country music venue. “I grew up here,” he told me. “This is all I ever wanted to do.” His approach to MCing is to make friends and win them over. “It’s a party after that,” he said. The town, population 10,600, prides itself on wholesome, family fun. There’s a show for every taste (except there’re no Vegas-style strip shows), and in many restaurants, no alcohol is served. Eight million visitors fill up 40,000 hotel rooms in the area each year. And they aren’t in Branson just for the shows — there are museums, a theme park and other attractions.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BRANSON CVB
By Glenda C. Booth A gaggle of excited women filled the auditorium’s front row, thrusting gift bags, bouquets and wrapped gifts into the outstretched arms of the tall, slender performer, a haul so bountiful that it spilled over onto the grand piano. The applause subsided and then came the encore — “It’s Not for Me to Say” — and the audience of 2,500 fell silent. It was the gentle, romantic, mellifluous Johnny Mathis at age 79, still thrilling his fans, many of whom were reliving their teens. His honeyed, tenor voice sounds as it did in the 1950s and ‘60s. He’s “aged well,” several people commented. He enchanted a full house for two hours with oldies like “The Twelfth of Never” and “No Love (but Your Love),” seamlessly moving from one favorite to another. Mathis crooned; fans swooned. Welcome to Branson, Missouri, Entertainment Capital of the Midwest. After his 2014 show, Mathis devotees lined up to buy tickets for his Nov. 13 and 14, 2015, show. “I don’t think about retiring. I think about how I can keep singing for the rest of my life,” he says on his website, www.johnnymathis.com.
Entertainment mecca The Mathis show is one of around 130 (!) every day in the summer; 30 in the winter. Busloads of tourists flood this southern Missouri town in the Ozark Mountains to
How it all started The entertainment bug bit here when a 505-foot-deep limestone cave was discovered when a bear and a brave fell into a sinkPHOTO COURTESY OF BRANSON CVB
The twin-paddle Showboat Branson Belle is the size of two football fields and offers lunch and dinner cruises on Tablerock Lake with plenty of entertainment.
Music and entertainment fans flock to Branson, Mo., where more than 100 live music venues vie for attention. This tribute group is performing at Silver Dollar City, a theme park with interpreters who illustrate life in the 1880s — plus musical groups and roller coasters.
hole, according to a legend of the Osage Nation of Native Americans. When a torrent of bats zoomed out, it was named Devil’s Den. Later, mining hopefuls thought the cave had marble, so they called it Marble Cave, a moniker that evolved into Marvel Cave. In the 1950s, cave owners staged entertainment for tourists who lined up to enter. From that hole in the ground, Branson grew to become entertainment central of the Midwest. It named itself the “Live Music Capital of the World.” There are shows on land and water. The twin-paddle wheel, football-field-sized Showboat Branson Belle chugs along at a top speed of 12 miles per hour, scene of a threepart show on Tablerock Lake. First out is Christopher James, who started doing comic acts at age 3 with his grandfather. “Taking selfies is the most activity many of you get,” he quips. Topping shows (literally) is Janice Martin, presumably the world’s only aerialistviolinist, who trained at the Julliard School and served in the U.S. Army. Fit, sinewy and agile in her shiny bright leotard, Martin opens by twisting down a knotted drapery from a half moon suspended over a grand piano and then struts around the stage playing her violin, spell-
binding guests who are filling up on generous helpings of mashed potatoes, steak and baked chicken. Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater’s Legends in Concert is a true nostalgia tour, home to performance or tribute artists (don’t call them impersonators) who resemble the stars they portray. In 2014, a tall, mellow “Nat King Cole” wowed fans with “Unforgettable” and “Mona Lisa.” This winter you can hear tributes to Barry Manilow, Whitney Houston, Kenny Chesney and The Blues Brothers. The evening’s climax is…drum roll…The King. From a high stool, “Elvis” opens with favorites like “Suspicious Minds” and “Love Me Tender,” and fawning fans do indeed. Then he contorts and gyrates around the stage, arms whirling, knees jiggling, invoking all the titillating Elvis moves to “Jailhouse Rock” and “All Shook Up.” After the show, Elvis invites lines of fans for pictures with sexy come-ons like, “Come here, baby.” The theater restaurant’s “greatest hits” are the fried pickles, Wango Tango nachos, and a five-inch-high Heathbar pie.
Beyond the shows The Titanic Museum looms up out of an See BRANSON, page 22
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Branson From page 21 asphalt parking lot, a diminished but convincing replica of the fabled, “indestructible” ship that was the world’s largest manmade object in 1912. It houses a replica of the grand staircase, first-, third-class and steerage cabins, and memorabilia of passengers collected from survivors and families, including the actual life jacket of Madeleine Talmadge Astor, wife of John Jacob Astor. There are items recovered from the sea, such as silver table settings, and letters written from aboard ship. One passenger wrote: “There is hardly any motion, she is so large.” A French passenger noted that there were “a lot of obnoxious, ostentatious American women.” Visitors also can experience what life was like on board. You can hear a soundtrack of the ship hitting the iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean on a moonless night,
and relive the last minutes standing out on the sloping deck. You can sit in a replica lifeboat and, by poking your finger in icy water the temperature of that night’s sea, learn why most who did not make it aboard one did not survive for long.
Massive amusement park For a different sort of replica, there’s Silver Dollar City. Its promoters insist that it’s a theme park, not an amusement park. Two million visitors a year experience the “1880s village,” with blacksmithing, glass-blowing, and an actual homestead cabin where interpreters cook on a 1880s Majestic woodburning stove. Six episodes of the “Beverly Hillbillies” were filmed in the park. Adventurous visitors can try the Outlaw Run roller coaster — the “world’s most daring wood coaster” and a Guinness world record holder because of its steep drop. Cars go into a barrel roll like a corkscrew. Fireman’s Landing, a new themed area of the park, has 10 attractions, including a
NOVEMBER 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON
ride with an eight-story drop, which promoters call a “controlled ride.” Or you can ride in four-seat balloons and help “spot fire dangers.” Eating is an adventure at Silver Dollar City as well — hand-patted burgers, kettle corn, red velvet funnel cakes, and succotash. The park claims it is the largest buyer of okra after the Pentagon, as it’s the central ingredient of its succotash, based on an employee’s recipe. They make and sell 90,000 pounds of candy and 9,000 gallons of ice cream a year. Another claim to fame: the park won a prize at the International Association for Amusement Parks and Attractions for its frosted nuts and pretzel dog — a foot-long, homemade pretzel wrapped around a hotdog. The cave that started it all, today in the heart of Silver Dollar City, is a refreshing respite from the entertainment and eating frenzy. Amateur spelunkers navigate 700 steps and several ramps taking them half a mile down and up (except for a short train
Take a vacation without leaving your community.
at the end when ascending). There is no elevator. Equivalent to a 50-story building, “You could hide the Statue of Liberty in here,” said the guide in the 204-foot tall Cathedral Room. The cave has a steady temperature of around 60 degrees; warmer at deeper depths. Silver Dollar City is closed in January and February, reopens for weekends in March, and opens every day starting April 1.
Things to buy Into shopping? The must-see place is Dick’s 5&10 Cent Store, an old-fashioned five-and-dime at 103 W. Main St. Crowds squeeze through shelves packed with more than 50,000 items, including quilt kits, harmonicas, Cavalry battle flags, camouflage beer cozies, Duck Dynasty bobble heads, and Marilyn Monroe eyeglass cases. The same family has run Dick’s for 53 years. While downtown, stop by the Branson Centennial Museum at 101 Veterans Blvd., and pick up a brochure for a self-guided walking tour of historic downtown. Or take the free trolley. Branson Landing on the waterfront offers more upscale shopping.
Holiday happenings November is Branson’s second busiest month (after July). The town will honor veterans Nov. 5 to 11 with a wreath laying, remembrance ser vice, banquets and shows. The largest Veterans Day Parade in the U.S. will start at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, recognizing Armistice Day, the end of World War I. Lynn Berry, Branson’s director of public relations, said that the town has five seasons: winter, spring, summer, fall and Christmas. Christmas arrives on Nov. 1 with holiday shows. The Adoration Parade has been held at dusk on the first Sunday in Dec. since 1949. A giant nativity scene lights up Mount Branson’s peak. On Nov. 14, a celebrity will lead another parade. From Nov. 7 to Dec. 30, Silver Dollar City, explodes with five million lights, 1,000 decorated trees, and the twice-daily Rudolph’s Holly Jolly Christmas Light Parade of musical floats and 33 costumed characters. The park’s centerpiece is the five-story Christmas tree with lights synchronized to music. Theaters stage A Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol twice daily. Craftspeople hand-make holiday items.
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Start at www.ExploreBranson.com for basics on show dates, tickets, deals and lodging. Don’t forget to order a vacation guide. Branson is served by the nearby Branson Airport, and by the Branson-Springfield Airport in Springfield, 50 miles north. Round-trip flights from BWI start at $409 on American Airlines. Fall temperatures are in the 60s and 70s; in November and December, temperatures are in the 40s and 50s. In January and February, about 12 theaters and all the museums are open.
Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel
BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2015
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Who knew wine country was so close by? By Stacy A. Anderson Virginia is home to more than 250 wineries — from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay. Two dozen of them are in Loudoun County, in the state’s Middleburg area, so close to Washington that it calls itself “D.C.’s Wine Country.” Middleburg is about 80 miles from downtown Baltimore — perfect for a day trip or even a long weekend for metro area residents. October is Virginia Wine Month, with special events late in the month to take in autumn foliage and milder weather.
Tastings and tours Cana Vineyards and Winery of Middleburg is named after the town of Cana of Galilee, where Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding feast.
The winery offers the best bang for your dollar with eight tastings for $10, plus a souvenir glass. Here you could have a traditional cabernet or merlot, but why not try their uniquely crisp and tart Blueberry Apple wine or Rhapsody in Red, a semi-sweet pinot noir? The winery — perched on a hill that overlooks the Bull Run Mountains — hosts live bands every Saturday and Sunday. Greenhill Winery and Vineyards dubs itself the boutique destination winery. There’s a historic stone house and outdoor seating on the 128-acre property, great for picnics (and dog-friendly, to boot). A sampling of seven wines in the tasting room costs $14. “Grapes to Glass,” a twohour, private tour through the vineyard and barrel room with a wine tasting, is $35 per person. Sales and marketing director Rebekah
Pizana said first lady Michelle Obama has visited the winery and is a fan of Greenhill’s 2013 and 2014 off-dry (mildly sweet) seyval blanc. (The first lady’s office declined to comment.)
Where to stay Luxury accommodations in the region include the Salamander Resort and Spa, which opened in 2013. It was founded by entrepreneur Sheila C. Johnson, cofounder of Black Entertainment Television.
Facilities include a cooking demonstration studio, wine bar, billiards room and a full-service equestrian center with a riding arena. Bring your own horse or ride one of Salamander’s horses. You don’t need to be staying at the resort to book a trail ride. Salamander’s spa includes a salon, fitness center, steam room, heated stone lounge chairs, and courtyard with a pool and private cabanas. Rooms at the resort See WINE FESTIVAL, page 24
PHOTO COURTESY OF VISIT LOUDOUN
Bluemont Vineyard, like many wineries in Northern Virginia, offers tours and tastings. Bluemont hosts music performances on the weekends.
Every season is the PERFECT SEASON at Charlestown and Oak Crest Retire from winter at Charlestown or Oak Crest, Baltimore county’s premier communities for seniors age 60 and older. Enjoy a weatherproof lifestyle free from maintenance and filled with amenities like an indoor pool, fitness center, and restaurants.
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Wine festival From page 23 start at $425 during the peak months of April, May, June, September and October. Watch for specials, like a $149-a-night deal during Super Bowl festivities. For a more quaint stay, try the Red Fox Inn and Tavern. The inn — which opened in 1728 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places — has 15 guest rooms plus the Middleburg House, a two-bedroom home. The inn is within walking distance of many Middleburg businesses and shops on the main drag along Washington Street. The Martha Washington, an average-
size room with a king bed and shower only, could run about $245 during peak season. Its Tavern offers more than 40 local wines and dishes, including peanut soup, fried chicken and crab cakes. Deltone L. Moore was inspired to open his Popcorn Monkey shop by memories of eating popcorn while watching baseball games as a kid in the 1970s. The store has more than 20 varieties of the snack, including caramel corn, green apple, banana, lemon, strawberry, blue cheese, Buffalo wing, dill and Old Bay. It’s open Wednesday through Sunday. For a little history and culture, visit the National Sporting Library and Museum.
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Oct. 21+
BALTIMORE SHABBAT PROJECT
Baltimore will be the host city for the worldwide International Shabbat Project from Oct. 21 to 24. The International Shabbat Project was established in 2012 in Johannesburg, South Africa by Rabbi Warren Goldstein. Last year, Baltimore joined in with a Challah Bake and lay-led Sabbath meals. For a complete schedule of activities, visit www.TheBaltimoreShabbatProject.org or call (443) 691-1111.
Nov. 6
NOVEMBER 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON
The museum’s collection includes paintings, sculpture, works on paper, and objects highlighting horsemanship and racing, shooting, fox-hunting, polo, coaching, fishing and wildlife. Current exhibits include photos by Colin Barker in “Part of the Pack: The Hunt at Petworth,” and paintings of horses in “Beverley Sanford McConnell: Portraits in Poetry.” The Middleburg Film Festival, from Oct. 22 to 25, will feature movie screenings plus question-and-answer sessions with filmmakers and actors. The festival’s film slate typically ranges from Oscar nominees to indies, foreign films and documentaries.
For more information Tourism: Loudoun County, http:// www.visitloudoun.org/. Virginia wine coun-
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CHOOSE YOUR VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY
Visit www.volunteercentral.net to search its database of hundreds of volunteer opportunities throughout Central Maryland to match your interests, time and talent. If you need assistance or want to learn more, call (410) 366-6030 or email info@businessvolunteersmd.org.
GET GLAMOROUS FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Rachel Malone will lead a discussion at the Arbutus Senior Center at 855A Sulphur Spring Rd., on Friday, Nov. 6 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on how to accessorize, apply make-up correctly, make the best of your body type, and care for your skin. RSVP to (410) 887-1410.
try: http://www.virginiawine.org. Cana Vineyards and Winery of Middleburg: 38600 John Mosby Highway, Middleburg, (703) 348-2458, www.canavineyards.com. Greenhill Winery and Vineyards: 23595 Winery Lane, Middleburg, (540) 687-6968, http://greenhillvineyards.com. National Sporting Library and Museum: 102 The Plains Road, Middleburg, (540) 687-6542, http://nationalsporting.org. Popcorn Monkey: 2 1/2 E. Federal St., Middleburg, (540) 687-6539, www.popcornmonkeyllc.com. The Middleburg Film Festival: Oct. 22-25, https://middleburgfilm.org. Salamander Resort & Spa: 500 N. Pendleton St., Middleburg, (844) 303-2723, www.salamanderresort.com. — AP
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HELP SENIORS IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Elder Helpers is a user-friendly, web-based service to safely and conveniently connect dedicated volunteers with elders in their local communities. For more information, visit www.elderhelpers.org, call (734) 330-2734 or email help@elderhelpers.org.
BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2015
Say you saw it in the Beacon
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Arts &
Original jewelry by Baltimore native Betty Cooke, 91, is a highlight of the inaugural exhibit at the new Baltimore Jewelry Center. See story on page 27.
Actor seeks ways to relate to characters A man of many roles Burgess is appearing this season in several of the company’s productions. Coming up soon, he’ll play the role of Aaron in Shakespeare’s challenging and relatively rarely performed Titus Andronicus — a play of unrelenting malice, sexual violence and racial stereotypes. Then, in December, he’ll play Scrooge in the company’s version of A Christmas Carol — with a Baltimore twist. “The role of Aaron in Titus is a challenge,” Burgess acknowledged, “because he is a character with no conscience at all and no desire for redemption. It’s not something most of us can imagine, and I’ve never played a character like that before, so it’s taken some work to find characteristics in him that we can all relate to.” Burgess recalled that his love of Shakespeare’s works began during the rehearsals for CSC’s production of The Tempest in 2008, directed by Patrick Kilpatrick. “Patrick allowed me the freedom to talk about my scenes and my approach, and that gave me a better understanding and insight into Shakespeare’s words,” Burgess said. What makes Shakespeare so great? That’s a question they frequently discuss at CSC, he said. “For me, it is that Shakespeare plays are about being human,” Burgess said. “They’re about jealousy, ambition, love, loyalty, etc. — all of the things that make up what we are. “I think that there is not a character trait
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By Carol Sorgen Like many actors, Gregory Burgess got “the bug” when he was a youngster. In his case, that was in Richmond, Va., where he participated first in church productions, then in junior high and high school shows. In fact, one of his all-time favorite roles was as Tevye in his high school production of Fiddler on the Roof. After moving to Washington to attend Howard University, Burgess continued appearing on stage both in college and then in community theaters in the DC area. In 2007, Baltimore’s Chesapeake Shakespeare Company (CSC) approached him to appear with them. Now, eight years later, the 55-year-old Burgess is a CSC resident acting company member (who works by day with machinery as a key operator). Chesapeake Shakespeare Company was founded in 2002 in Baltimore. Its first production was a showcase of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, performed for about 100 patrons. Soon afterward, the theater company made its home in historic Ellicott City, where it built a stage each summer in the stabilized ruins of the Patapsco Female Institute, a 19th-century school for girls. Audiences followed CSC to winter shows in a variety of rented performance spaces in Howard County. In September 2014, CSC returned to Baltimore to open its own indoor theater and cultural center at 7 South Calvert St., though the company continues to perform each summer in Ellicott City.
Actor Gregory Burgess will play Scrooge in the Chesapeake Shakespeare Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol. Burgess is appearing in four of the theater’s productions this season, including Shakespeare’s rarely performed Titus Andronicus, now on stage.
in Shakespeare’s plays that we as human beings cannot identify with, and in performing his plays, it gives me the opportunity to communicate that to an audience. ”There is an atmosphere at CSC that al-
lows me the freedom to explore those avenues of communication; it gives me and the other actors there a sense of ownerSee ACTOR, page 26
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EXHIBIT OF AFRICAN AMERICAN LIFE
From page 25
The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American
ship of the production.”
History & Culture is hosting “Ruth Starr Rose: Revelations of African American Life in Maryland and the World” through April 3. This first comprehensive show of artist Ruth Starr Rose (1887-1965) offers a rare glimpse into African American life at the turn of the century on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The artist, from a wealthy white family, boldly rejected norms for her gender and social class at the turn of the century to chronicle Black life with a dignity and compassion rarely seen during this period of art history. For more information, call (443) 263-1800 or visit www.LewisMuseum.org.
Less scripted plays When it comes to performing in an original adaptation — such as the company’s Victorian Baltimore-themed version of A Christmas Carol — Burgess observed that such a performance gives an actor the opportunity to rework or rewrite something if it doesn’t seem to fit. “You can try quite a number of things
without worrying about adhering to an absolute script,” he explained. “What helps me to make any character my own, let alone Scrooge — and Scrooge is pretty difficult given the number of times it has been interpreted — is in finding the humanity in that character and presenting that on stage.” Titus Andronicus opens at CSC on Oct. 23 and runs through Nov. 15. A Christmas Carol will run from Dec. 4 to 23. For ticket information, call the box office at (410) 244-8570 or visit www.chesapeakeshakespeare.com.
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Congratulations to our AARP Maryland 2015 Andrus Award Winner: Mary Bochanis, Bethesda As well as our 2015 Volunteer & Community Partner Award winners: Advocacy Social Media Outreach Chapter Leader AARP Driver Safety AARP Experience Corps AARP Tax Aide Community Partner
Delphine Ally, Gaithersburg John Henkel, Baltimore Rose Hobson, District Heights Wanda McDougal, Reisterstown Ernie Sims, District Heights Pratap (Peter) Surana, Ellicott City Lorraine Harrison, Baltimore Ed Honabach, Jarrettsville Professional Outplacement Assistance Center, Laurel
Maryland Retired School Personnel Association (MSRPA) Community Service Award
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Nov. 7
AN ARTFUL LOTTERY The 23rd annual Lotta Art Benefit returns to School 33 Art
Center Saturday, Nov. 7, from 6 to 10 p.m. at 1427 Light St. Lotta Art features a lottery-style drawing, where patrons are guaranteed to leave with an original artwork valued at or above the cost of their ticket. This year’s Lotta Art will celebrate School 33 Art Center’s Co(lab)oration projects, three permanent installations created by collaborating groups of Baltimore artists. Tickets are on sale for $160 through Oct. 31. After Oct. 31, the price increases to $175. Guest tickets are available to those who do not want to participate in the Art Lottery but simply wish to enjoy the party and entertainment. Guest tickets are available for $55 until Oct. 31. After Oct. 31, the price increases to $65. Tickets can be purchased at www.eventbrite.com/e/lotta-art-2015-tickets-18533408925. For more information, call (443) 263-4350 or visit www.school33.org.
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Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style
BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2015
Jewelry Center opens new space, exhibit By Carol Sorgen For 22 years, the MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art) Jewelry Center served the metalsmithing and art jewelry community in Baltimore. When the program closed, however, a new arts organization in Baltimore was born: the Baltimore Jewelry Center, whose inaugural exhibition showcases the work of three generations of local artists. The exhibit “Passing From One Hand: Betty Cooke, Joyce Scott, Shana Kroiz” will be on view in its new gallery in Baltimore’s Station North Arts and Entertainment District (10 E. North Ave.) through Nov. 6. The event is free and open to the public. Founded in June 2014, the nonprofit Baltimore Jewelry Center “provides space for the study and practice of metalworking for new and established artists, in addition to
expanding awareness of jewelry and metalsmithing,” according to program director and jewelry designer Shane Prada. The Center’s first exhibition incorporates both traditional and experimental jewelry designs, and celebrates the legacy of pioneering jewelers who represent three generations of fine art jewelers in Baltimore. Betty Cooke (who, at 91, has been described as “a seminal figure in American Modernist studio jewelry), Joyce Scott and Shana Kroiz are all Baltimore natives whose work has been influenced by their relationship to the city and its communities.
Exhibit inspires conversation For Prada, jewelry acts as both an object of adornment and of exhibition, giving the wearer a chance to engage with others about the piece, to have conversations, and
to share stories. “Jewelry carries so much narrative capacity,” she said, “often having sentimental, historical or conceptual value for the wearer.” For the exhibit, Prada said, the artists chose iconic Baltimore landmarks or buildings that are important to their work and reflect their personal narratives. Images of these are incorporated into the display and serve as a connecting theme throughout the gallery. Prada said she enjoys both the design and fabrication process of making jewelry and thinks about “building” her pieces in which she uses alternative materials, such as steel, fiber and found objects, to create jewelry that is “colorful and feminine and playful.”
BY THERESA KEIL PHOTOGRAPHY
GRAND
“The Baltimore Jewelry Center is capitalizing on the resurgence of craft education in America, while offering an alternative to the university system for those wanting to pursue studies in the metal arts,” said Prada. The center is open to anyone regardless of their educational or artistic background, and provides affordable educational opportunities, she said. “Our gallery and exhibition program exposes the larger public to contemporary and traditional metal arts, and acts as a platform to promote and sell the work of local artists and national artists in the metalsmithing field,” Prada continued. “In our gallery, we will host local, national and See JEWELRY CENTER, page 29
Opera
AT THE LYRIC
LYRIC OPERA BALTIMORE | ARTISTIC DIRECTOR JAMES HARP
ROSSINI’S
GOUNOD S GOUNOD’S
Il
BARBIERE di
SI IGLIA The Baltimore Jewelry Center’s exhibit “Passing from One Hand” displays the work of three generations of Baltimore jewelry artists. Shana Kroiz, Betty Cooke and Joyce J. Scott (left to right) are shown with their original jewelry displayed over backdrops of Baltimore scenes.
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Arts & Style | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com
Composer From page video has become a part of new compositions...I see visuals as being a significant component in music in the future.” Adelberg Rudow has also created a type of performance art she calls the “Vivian Technique of Creating a Sound Collage.” This involves activating four or more portable multi track-CD players on stage via hand-held remote controllers, combining different tracks of music to create a new, live collage work. She has performed the technique twice in Cuba and once at the Kennedy Center. Because she believes artists have a responsibility to have a social conscience,
NOVEMBER 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON
Adelberg Rudow’s compositions have addressed subjects such as ecology (“Earth Day Suite”) and civil unrest (“Prayer for Peace”). “Our country has gone mad,” she said somberly. “I don’t understand it. We need to improve our schools, our cities...we have to get this across to people however we can.” In addition to her composing, Adelberg Rudow also founded and served as artistic director of Res Musica Baltimore/Res MusicAmerica, Inc., from 1980 to 1991. The organization produced concerts of music composed mostly by living American composers, in addition to hosting symposia and youth concerts for the Baltimore City Public Schools. In 1988, she produced the Res Musica
BEACON BITS
Oct. 29+
WORLD PREMIERE PLAY The Interrobang Theatre Company and the Strand Theater
Company are presenting a world premiere co-production of Kerrmoor, by renowned Baltimore playwright and educator Susan McCully. In an isolated Appalachian town, the hard-hewn folk return to their backwoods rituals to ward off threats from an increasingly hostile modern world. The production will preview on Thursday, Oct. 29, open the following night, and run Thursdays to Sundays through Nov. 15. All performances will take place at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, at 811 Cathedral St. Tickets are $8 to $20, and are available at www.interrobangbaltimore.org.
International Electroacoustic Music Festival in Baltimore, which was attended by composers from 14 countries. Since 1992, she has produced or co-produced the Peggy and Yale Gordon Har Sinai Classical Music Series concerts.
Fighting stage fright In addition to the hard work of composing, (made harder, at least before the advent of computers, by her handwriting disability or dysgraphia — “My best handwriting is someone else’s worst,” she explained), Adelberg Rudow used to suffer from stage fright, which was one reason she abandoned the idea of a performing career. “I was as good [at performing] as anyone else, but my nerves were a mess,” she recalled. She eventually took “stress lessons for musicians” from trumpet soloist and Peabody teacher Wayne Cameron, who also suffered from performance anxiety. She credits those lessons with helping her be able to appear at music festivals around the world and allowing her to perform “fearlessly.” Still, she says, she would be more than happy to sit in her office and simply write music all day long. That’s especially true of her latest passion project, “Laxers,” a musical interpretation of lacrosse. [“Lax” is a nickname for the sport of lacrosse, with the “x” standing for “cross.”] Adelberg Rudow is familiar
with lacrosse, a favorite Baltimore sport, through her sons and grandsons. Like many musicians, Adelberg Rudow doesn’t listen to much music other than what she’s composing. “If I hear something very beautiful, I turn it off so I won’t unconsciously copy it,” she explained. Despite her busy career, Adelberg Rudow hastens to point out that she is still the wife, mother, and grandmother she set out to be. “I have a very full life,” she said, adding, “And make sure you say that I couldn’t have done — or continue to do — any of this without the support of my husband!”
Hear her work live Baltimoreans can hear Adelberg Rudow’s work on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 3 p.m. at Har Sinai Congregation, 2905 Walnut Ave. in Owings Mills. Ronald Mutchnik will conduct the Howard County Orchestra in a performance of her “Earth Day Suite” (“Dark Waters of the Chesapeake” and “Go Green!”). Also on the program is Rossini’s “William Tell Overture,” and solo violinist and orchestra leader Jonathan Carney performing in Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons.” The concert is sponsored by the Peggy and Yale Gordon Trust. Tickets are complimentary and are available in advance at Har Sinai Congregation, (410) 654-9393, or at the door. Parking is free.
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Jewelry Center From page 27 traveling exhibitions that will be free and open to the public.”
An artistic rebirth The Baltimore Jewelry Center is housed in the former Centre Theater which has, through its lifetime, been a theater, car dealership, office building and, in recent years, a local eyesore (as it had the dubious distinction of being the neighborhood’s largest vacant building). It took two years and $19 million for nonprofit developer Jubilee Baltimore to redevelop the space, which will now also house film programs of the Johns Hopkins University and MICA, and other community nonprofits in addition to the Baltimore Jewelry Center.
“We like everything about this location,” said Prada, “from the clean, open flow to the opportunity to be part of Baltimore’s growing Station North Arts District.” Approximately 30 artists currently rent studio space in the center. Also featured in the exhibition is a small group of works showcasing current instructors and students of the Baltimore Jewelry Center. There is also a timeline of the history of metalsmithing in Baltimore, including such historic names as G. Krug Ironworks, established in 1810 and the oldest blacksmith shop in America, and the Kirk-Stieff Company, founded in 1892.
Upcoming exhibits, classes The center plans to mount four exhibitions a year in addition to several “pop-up” shows. Future plans include developing a pro-
gram for teens, forming partnerships with local universities, and offering residency programs. So far, approximately 225 students, from their 20s to their 80s, have taken classes at the center, ranging from one- and two-day workshops to four-week or 12-week classes, on techniques such as “Band It!: Ring in a Day,” color methods
and anodizing, and introduction to metals and jewelry. “We’re especially pleased with the diverse group of people we’re attracting,” said Prada. “We’re just tickled when people come to check us out.” For more information, call (410) 243-0479 or visit www.baltimorejewelrycenter.org.
BEACON BITS
Nov. 8
HOW TO HOST AN AFTERNOON TEA
On Sunday, Nov. 8, from 2 to 3 p.m., Janet Meyers and Erin Bradley from Tea by Two in Bel Air will share tips on how to bring the elegance of tea to your own home. The event takes place at Hampton National Historic Site, 535 Hampton Lane in Towson. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/hamp/index.htm.
ANSWERS TO CROSSWORD
FROM PAGE 30
BEACON BITS
Nov. 26
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Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style
BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2015
TURKEY TROT TO BENEFIT CROHN’S DISEASE Local businessman and Crohn’s disease advocate Mort Hyatt is
inspiring people in the Baltimore area to participate in the Green Valley North Turkey Trot to benefit the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation on Nov. 26, at 8 a.m. at the Chestnut
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Ridge Park, 2382 Ridge Rd. in Owings Mills. Participants can register either before or at the event. There is a $30 registration fee that can be paid day of event. For more information, visit http://online.ccfa.org/site/TR?fr_id=5200&pg=entry.
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NOVEMBER 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON
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Crossword Puzzle
PUZZLE PAGE
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2. Small buffalo 3. Doofus 1. Confronts 4. GPA enhancer 6. Partner of Peaches 5. Affirm under oath 10. Answering machine prompt 6. Like a diamond 14. New Thanksgiving guest, perhaps 7. Muse of poetry 15. Opera highlight 8. ___ Famous (potential rap name for 16. Modern-day diary the 37th pres.) 17. “He’s got a screw ___” 9. “Take it easy, man” 18. Prepare the table for 8-ball 10. Ski lift 19. Ethereal 11. Midwestern firestarter 20. 1955 film ... [on the American Film 12. 14th tropical storm, in some years Institute’s list of] ... Top Passions 13. Luxor location 23. Space station’s hourly flight path 21. Inst. in the Research Triangle 24. ___ about (circa) 22. Inst. in the brass section 25. Piper follower 26. Beefcake ingredient 26. Roman god of the sun 27. “___, not again” 29. Air marshal org. 31. Zeus’ typical response, when displeased 28. The NFL’s Jacksonville or Charlotte 30. A new Disney princess (from Frozen) 33. 1965 film ... Top Musicals 32. Archeologist’s attraction 39. Unattractive beginning 34. Benchmarks (abbr.) 40. Less than gross 35. “A book containing a selection of 41. Gross words of a language”, for Dictionary 42. 1975 film ... Top Thrills (abbrev.) 47. Letters in the United States Book 36. von Bismarck Exchange’s web address 48. Count of singers needed for a 15 Across 37. Company sued by Nikon in 1992 for trademark violations 49. Consonants on a weather vane 38. Twelve Deadly ___ (Cyndi Lauper’s 50. Attended a dinner theater hits) 52. “Pronto!” 43. Visitor from hell 55. Good times 44. “Don’t evade the question!” 57. 1985 film ... Top Sci-Fi 45. ___ is enough (phonetically) 63. Leprechaun’s land 46. Turn heads 64. Like some TV housewives 50. Joins the conspiracy 65. Soda size 51. Deck with 78 cards 66. Bag with a strap 53. Mr. T, and pals 67. Fed. agency since 1958 54. Full, new, or crescent 68. The kids are using it, these days 56. Long-legged bird 69. Eye sore 58. Stylish boot height 70. Foreshadowing, in a horror flick 59. Distinctive flair 71. Cultural values 60. Home of the 2002 Winter Olympics Down 61. “The biggest little city in the world” 1. Repurpose a quarry 62. Units of work
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BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2015
CLASSIFIEDS The Beacon prints classified advertising under the following headings: Business & Employment Opportunities; Caregivers; Computer Services; Entertainment; For Sale; For Sale/Rent: Real Estate; Free; Health; Home/ Handyman Services; Miscellaneous; Personals; Personal Services; Vacation Opportunities; and Wanted. For submission guidelines and deadlines, see the box on the right. CAVEAT EMPTOR! The Beacon does not knowingly accept obscene, offensive, harmful, or fraudulent advertising. However, we do not investigate any advertisers or their products and cannot accept responsibility for the integrity of either. Respondents to classified advertising should always use caution and their best judgment. EMPLOYMENT & REAL ESTATE ADS: We will not knowingly or intentionally accept advertising in violation of federal, state, and local laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, familial status or handicap in connection with employment or the sale or rental of real estate.
Business and Employment Opportunities NEED EXTRA INCOME? SELL AVON! Avon is the #1 Beauty company. $15 start-up, be your own boss. Call 410-236-6023 or email: btheavonlady@gmail.com. Website: www.youravon.com/bwright1.
Events BEGINNING SQUARE DANCE LESSONS – September 29, 2015. Each Tuesday thereafter. 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. At St. Michaels Luther Church, 9534 Bel Air Road, Perry Hall, MD. For information, call Francis Lewis at 410-477-6838.
Financial Services ACCOUNTING, TAXES AND BOOKKEEPING, eldercare. CPA 38 years, reasonable rates. Call 410-653-3363.
For Rent ROOMS FOR RENT – Very reasonable. For Handyman work. Mature adult 60+. Leave # and name. Call 410-866-3040.
Say you saw it in the Beacon
For Rent/Sale EASTERN SHORE OF MD: Mobile homes for sales to owner-occupants in established park in Chestertown. Prices $3,600, $9,990, $14,990, $18,990. Lot rent is $365. Also, 2 vacant lots available. Call Andy Andrews, 410-708-6932. BELAIR ROAD AREA – Large, quiet, clean, furnished bedroom with private bath for rent in 2nd floor of private home with refrigerator and microwave provided. Reasonable – 410-485-1702. CARE FROM CARING HOME ASSISTED LIVING. Room available for you or your loved ones. Looking for a place just like home? Call us today, 443-563-2695 or 443-844-1444. Affordable rates available.
For Sale TROPICAL FISH AQUARIUM – Entire setup included. Approx. 8 years old. Never used. $60. 443-386-4468.
TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED Deadlines and Payments: Ad text and payment is due by the 5th of each month. Note: Only ads received and prepaid by the deadline will be included in the next month’s issue. Please type or print your ad carefully. Include a number where you can be reached in the event of a question. Payment is due with ad. We do not accept ads by phone or fax, nor do we accept credit cards. Private Party Text Ads: For individuals seeking to buy or sell particular items, or place a personal ad. Each ad is $10 for 25 words, 25 cents for each additional word. Business Text Ads: For parties engaged in an ongoing business enterprise. Each ad is $25 for 25 words, 50 cents for each additional word. Note: Each real estate listing counts as one business text ad. Send your classified ad with check or money order, payable to the Beacon, to:
The Beacon, Baltimore Classified Dept. P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915-2227
PROFESSIONAL TREADMILL – NordicTrack C2150. $450 cash or best offer. 410-458-8186.
Home/Handyman Services
Wanted
CEMETERY LOT – DULANEY VALLEY GARDENS. Timonium, MD 21093. Holy Cross Section 726 C. $1,500 or best offer. Contact Ray, 410-744-5219.
RESIDENTIAL PAINTING: RETIRED PAINTER seeking residential, light commercial work in Baltimore area. Call Mark at 443324-0091. Good work at good prices.
2 SALVADOR DALI woodblock prints from Dante’s Divine Comedy. Signed and framed. Asking $900 for the pair. Can email pictures if desired. Call Steve, 410-913-1653.
FINE INTERIOR WOODWORKING – 30 years experience. Trims, built-ins, wainscots, pocket and interior doors, cabinetry, millwork and specialty projects. MGT & Associates, Inc. 410-241-3923 or interiorsmike@aol.com.
COLLECTOR BUYING MILITARY ITEMS: Helmets, weapons, rifles, shot guns, knives, swords, bayonets, web gear, uniforms, etc. from all wars and countries. Large quantities are okay. Will pay top prices for my personal collection. Discreet consultations. Call Fred, 301-910-0783.
Health
YARD SERVICES OFFERED – Gutter cleaning, leaf cleanup, mowing, mulching, junk hauling, power washing, bush/shrub trimming, small tree trimming. call Rob, 240-358-5015.
MOBILE EYE EXAMS – Comprehensive and/or low vision eye exams provided to Baltimore seniors with limited mobility. Visit www.HomeEyeOD.com or call 443-802-9920 for more information.
Home/Handyman Services SANFORD & SON HAULING & RECYCLING. Trash + Junk removal, house & estate cleanouts, garage+ basement cleanouts. Demolition – Shed, deck fence + pool removal. Licensed + insured. Free estimates over the phone. Call 7 days a week, 7 am to 7 pm. 410746-5090. BALTIMORE’S BEST JUNK REMOVAL – Clean Outs: Whole House, Emergency, Attics/Basements. Furniture and Junk Removal, Yard Waste Removal, General Hauling, Construction Debris Removal. Free estimates. 10% Senior Discount. Licensed, Bonded and Insured. Call Jesse, 443-379-HAUL (4285). www.baltimoresbestjunkremoval.com.
Miscellaneous YOU LIKE THE MAJOR LOTTERIES! Do you know someone else who does? Play 8-panels, 8-times each month at $30. Share information with friends. More info call Wyman, 1-405-6907.
Personal Services GREEK/ENGLISH TUTORIALS – Conversational programs specified to your personal requirements. Call Kellie, 410-363-4246 or 410-520-2246.
Wanted OLD AND NEW, WE BUY STERLING SILVER FLATWARE, Tea Sets, Single Pieces of Silver, Large pieces of Silver Plate. Attic, Basement or Garage. Call Greg, 717-658-7954. You have something to SELL, we are looking to BUY.
VINYL RECORDS WANTED from 1950 through 1985. Jazz, Rock-n-Roll, Soul, Rhythm & Blues, Reggae and Disco. 33 1/3 LPs, 45s or 78s, Larger collections of at least 100 items wanted. Please call John, 301-596-6201. CASH BUYER FOR OLD COSTUME JEWELRY – pocket and wrist watches (any condition). Also buying watchmaker tools and parts, train sets and accessories, old toys, old glassware & coins. 410-409-4965. FINE ANTIQUES, PAINTINGS AND QUALITY VINTAGE FURNISHINGS wanted by a serious capable buyer. I am very well educated [law degree] knowledgeable [over 40 years in the antique business] and have the finances and wherewithal to handle virtually any situation. If you have a special item, collection or important estate I would like to hear from you. I pay great prices for great things in all categories from oriental rugs to Tiffany objects, from rare clocks to firearms, from silver and gold to classic cars. If it is wonderful, I am interested. No phony promises or messy consignments. References gladly furnished. Please call Jake Lenihan, 301-2798834. Thank you. WE BUY JEWELRY, SILVER, GOLD, AND COSTUME. Coins, Paper Money Too. Watches, Clocks, Military Badges and Patches Old and New. Call Greg, 717-658-7954.
ADVERTISERS IN THIS ISSUE Clinical Research Studies
Alzheimer’s Diet Study ......................12 Brain Imaging Study...........................13 Dementia Behavior Study...................12 Falls Study ..........................................12 HYPNOS Diabetic Sleep Study..........13 Parkinson’s Study ...............................12 Parkinsonics Study..............................13 Stroke Study........................................13
Financial Services
Bennett Senior Services......................17 Debt Counsel for Seniors and the Disabled .................17 JS Richardson Insurance.....................17 Maryland School for the Blind ...........10 Security and Integrity .........................10
Funeral Services
Schimunek Funeral Homes...........18, 26
31
Hearing Services
Hearing & Speech Agency....................7 Hear For You.........................................9 Maryland Relay/711 ...........................27 Taylor Listening Center ......................11
Home Health Care
Independent Home Care .....................14 Options for Senior America ................20
Housing
Charlestown .......................................23 Gatherings at Quarry Place.................22 Homewood at Willow Ponds ..............29 Linden Park Apts. .................................5 Oak Crest ...........................................23 Park Heights Place..............................18 Park View Apartments ..........................4 Shangri-La Assisted Living ................19 St. Mary’s Roland View Towers .........19 Westminster House Apts.....................19
Housing Referral Service
Oasis Senior Advisors.........................14 Senior Placement Service/Care Patrol ..........................23
Legal Services
Disability Support Services ................10 Frank, Frank & Scherr Law Firm .......18
Medical/Health
Baltimore County Dept. of Health......14 Dr. Richard Rosenblatt, DPM.............14 Mishpacha Dental .................................7 Skin Cancer EB of Maryland..............11 Stem Cell Arts.......................................3 Stuart Goldman, DPM ..........................8
Pharmacies
Professional Pharmacy Group ..............9
Remodeling
Blake & Sons Contracting ..................29
Retail
Perfect Sleep Chair .............................28 WOW! Computer................................32
Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation
CommuniCare Health ...........................8 Holly Hill Nursing & Rehabilitation ..15 Manor Care Health Services...............15
Theatres/ Entertainment
Har Sinai Congregation Concert.........26 Lyric Opera House..............................27 Radio Flea Market ..............................25 Toby’s Dinner Theatre ........................25
Tour & Travel
Eyre Bus, Tour & Travel.....................23
Volunteers
AARP Maryland .................................26
32
NOVEMBER 2015 — BALTIMORE BEACON
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Automatic Software Updates
Have you ever said to yourself “I’d love to get a computer, if only I could figure out how to use it.” Well, you’re not alone. Computers were supposed to make our lives simpler, but they’ve gotten so complicated that they are not worth the trouble. With all of the “pointing and clicking” and “dragging and dropping” you’re lucky if you can figure out where you are. Plus, you are constantly worrying about viruses and freeze-ups. If this sounds familiar, we have great news for you. There is finally a computer that’s designed for simplicity and ease of use. It’s the WOW Computer, and it was designed with you in mind. This computer is easy-to-use, worry-free and literally puts
the world at your fingertips. From the moment you open the box, you’ll realize how different the WOW Computer is. The components are all connected; all you do is plug it into an outlet and your high-speed Internet connection. Then you’ll see the screen – it’s now 22 inches. This is a completely new touch screen system, without the cluttered look of the normal computer screen. The “buttons” on the screen are easy to see and easy to understand. All you do is touch one of them, from the Web, Email, Calendar to Games– you name it… and a new screen opens up. It’s so easy to use you won’t have to ask your children or grandchildren for help. Until now, the very people who could benefit most from E-mail and the Internet are the ones that have had the hardest time accessing it. Now, thanks to the WOW Computer, countless older Americans are discovering the wonderful world of the Internet every day. Isn’t it time
you took part? Call now, and a patient, knowledgeable product expert will tell you how you can try it in your home for 30 days. If you are not totally satisfied, simply return it within 30 days for a refund of the product purchase price. Call today. s Send & Receive Emails s Have video chats with family and friends s Surf the Internet: Get current weather and news s Play games Online: Hundreds to choose from!
Call now toll free and find out how you can get the new WOW! Computer. Mention promotional code 64557 for special introductory pricing.
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“I love this computer! It is easy to read and to use! I get photo updates from my children and grandchildren all the time.” – Janet F.