December 2011 Baltimore Beacon Edition

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Pinball wizard comes to Baltimore

Amassing a collection Silverman bought his first pinball machine for $200 while a young art instructor in Ohio, then added another. When he acquired a couple of roommates, he was so short of space for himself that he wound up spending his nights under the machines.

Later, he moved to Rockville, Md., to take up a position teaching art. Due to the difficulty of moving his machines, he sold them and tried to ignore the calling to purchase another one.

The lure was too great, however, and shortly after he got married he brought home “Fireball” — a machine he had first

DECEMBER 2011

I N S I D E …

PHOTO BY FRANK KLEIN

By Carol Sorgen David Silverman found his life’s passion when he was just 4 years old. On a family vacation in upstate New York, Silverman’s father gave him a handful of nickels to play the pinball machines.

“In New York City, where we lived, pinball machines were outlawed, so I had never seen one before,” the now-63-yearold landscape designer recalled. But all it took was those few nickels, and Silverman was hooked from that moment on.

“The bells, the whistles, the lights…they all just struck a chord with me and have ever since,” said Silverman.

Pinball machines were declared illegal in New York City from 1939 until 1976.

The legislation was spearheaded by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, who considered pinball to be a form of gambling or “games of chance,” possibly because some operators paid high scorers cash rewards and prizes.

At any rate, LaGuardia didn’t want schoolchildren wasting their nickels and dimes in the machines.

But that didn’t deter Silverman, whose family regularly vacationed in upstate New York, where pinball was legit. He not only became an enthusiastic player in his youth, but, later on, an avid collector of pinball machines.

Perhaps the gambling spirit has stayed with him as well, for Silverman is now betting that he can bring his love for pinball — and his extensive collection of the machines — to Baltimore. Soon he plans to open his National Pinball Museum in the Power Plant Live complex at the Inner Harbor.

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LEISURE & TRAVEL

Alabama’s Civil War and civil rights sites; plus, time to think spring when it comes to the garden page 23

ARTS & STYLE Pinball aficionado David Silverman is preparing to open his National Pinball Museum on the Inner Harbor. The museum, moving here from a short-lived venue in Washington, D.C., will feature part of his vast collection of vintage and contemporary pinball machines and give visitors a chance to operate select machines.

played in Spain and then ran across in a home amusement store.

After that, “all hell broke loose,” Silverman laughed.

Fast forward 30-some years, and Silverman is now the proud owner of nearly 900 pinball machines, spanning the history of the game from the late 18th century to the present.

Among the vintage games he owns are a 1967 Beat Time game, featuring “The Bootles” (a play on the name of the Fab Four to avoid paying royalties), a 1980 Rolling Stones game, and a 1976 Captain Fantastic game (inspired by Elton John’s appearance in the movie version of the rock opera Tommy. That movie told of a blind,

deaf and mute boy whose senses are awakened when he plays pinball.)

Silverman has restored many of the machines himself in workshops he built in back of his home. Several years ago, though, it dawned on him that not only was he running out of room, but he had a collection that might be of interest to other pinball enthusiasts as well.

So was born the National Pinball Museum, which opened last year in Washington, D.C.’s tony Georgetown district. Unexpectedly, the property where it was located was sold and is now being redeveloped, resulting in the loss of his lease.

See PINBALL WIZARD, page 29

Noel Coward’s comedy, Private Lives, reveals couples at their best and worst; plus, Baltimore lights up for the holidays page 27

FITNESS & HEALTH k Foods that boost immunity k Ways to prevent falls

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LAW & MONEY k Reasons to invest in Asia k Beware used car scams

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VOLUNTEERS & CAREERS k A green entrepreneur

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PLUS CROSSWORD, BEACON BITS, CLASSIFIEDS & MORE

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DECEMBER 2011 — BALTIMORE BEACON

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

Tooting our horn Every year, we enter a selection of our Carol Sorgen, won bronze awards for two original stories in the editorial contests other cover stories — “Fitness leads to run by the two largest 50+ ageless body,” and “Finding media associations: the Nafreedom on two wheels.” A tional Mature Media Awards, Greater Washington cover and the North American Mastory by Ruben about the ture Publishers Association growing popularity of tattoo(NAMPA) awards. ing among older adults, I am pleased to report that “Making their mark with the Beacon once again came body art,” won a merit award. away from both competitions The Mature Media competiwith some top honors. In fact, tion was for items published in this year, all three of our Bea- FROM THE 2010, so our Howard County con editions — including our PUBLISHER edition was not yet eligible. But new Howard County Beacon — By Stuart P. Rosenthal we were able to enter stories won awards. from our earliest Howard The Mature Media awards draw entries County editions in the NAMPA competition from national publications, such as AARP because it covered publications from July The Magazine, as well as local papers like 2010 through June 2011. ours. They are judged by recognized writSo we were pleased that the cover of ing and aging experts. our debut Howard County issue, “When This year we won two silver awards. Our grown kids move back in,” written by Sormanaging editor, Barbara Ruben, won one gen, won first place in NAMPA’s feature for her Greater Washington cover story, writing category for papers with circula“Two generations kiss and tell,” about a tions under 50,000. mother and daughter bookwriting team. We By the way, the NAMPA competition is also won a silver award in the overall “news- judged by the prestigious University of Mispaper” category for last year’s July issue. souri School of Journalism, and its judges proOur Baltimore contributing editor, vide comments with all awards. The judges

Beacon The

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support of Beacon readers like you.

Which leads me to note that, whatever awards we do or do not win, what always matters the most to us is what our readers think of us. We value your opinion, always welcome your input, and ask that you share your comments and suggestions with us via mail, e-mail, phone or fax. We love to hear from you.

I want to conclude by expressing my thanks to, and admiration for, the entire Beacon staff. They are truly committed (and often overworked), and I’d like to thank them by name for their excellent efforts and devoted contributions to the Beacon: Managing Editor Barbara Ruben, Contributing Editor Carol Sorgen, Vice President for Operations Gordon Hasenei, Director of Sales Alan Spiegel, Graphic Designer Kyle Gregor y, Asst. Operations Manager (and webmaster) Roger King, Advertising Representatives Doug Hallock, Ron Manno, Steve Levin, Cheryl Watts and Dan Kelly, and last but certainly not least, my wife and Associate Publisher Judy Rosenthal.

We also are grateful for the many contributions of our talented freelancers, including Robert Friedman and Anne Ball in Howard County, travel writers Victor Block and Glenda Booth, theatre reviewer Michael Toscano, and freelance photographer, Frank Klein.

The Beacon would not exist without all of their efforts, nor without your reading of our publications. My thanks to you all.

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The Beacon is a monthly newspaper dedicated to inform, serve, and entertain the citizens of the Greater Baltimore area, and is privately owned. Other editions serve Howard County and Greater Washington.

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Publication of advertising contained herein does not necessarily constitute endorsement.

Signed columns represent the opinions of the writers, and not necessarily the opinion of the publisher.

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.

• Publisher/Editor ....................Stuart P. Rosenthal • Associate Publisher..............Judith K. Rosenthal • Vice President, Operations........Gordon Hasenei • Director of Sales ................................Alan Spiegel • Assistant Operations Manager ..........Roger King

called Sorgen’s cover a “well-researched, deftly written piece that provides context and solutions as well as lively anecdotes.”

We are particularly proud of our Baltimore edition, which not only won two firstplace writing awards in its division (50,000100,000 circulation), but also first place for general excellence and overall “Best of Show” in its division.

Here’s what the judges had to say about our Baltimore edition: “Sophisticated in content and presentation, the Baltimore Beacon reflects an audience that obviously seeks both an authoritative and more broad-minded approach to topics. While it remains committed to subjects of value for its audience — health, travel, investments, the arts — it doesn’t shy away from tough issues, such as medical marijuana, divorce and retirement resentment. This is a refreshing publication that gives readers tools to manage life’s challenges.”

Our Greater Washington edition won two first place awards, as well as second place for general excellence in its division (papers with more than 100,000 circulation).

Ruben won first place in the senior issues category with her cover story, “Sex, drugs and HIV after 50,” which the judges called “really important work on a subject of national importance.”

And my January 2011 From the Publisher column, “Time to advocate” — in which I encouraged readers to support the independent existence of the Maryland Department of Aging through a letter-writing and email campaign — was awarded first place in the community service editorial category.

Of course, the real reward of that column was in the success of the advocacy effort, made possible by the tremendous

2010 Outstanding Publication Award

• Managing Editor............................Barbara Ruben • Contributing Editor ..........................Carol Sorgen • Graphic Designer ..............................Kyle Gregory • Advertising Representatives ............Ron Manno, ........................................................................Steve Levin

The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915 (410) 248-9101 • Email: info@thebeaconnewspapers.com Submissions:

The Beacon welcomes reader contributions. Deadline for editorial is the 1st of the month preceding the month of publication. Deadline for ads is the 1st of the month preceding the month of publication. See page 31 for classified advertising details. Please mail or email all submissions.

© Copyright 2011 The Beacon Newspapers, Inc.

Dear Editor: With respect to last month’s “From the Publisher” column, Social Security has done exactly what it was designed to do since 1935, and will continue to do so, according to the Social Security actuaries, until 2036 when there is projected to be a 22 percent shortfall in benefits.

Social Security is one of this country’s most successful programs that provides a safety net for American families.

Why do some groups say “hands off?”

The answer is that Congress’ “super committee” is under great pressure to come up with ways to reduce our national deficit by a minimum of $1.2 trillion, and Social Security is on the table along with everything else.

Social Security did not contribute one

penny to this deficit and should not be touched and used as a piggy bank. Social Security is more important to seniors now than ever before, since most 401Ks have become 201Ks. Social Security is a contract that must not be broken.

Social Security has changed in the past and will need to change in the future. Its value to this country and to its citizens is worth a full congressional and grassroots discussion. The future of Social Security should not be decided by a committee of 12 in a rush to meet a Thanksgiving deadline.

This is the time to keep “Hands Off” and cut the turkey, not the program.

Laura Feldman Via email

BALTIMORE BEACON — DECEMBER 2011

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DECEMBER 2011 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Health Fitness &

FOODS THAT FIGHT STRESS When stress strikes, reach for foods that soothe the psyche DON’T HEAD FOR A FALL Schedule an eye exam, and check your balance and meds to prevent falls A NATIONAL ALZHEIMER’S PLAN Congress orders plan to fight Alzheimer’s; draft promised in December UNRAVELING THE BEST DNA Researchers seek to unlock the secrets of healthy longevity

Machines measure blood pressure better Doctors are notoriously bad at measuring their patients’ blood pressure. Nurses are better, but many still don’t use the correct method.

Even clinicians who do follow the proper procedure often get a reading that’s higher than the person’s usual blood pressure. This is called white-coat hypertension — blood pressure that’s high when a doctor or other clinician measures it, but normal the rest of the time.

Maybe it’s time to give the job of measuring blood pressure to machines, not humans. That’s the novel — and successful — approach taken by teams in Canada and the Netherlands.

People get higher readings In Canada, researchers asked 88 primary care physicians and 555 of their patients with high blood pressure to take part in the Conventional Versus Automated Measurement of Blood Pressure in the Office (CAMBO) trial.

Half of the physicians measured their patients’ blood pressure the old-fashioned way — in person, by pumping up a standard blood pressure cuff and listening through a stethoscope to the stop and start of blood through the brachial artery.

The other half handed over the job to a machine. These doctors fit a blood pres-

sure cuff around the patient’s arm, made sure the machine was working, then left the room.

The volunteer sat quietly while the machine recorded his or her blood pressure five more times, with a break of a minute or two between each measurement. Later, each volunteer wore a monitor that measured his or her blood pressure dozens of times over the course of 24 hours.

The average measurements made by the doctors were higher than those made by the blood pressure monitor alone. In addition, the automated readings were more in line with the 24-hour recording (BMJ).

In a related study in the Netherlands, 84 men and women whose doctors suggested they have 24-hour blood pressure monitoring first had their pressure checked by a machine, not by a doctor or other clinician.

Each volunteer sat alone in a quiet room while his or her blood pressure was automatically measured eight times in 30 minutes.

The readings yielded an average that

was very close to the 24-hour recording.

Notably, the first measurement in the series averaged 154 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), but by the fourth one it had stabilized at 142 mm Hg (Annals of Family Medicine).

The white coat effect Up to 20 percent of people who are told they have high blood pressure, and who begin treatment for it, may actually have normal blood pressure everywhere but in the doctor’s office.

Why some people have white-coat hypertension isn’t clear. It could be the rush of getting to an appointment, the anxiety and stress associated with seeing a doctor, or poor technique by the person who is taking the measurement.

The effect of white-coat hypertension on long-term health is still a bit hazy. One large study showed that people with whitecoat hypertension are more likely than

those with normal blood pressure to develop “true” hypertension over time. Other studies suggest that people with white-coat hypertension fare much the same as those with normal blood pressure.

One way to test for white-coat hypertension is with ambulatory blood pressure monitoring — wearing a blood pressure cuff around the arm, connected to a portable monitor, for an entire day and night. This offers a better estimate of “true” blood pressure than a single snapshot in a doctor’s office.

But it is a hassle having the cuff inflate every so often, even while you sleep. An easier alternative might be to sit quietly by yourself in your doctor’s office and have a machine measure your blood pressure several times.

In a paper in the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, Dr. Donald G. Vidt (a member of the panel that set the current standards for measuring and treating high blood pressure) and his colleagues at the Cleveland Clinic pose an interesting question: Is taking blood pressure too important to trust to humans? It looks like the answer is yes.

You can read the paper yourself at www.health.harvard.edu/169. © 2011 President and fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Stay healthy with three immune boosters

By Emily Sohn You already know you need to eat well to stay healthy, but scientists are now zeroing in on specific diet strategies that can help bolster immunity. With cold and flu season right around the corner, here are three to add to your arsenal: 1. Fill your Vitamin D tank: You may have fewer health problems — ranging from colds to cancer — if you get enough vitamin D. Your body naturally makes vitamin D from sunlight.

You can also get it — albeit in smaller doses — from fatty fish, such as salmon, and fortified milk. But because Americans don’t get enough vitamin D, most experts recommend a D supplement.

New research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that taking such

a supplement may help boost your immune system. In a study of more than 300 Japanese children, those who took daily vitamin D supplements (1,200 IU) were 40 percent less likely to get a common flu virus than kids who took a placebo.

Laboratory studies indicate that the nutrient may help immune cells identify and destroy bacteria and viruses that make us sick, said Dr. Adit Ginde, a public health researcher at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver. Aim to get at least 1,000 IU of vitamin D daily (check with your doctor before taking more).

2. Get a daily dose of soluble fiber: Mice that ate a diet rich in soluble fiber for six weeks recovered from a bacterial infection in half the time it took mice that dined on meals containing mixed fiber, accord-

ing to a recent study in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity.

Soluble fiber — abundant in citrus fruits, apples, carrots, beans and oats — helps fight inflammation, said lead author Christina Sherry of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Insoluble fiber — found in wheat, whole grains, nuts and green leafy vegetables — is still important for overall health, but it doesn’t seem to have the same impact on immunity.

Strive for 25 to 38 grams of total fiber a day, Sherry said, paying extra attention to getting the soluble kind.

3. Stay lean: Overweight adults who cut their daily calorie intake by nearly a third saw a 50 percent boost in immunity, according to a six-month study out of Tufts University, Medford, Mass. (Those who cut calories by

10 percent had smaller improvements.)

Restricting calories may reduce levels of compounds in the body that depress your immune response, said Tufts nutritional immunologist Simin Meydani.

Animal studies suggest that calorie restriction could work in normal-weight individuals. too. “Try to maintain your body weight at what is considered ideal,” Meydani said, because eating more than what you need drags the immune system down.

“And remember: when you cut back on quantity, you need to be even more vigilant about the quality of your diet,” Meydani added. Aim to eat more fruits and vegetables — and choose lean protein sources, such as fish, chicken and low-fat dairy. © 2011 EatingWell, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com | Fitness & Health

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Enter your Zip code and the type of doctor you’re looking for. Specify that you want to see providers who accept the Medicareapproved amount as payment in full.

You can leave the doctor’s gender and last name blank. The search will result in a list of physicians in the area who accept Medicare.

But this resource isn’t foolproof. “We have found doctors on the Medicare.gov list who have retired,” said Elaine Wong Eakin, executive director of California Health Advocates.

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Viruses might soon meet their kryptonite: a drug that can, in theory, destroy cells infected by almost any one of them without harming healthy neighbor cells.

Most antiviral drugs or vaccines are specific to one virus, or even one strain.

When a virus mutates, researchers must retool our medicines.

But nearly all viruses have one thing in common: they generate double strands of RNA longer than 30 base pairs. Healthy mammalian cells do not produce such long double-stranded RNA, offering a way to identify virus-infected cells.

The immune system already includes an enzyme — protein kinase R (PKR) — that binds to long double-stranded RNA molecules and blocks production of viral proteins, but many viruses can evade it.

So Todd Rider at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Lexington and his colleagues glued PKR to apoptotic protease activating factor 1 — a protein that triggers cell suicide in extreme situations.

The new antiviral drug “catches the virus with its pants down,” explained Rider, by destroying the cell as soon as viral RNA is detected. He calls the drug DRACO, for double-stranded-RNA-activated caspase oligomeriser.

In tests, DRACO prevented rhinovirus — which causes some forms of the common cold — from spreading through human and mouse cells in Petri dishes. It performed just as well against 14 other

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viruses, including the one responsible for dengue fever. DRACO also boosted survival rates in mice given a normally lethal dose of the H1N1 flu virus (PLoS One).

“Just as antibiotics revolutionized the treatment of bacterial infections, this project has a lot of potential to treat a range of illnesses,” said Rider.

“This is a very clever approach,” said Timothy Tellinghuisen of the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Fla., but he added that some viruses can conceal their doublestranded RNA, and so could elude DRACO. Andrea Branch of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City also has reservations. Destroying all infected cells can be dangerous in people with advanced viral infections, she said. “Suppose 100 percent of your hepatocytes (liver cells) are infected and you used this — you would die of liver failure.”

— New Scientist

I N F O R M AT I O N

Health Shorts

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Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

DECEMBER 2011 — BALTIMORE BEACON

The brain/digestion connection explained

By Karen Ansel Are your tummy troubles all in your head? Yes and no. There’s a reason why, when you’re upset, you feel a knot in the pit of your stomach. “The brain and the digestive tract share many of the same nerve connections,� said Dr. Douglas A. Drossman, a gastroenterologist and psychiatrist and co-director of the University of North Carolina Center for Functional GI and Motility Disorders, Chapel Hill.

It’s because, in the womb, the nerves that eventually separate into the brain, spinal cord and nerves of the intestine all have the same beginnings and remain interconnected.

Mental stress delivers a one-two punch to our digestive systems. First, it causes the release of cortisol and adrenaline, hormones that not only divert energy to your muscles (so you can fight — or flee!) but also slow down digestion.

For momentary bouts of stress, that’s a good thing: You want to use your energy to escape the bear, not digest your lunch. But when stress is chronic, those same hormones can make your digestive system sluggish, leading to constipation.

In addition, chronic stress can alter the release of neurotransmitters like serotonin, which promotes relaxation. And because 80 percent of your body’s serotonin is located in your gut, it’s no wonder that

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She recommends starting with four or five doctors on the list, or asking friends or relatives in the area for recommendations.

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meaning that each strain has unique and distinct benefits,� said D. Milton Stokes, M.P.H., R.D., co-author of Flat Belly Diet! for Men (Rodale, 2009). “While this study looked at only two specific strains (that aren’t currently available to consumers in foods), it provides encouraging evidence that probiotics may have a beneficial impact on the mind-gut connection.�

3. Fatty fish: Stress can trigger an increase in compounds called cytokines that promote inflammation, which can worsen digestive ills.

Eating more EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) — two omega-3 fats found most commonly in oily fish, such as salmon, herring and sardines — can help relieve inflammation linked to tummy troubles, according to a 2005 Scandinavian Journal of Nutrition study.

Karen Ansel is a registered dietician. EatingWell is a magazine and website devoted to healthy eating as a way of life. Online at www.eatingwell.com. Š 2011 EatingWell, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.

ment season this year, which runs only through Dec. 7 — earlier than in past years.

These private plans, which offer medical and prescription-drug coverage and provide networks of doctors, may have more doctors available in certain areas than traditional Medicare does.

But they also have rules limiting which doctors and hospitals may be used, and have different co-payments, deductible and coverage amounts than traditional Medicare. — Kiplinger’s

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Luckily, science suggests that, when stress strikes, reaching for certain foods can soothe your psyche and your “stomach.�

Here are three to get things back on track: 1. Oatmeal: This comforting grain is packed with fiber, which helps regulate digestion — slowing things down when they’re moving too fast and speeding things up when they’re sluggish. The fiber in oatmeal also guards against dips in blood glucose that can leave you cranky and lethargic.

2. Yogurt: You’ve heard that probiotics (good-for-you bacteria in foods like yogurt) can improve digestive health — and there’s some evidence they might.

Now a British Journal of Nutrition study indicates they may alleviate stress as well.

Study participants who took a probiotic supplement felt less stress, depression and anxiety than those who received a placebo. “Probiotics are very strain-specific,

From page 5

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BALTIMORE BEACON — DECEMBER 2011

7

Many ways to keep from heading for a fall

By Jim Miller Falls are a big concern for millions of older Americans and their families. In the United States, roughly one-third of the 65and-older population will suffer a fall this year, often with dire consequences.

But many falls can be prevented. Here are some steps you can take to help stay on your feet and reduce your risk of falling and that of your loved ones.

Check your meds: Do you take any medicine or combination of medicines that make you dizzy, sleepy or lightheaded? If so, gather up all your drugs — prescriptions and over-the-counter — and take them to your doctor or pharmacist for a drug review.

Schedule an eye exam: Poor vision can be another contributor to falls. If you wear glasses, check to see if your prescription is correct. And beware of bifocals and progressive lenses. Multifocal glasses can impair vision needed for detecting obstacles and judging depth.

Check your balance: Balance disorders — which can be brought on by a variety of conditions, such as inner ear problems, allergies, a head injury or problems with blood circulation — are also a common cause of falls. If you are having some balance issues, make an appointment with your doctor to get it checked and treated.

Start exercising: Improving balance through exercise is one of the best ways to prevent falls. Strength training, stretching, yoga, and tai chi are all great for building better balance.

Some simple exercises that one can do any time are walking heel-to-toe across the room, standing on one foot for 30 seconds or longer, or getting up from a chair and sitting back down 10 to 20 times.

For more balance exercise tips, call the National Institute on Aging at 1-800-2222225 and order their free exercise DVD and free exercise book. You can also see it online at www.go4life.niapublications.org.

Check around the home: Because about half of all falls happen around the home, some simple modifications can go a long way towards making your living area safer.

Start by picking up items on the floor that could cause people to trip, such as newspapers, books, shoes, clothes, electrical or phone cords. If you have throw rugs, remove them or use double-sided tape to secure them.

In the bathroom, put a non-slip rubber mat or self-stick strips on the floor of the tub or shower, and have a carpenter install grab bars inside the tub and next to the toilet.

Also, make sure the lighting throughout the house is good. Purchase some inex-

pensive plug-in nightlights for the bathrooms and hallways and, if you have stairs, consider putting handrails on both sides.

In the kitchen, organize your cabinets so the things you use most often are within easy reach without using a step stool.

For more tips, call the Eldercare Locater at 1-800-677-1116 and order a free copy of their “Preventing Falls at Home” brochure.

Other pitfalls: Believe it or not, the improper use of canes and walkers sends around 47,000 seniors to the emergency room each year. If you use a cane or walker, be sure it’s adequately adjusted to your height and that you’re using it properly.

A physical therapist can help with this, or see the Mayo Clinic slide show on how to choose and use a cane (www.mayoclinic.com/health/canes/HA00064) and a walker (www.mayoclinic.com/health/

If you’re over 50 or have osteoporosis, it’s important that you don’t ignore your back pain.

It may signal a spinal fracture. See your doctor right away if you think you may have one.

walker/HA00060).

Another possible hazard is pets. If you have a dog or cat, you need to be aware that, because they can get under foot, pets cause a lot of falls.

Shoes are another issue to be aware of.

Rubber-soled, low-heeled shoes are the best slip/trip proof shoes for seniors.

Savvy Tip: If falls are a worry, consider getting a home monitoring system or personal emergency response system — a small pendent- or wristwatch-style “SOS button” that can allow you to call for help if you fall. Available through companies like www.lifelinesys.com and www.lifealert.com, these systems cost around $1 per day.

Send your questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

TAKE CHARGE Don’t turn your back on back pain.

Spinal fractures can be repaired if diagnosed.

KYPHON® Balloon Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive treatment for spinal fractures that can correct vertebral body deformity, reduce pain and improve patient quality of life.

BEACON BITS

Dec. 6+

BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENINGS

St. Agnes Hospital offers free blood pressure screenings in the chapel lobby on the first and third Tuesdays of every month from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. No pre-registration required. Call (410) 368-3330 for more details. St. Agnes Hospital is located at 900 Caton Ave. in Catonsville.

Ongoing

FREE CANCER SCREENINGS OFFERED

Harbor Hospital has free breast and cervical screenings for Baltimore City women between the ages of 40 and 64 who meet income requirements. For information, call (410) 350-2001.

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410-601-8314 410-532-4538 410-532-4786 410-828-2311 410-391-6904 410-646-0220 410-337-8888 410-368-8323 443-849-2311

For more information on balloon kyphoplasty call 800-652-2221 or visit www.kyphon.com Medtronic maintains a list of physicians who have been trained to use, and are believed to be both active and proficient users of, Medtronic’s products and who are willing to accept patient referrals. Physician participation on this list is voluntary and free. All referrals are identified based upon geographic criteria only. Medtronic does not guarantee the accuracy of the listings or the capabilities of the physicians listed. The physicians referenced may be paid consultants of, and research cited may have been funded partially or in whole by, Medtronic.

Although the complication rate with KYPHON® Balloon Kyphoplasty has been demonstrated to be low, as with most surgical procedures, there are risks associated with the procedure, including serious complications. This procedure is not for everyone.

A prescription is required. Please consult your physician for a full discussion of risks and whether this procedure is right for you. © 2008 Medtronic Spine LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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8

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DECEMBER 2011 — BALTIMORE BEACON

U.S. tackles national plan for Alzheimer’s

By Lauran Neergaard As her mother’s Alzheimer’s worsened over eight long years, so did Doreen Alfaro’s bills: The walker, then the wheelchair, then the hospital bed, then the diapers — and the caregivers hired for more and more hours a day so Alfaro could go to work and her elderly father could get some rest.

Alfaro and her husband sold their house to raise money for her mother’s final athome care. Six years later, the 58-year-old Alfaro wonders if she eventually develops Alzheimer’s, too, “what happens to my care? Where will I go?”

Dementia is poised to become a defining disease of the rapidly aging population — and a budget-busting one for Medicare and Medicaid, the U.S. government’s medical programs for the sick and the elderly, as well as for American families.

Now the Obama administration is developing the first National Alzheimer’s Plan, to combine research aimed at fighting the mind-destroying disease with help that caregivers need to stay afloat.

“This is a unique opportunity, maybe an opportunity of a lifetime in a sense, to really have an impact on this disease,” said Dr. Ronald Petersen of the Mayo Clinic, who chairs a committee that in September began advising the government on what that plan should include.

A growing toll An estimated 5.4 million Americans have Alzheimer’s or similar dementias. It is the sixth-leading killer. There is no cure; treatments only temporarily ease some symptoms.

Barring a research breakthrough, those numbers will worsen steadily as the baby boomers age. By 2050, from 13 million to 16 million Americans are projected to have Alzheimer’s, costing $1 trillion in medical and nursing home expenditures.

That is not, however, the full toll. Sufferers lose the ability to do the simplest activities of daily life and can survive that way for a decade or more, requiring years of care from family, friends or paid caregivers. Already a recent report finds that nearly 15 million people, mostly family members, are providing more than $200 billion worth of unpaid care.

Thousands of those caregivers have turned out at public meetings since early August, and at a “telephone town meeting” organized by the Alzheimer’s Association that drew 32,000 people, pleading for a national Alzheimer’s strategy to bring changes.

They want primary care doctors trained to diagnose dementia earlier, describing how years of missed symptoms cost them precious time to make plans or seek treatment.

They demand to know why the National

SERVING

THOSE WHO

SERVED AND THEIR ELIGIBLE NON-VET SPOUSES

Institutes of Health spends about six times more on AIDS research than on Alzheimer’s, when there are good drugs to battle back the HIV virus but nothing comparable for dementia.

Overwhelmingly, they ask for resources to help Alzheimer’s patients live their last years at home without ruining their caregivers’ own health and financial future.

“Either you’re rich and can afford $25 an hour for care at home, or you send him to a facility. We’re in the middle of the road,” said Shirley Rexrode of suburban San Francisco, whose 85-year-old father, Hsien-Wen Li, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s nearly three years ago.

Adult day care did not work out. Even at $90 a day, the only place with an opening could not handle the behaviors of Alzheimer’s. Rexrode’s mother, Li’s primary caregiver, already has suffered some depression. “We just have to muddle through, but we don’t know how long we can,” Rexrode said.

And while Medicare will pay for doctor bills and medications, even getting to the doctor can be a hurdle. When her 89-year-old mother with advanced Alzheimer’s developed a urinary tract infection, Susan Lynch could not find a doctor willing to come to her parents’ home in Fall River, Mass.

Lynch flew there from her home in Gaithersburg, Md., but could not carry her mother down the stairs. A private ambulance service did not have an opening for weeks. Lynch wound up calling the town ambulance for a costly but Medicarecovered trip to the emergency room.

Federal health officials, who promise a first draft of the national plan by December, say they are getting the message.

“Folks desperately, desperately want to be able to provide the care themselves,” said

Donald Moulds, a deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services who oversees the project. “It’s very, very hard work. Figuring out better mechanisms for supporting people who are trying to do that work is the right thing to do.”

It also may be cheaper for taxpayers.

Nursing homes not only are pricier than athome care, but many families can afford them only through Medicaid, the healthcare program for the poor — jointly paid for by the federal government and the states.

Another key, Moulds said, is better care coordination as Alzheimer’s complicates the many other health problems of aging.

Where will funding come from?

Given the U.S. government’s budget crisis, the big question is whether any antiAlzheimer’s strategy can come with enough dollars and other incentives attached to spur true change. “That’s a concern, a very real one,” said Mayo’s Petersen.

The law that requires a national Alzheimer’s plan did not provide funding, and Moulds is silent about the possible price tag.

Almost complete is an inventory of all Alzheimer’s-related research and care reimbursement paid for by the U.S. government, to look for gaps that need filling and possible savings to help pay for them.

Other countries including England and Australia — and 25 U.S. states, by Moulds’ count — have developed their own Alzheimer’s plans. Maryland is not among them.

For more information about services available now, the Alzheimer’s Association has a 24-hour toll-free number, 1-800-2723900, with counselors to help families.

Also visit www.alz.org.

— AP

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More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com | Fitness & Health

BALTIMORE BEACON — DECEMBER 2011

9

Newly approved drugs not always better

By Carla K. Johnson Many consumers mistakenly believe new prescription drugs are always safer than those with long track records, and that only extremely effective drugs without major side effects win government approval, according to a new study.

A national survey of nearly 3,000 adults finds that about four in 10 wrongly believe the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves only “extremely effective” drugs.

One in four mistakenly believes the FDA allows only drugs that don’t have serious side effects.

That means consumers “may not get the benefit from drugs they think they’re getting, or they may expose themselves to more harm than they think” said study coauthor Dr. Steven Woloshin of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and the VA Outcomes Group In truth, the FDA approves a new drug when its benefits outweigh any known risks. FDA approval doesn’t mean the drug’s benefits are large compared to drugs already on the market.

And risks for some drugs appear only after they’ve been used by millions of people and long after FDA approval. For instance, Merck & Co. withdrew the FDA-approved arthritis pill Vioxx after reports of heart risks surfaced over a period of five years.

Warnings can help consumers The new survey, appearing in the Archives of Internal Medicine, revealed a partial solution to consumer confusion: Simply worded cautions can make a difference in which drugs people choose.

To test that idea, the researchers dreamed up two fictional drugs for heart disease and two for heartburn. The survey posed a question: Which drug would you choose?

Participants were told both heart disease drugs were free and both lowered cholesterol, but only one was known to reduce heart attacks.

Seventy-one percent of people chose the better drug that reduced heart attacks — when they were reminded in a warning that the other one only lowered cholesterol levels. “It is not known whether it will help patients feel better or live longer,” the warning said. Fewer people, 59 percent, made the better choice when they weren’t given the added caution.

As for the make-believe heartburn drugs, consumers were told they worked equally well and were free. The difference? One was approved by the FDA in 2009, the other in 2001.

This time, 53 percent chose the older drug when given a warning about the newer one.

The caution said: “As with all new drugs, rare but serious side effects may emerge after the

drug is on the market — when larger numbers of people have used the drug.”

Fewer people, 34 percent, chose the older — and perhaps safer — drug when they didn’t get that warning.

“One of the reasons doctors tend to prescribe newer, expensive drugs is there’s a widespread perception that newer is better,” said Dr. Michael Steinman of San Francisco VA Medical Center, who wrote a commentary about the study in the journal. “That’s sometimes true, but many times it’s not true. So much of what doctors learn about new drugs is somehow affected by drug company marketing.”

help doctors, too, and should be part of drug advertising and labeling. He and coauthor Dr. Lisa Schwartz have been working with the FDA to improve its guidance to drug makers on writing labels, he said.

They also are promoting the idea of drug fact boxes, similar to the nutrition fact boxes on packaged foods. The fact boxes, written in plain English, would tell consumers how well a drug works compared to other drugs, and would describe side effects.

Last year’s national health care law required the Department of Health and Human Services to report to Congress on

Clearer information needed Woloshin said simple cautions would

See NEW DRUGS, page 10

BEACON BITS

Dec. 15

LIFE AFTER CANCER The Pink Ladies Fall Series at St. Joseph Medical Center in

Towson will present a free workshop on “Life after Cancer” by survivorship nurse Rose Menton on Thursday, Dec. 15, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Refreshments and snacks will be provided. The event will take place in the Patient Library in the Cancer Institute, Building A, 7501 Osler Dr. in Towson. For more information, call (410) 427-5509 or email susanfield@catholichealth.net.

SavaSeniorCare Administrative Services, LLC • Skilled Nursing Services • Full-Service Rehabilitation ▲ Occupational ▲ Physical ▲ Speech • Transitional Care from Hospital to Home • Comprehensive Long-Term Nursing Care • Medicare, Medicaid and Other Insurance Plans Accepted Overlea Health and Rehabilitation Center Baltimore, MD 410-426-1424 Bel Air Health and Rehabilitation Center Bel Air, MD 410-879-1120 Glen Burnie Health and Rehabilitation Center Glen Burnie, MD 410-766-3460

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My Art and Sculpture

Greatest accomplishment:

My Family

What makes you laugh: My

Grandchildren

Larry Schneider Broadmead resident 76 years young

Larry has a passion for art and a passion for life. That’s why he chose Broadmead.

Warm surroundings are home to a wealth of amenities, like the full woodworking studio where Larry can pursue his love of sculpting. Creative, intelligent, stimulating – these are the traits that describe the Broadmead community and its residents – people like Larry, people like you.

Call for a personal tour 443-578-8008 www.Broadmead.org • 13801 York Rd. Cockeysville, MD 21030 TTY/Voice - Maryland Relay Service 1.800.201.7165

10

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DECEMBER 2011 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Enjoy life more by getting past the guilt Dear Solutions: dren’s money?” The thought of going I’m a 70-something widower. When is very exciting, but then I get pulled my wife was alive, we both back by all these other wanted to go on an aroundfeelings. What do you the-world cruise, but we think? kept putting it off.

— Harry Now I would like to go, Dear Harry: but until last week I had no You have a golden opportuone to go with. At a senior nity for a gilt-edged trip, degroup meeting I met a pending on how you spell the woman who said she word. Gilt? Guilt? would like to go also and Let’s try being rational. had no one to go with. She 1. It’s sad that your wife didasked if we could we go to- SOLUTIONS n’t have the opportunity to go. gether and take separate By Helen Oxenberg, However, since you both postMSW, ACSW rooms. poned the trip, the first thing I like this woman, but I you have to do — unless you feel guilty going when my wife never murdered her — is to give up responsibility had the chance. for her missed trip. You can feel bad and cry Also, someone else said, “Wouldn’t over it, but when you finish, ask yourself, “If you feel guilty spending your chil- I don’t go now, 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 a companion, not a date. Whether you take separate rooms or not is entirely up to the two of you, and is 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?

Dear Solutions: My 25-year-old grandson recently got a job in my town and is temporarily living with me to save money until he can get his own place. He got involved with an older woman and had an affair with her.

Now he wants out of it, but she won’t leave him alone. She keeps calling

him. Every time he tries to break off with her, she’s right back again. How can I get this woman out of my grandson’s life?

— Belle Dear Belle: Evidently, you want to be the only “older woman” in his life, since you are trying to control him, her and the whole situation.

She may be older, but so is he. Twentyfive is no baby. He’s an adult and will have to work out his own problems.

Insist that your grandson at least get his own phone to monitor his own calls, and then you let go. © Helen Oxenberg, 2011. Questions to be considered for this column may be sent to: The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915. You may also email the author at helox72@comcast.net. To inquire about reprint rights, call (609) 655-3684.

New drugs

about prescriptions.

He suggested these questions for starters: “Is this drug recommended by the guidelines for my disease? Is there a drug that’s equally effective but has a longer track record of safety? Has this drug been shown to help people like me live longer or feel better?”

— AP

BEACON BITS

Dec. 11

BALTIMORE OSTOMY SUPPORT GROUP MEETS The Baltimore Ostomy Association Support Group will meet on

Sunday, Dec. 11, from 2 to 4 p.m. at St. Joseph Medical Center, 7501 Osler Dr. in Towson. Admission is free. For more information, call (410) 337-1845.

“Seeing Mom safe and happy makes me happy too.”

Renaissance Gardens is the extended care neighborhood at Charlestown in Catonsville and Oak Crest in Parkville.

Here, you’ll feel confident knowing Mom has everything she needs for a rewarding life.

Call today for your free brochure. Remember, your loved one doesn’t have to be a current resident of Charlestown or Oak Crest to come here.

From page 9 the evidence for drug fact boxes. The department’s report said it needed at least three more years to study the idea.

Drug fact boxes could help consumers and doctors, Steinman said. He added that patients should question their doctors

Learn how to make Every time you use the phone.

If any disability makes it difficult for you to use the telephone, you may qualify for FREE assistive telephone equipment through the Maryland Accessible Telecommunications program.

Even though you may be able to carry on a conversation with someone in person, you may have difficulty communicating by standard telephone.

The Maryland Accessible Telecommunications (MAT) program, a service of Maryland Relay, provides assistive telecommunications equipment — free of charge — to people who qualify. Training on how to use the equipment is available.

To learn more about the free equipment, including hands-free phones, amplified phones, voice activated phones and more, simply call Maryland Relay Customer Service at 1-800-552-7724. You may also visit our website, www.mdrelay.org.

Click on Free Equipment for more information on how to apply

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More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com | Fitness & Health

BALTIMORE BEACON — DECEMBER 2011

11

How healthy is white whole wheat bread?

Q: Is the bread called “white whole additional health differences due to its wheat” really as healthy as regular whole lower phenol content. wheat?

We also don’t know yet A: “White whole wheat” whether the fine grind typidoes sound confusing, but it is cally used for white wholeindeed a whole grain, because wheat flour affects the beneit includes the bran, germ and fits obtained from its fiber endosperm of the grain. concerning bowel function Most bread products are and reducing constipation. made from red wheat; white Is white whole wheat better wheat is a different variety of for you than traditional refined wheat. The bran of white wheat white bread? Certainly. For opis lighter in color and milder in timal health, current evidence flavor, so for children and NUTRITION suggests using it as a transition adults accustomed to tradition- WISE to become more comfortable al white bread and other re- By Karen Collins, with traditional whole wheat, fined grains, this lighter whole MS, RD, CDM or as just one part of overall wheat may be more readily acwhole grain consumption. cepted.

Q: I know exercise helps reduce Fiber, vitamin and mineral content of risk of breast cancer. What about white whole wheat is similar to red whole breast cancer survivors? wheat, because it still has the healthful A: We now have several studies followbran and germ that are removed in refin- ing women diagnosed with early stage ing grains. That said, white whole wheat breast cancer (stages 1 through III) that might not supply all the health benefits of link getting some physical activity each traditional whole wheat. week with 35 to nearly 50 percent lower White wheat’s lighter color and sweeter risk of recurrence or death over the averflavor are due to its lower content of natu- age five to ten years that women were folral plant compounds, called phenols. Re- lowed after diagnosis. search so far shows this white wholeProtection is seen regardless of type of wheat flour lower in antioxidants than tra- cancer, menopause status or weight. Even ditional whole wheat, and there could be an hour of walking throughout the week is

I am a patient who had severe foot pain for 2 years, with no relief in sight....by the end of the 4 days I was 85% pain free in both feet. I thank God for Dr. Goldman and his passion for research in healing people with foot and leg pain.

– Alvin, Baltimore

How fortunate I feel to have found a doctor who could not only diagnose an underlying problem that many specialists missed, but who has been able to find a painless and rapid method of relieving the worst symptoms.

– Susan, Baltimore

As a podiatrist with over 30 years experience, I have always focused on conservative 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 1or 2 visits.

— Dr. Stuart Goldman

Stuart Goldman, DPM

410-235-2345

4419 Falls Road, Suite A, Baltimore 4000 Old Court Road, Suite 301, Pikesville

Fellow American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons Marquis Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare Author, multiple articles on Foot & Leg Symptoms

H elP F orYour F eet.C oM

better than nothing, and up to an hour a day of moderate to vigorous exercise is linked to even better odds of remaining cancer-free.

We have no evidence, however, that more than an hour or so of moderate to vigorous exercise daily provides any additional benefit.

Physical activity could act in several different ways to reduce breast cancer recurrence, just as it reduces risk of an initial cancer: it tends to decrease levels of insulin and growth factors that can promote development of breast (and other) cancers, and it changes reproductive hormones, too.

In addition, a new study suggests physical activity may affect gene expression, effectively “turning on” genes related to suppressing breast cancer tumors.

Finally, although physical activity generally doesn’t burn enough calories to produce much weight loss on its own, studies consistently find it a crucial part of longterm weight maintenance, which plays an important role in protecting against postmenopausal breast (and other) cancers.

The American Institute for Cancer Research offers a Nutrition Hotline, 1-800- 8438114, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This free service allows you to ask questions about diet, nutrition and cancer.

Courtesy of the American Institute for Cancer Research. Questions for this column may be sent to “Nutrition Wise,” 1759 R St., N.W., Washington, DC 20009. Collins cannot respond to questions personally.

12

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Health Studies Page

DECEMBER 2011 — BALTIMORE BEACON

THE PLACE TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION ON AREA CLINICAL TRIALS

Looking for particularly healthy seniors Researchers are seeking America’s “healthy elderly” — those 80 and older with no history of chronic disease — to help them unlock the genetic secrets behind lifelong health.

A study dubbed “Wellderly” by Scripps Genomic Medicine plans to analyze the complete genomes of some of the healthiest older Americans to help pinpoint why some people remain healthy into their 80s, 90s and beyond.

A complete genome reveals not only genes but also other DNA that’s responsi-

ble for regulating genes. It’s “the full monty,” showing DNA elements that are key for illness and health, said Dr. Eric Topol, the study’s principal investigator.

“We all carry genes that make us susceptible to diseases, but some of us avoid the major illnesses that afflict others. A great many people carry the genes that cause heart attack, cancer and other diseases, but some have modifier genes that cancel out their risk,” Topol said. “It’s nature’s way of protecting them.”

Research Study Have you been told you snore? Do you need to lose weight?

Johns Hopkins Medicine is conducting a research study in persons who may snore and are not currently being treated for snoring. Eligible participants must be over 60 years of age, overweight, not smoking, and not regularly exercising.

All visits are free, including parking, at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

For more information, please call 410-550-5428 or 410-550-5429 or 410-550-6997.

Principal Investigator: Devon A. Dobrosielski, PhD IRB# NA_00040314

Participate by mail While the study will be based in Southern California, participants can enroll throughout the country. Those in California will come in to Scripps to give blood samples or have a nurse visit their house.

Participants elsewhere will submit a saliva sample by mail after completing an interview by phone.

Scripps will mail a packet that contains the consent form, the saliva collection cup, and instructions for participating together with a pre-paid return mailer.

Because the study is seeking more than 1,000 participants, each individual will not see his or her results. However, study participants will be updated on the overall findings of the study. No compensation is offered to participants.

In the research, samples will be labeled with a barcode and number, and researchers will not see your name or any other personal information to protect privacy.

If volunteers decide they no longer want to be part of the study, they can call Scripps, and the DNA sample will be destroyed.

Who qualifies for the study?

Knee arthritis pain?

Participants must be 80 years or older and not have a history of any of the flowing

conditions: cancer (except for some skin cancers), heart disease, stroke, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, chronic kidney disease, an autoimmune condition (such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s or lupus), diabetes, or an aneurysm.

People with the following conditions can take part in the study: osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, controlled high blood pressure, prostate enlargement, high cholesterol and hypothyroidism.

One of the challenging parts of the study is locating participants — because such healthy people don’t spend much time in healthcare facilities, Topol said.

“The logistics are tricky, but we have to find them,” he said. “We think as people learn about this program, they’ll want to participate as a way to help benefit the health and well being of future generations.

“Why are these people Teflon-coated?”

Topol asked. “Why don’t they get disease?

There’s been too much emphasis on disorders per se and not enough on the people who are exceptionally healthy,” to learn from their genomes, Topol said. “Now we have the powerful tools to do that.”

For more information on the study, call 1-800-727-4777 or email wellderly@scrippshealth.org.

BEACON BITS

Dec. 10

SOCK MONKEY SATURDAY Don’t let the holidays drive you bananas! Relax by making your

very own sock monkey on Saturday, Dec. 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A great lastminute gift for the grandkids! The event is free, but you must bring two pairs of (clean) socks and scissors. Instructions, stuffing, sewing needles, thread, baubles and camaraderie are provided. AVAM’s Jim Rouse Visionary Center is located at 800 Key Highway. No advanced registration required. For more information, call (410) 244-1900.

Volunteers are needed for a research study conducted at Johns Hopkins Bayview

Getting you back to your life.

To study sleep in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. To participate, you must be 50 years or older.

Both good and poor sleepers are needed. Parking, and tests are provided at no cost. Compensation is provided.

Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing

Call 410-550-7906 www.SleeplessInBaltimore.com Principal Investigator: Michael T. Smith, Ph.D. Protocol NA_000118021

Approved 08/24/2009

©2011 HCR Healthcare, LLC

and/or visit the website at

Dulaney – 410.828.6500 Ruxton – 410.821.9600 Towson – 410.828.9494 www.manorcare.com

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com | Fitness & Health

BALTIMORE BEACON — DECEMBER 2011

13

Researchers seek secrets of longevity

By Malcolm Ritter George Eberhardt turned 107 in October, and scientists would love to know how he and other older folks like him made it that far. So he’s going to hand over some of his DNA. He’s one of 100 centenarians taking part in a project that will examine some of the oldest citizens with one of the newest scientific tools: whole-genome sequencing, the deciphering of a person’s complete collection of DNA. Scientists think DNA from very old healthy people could offer clues to how they have lived so long. And that could one day lead to medicines to help the rest of us stay disease-free longer.

By the time you reach, say, 105, “it’s very hard to get there without some genetic advantages,” said Dr. Thomas Perls, a geriatrics expert at Boston University.

Perls is helping find centenarians for the Archon Genomics X Prize competition.

The X Prize Foundation, best known for a spaceflight competition, is offering $10 million in prize money to researchers who decipher the complete DNA code from 100 people older than 100. The contest will be judged on accuracy, completeness and the speed and cost of sequencing.

The contest is a relaunch of an older competition with a new focus on centenarians.

Genome pioneer J. Craig Venter said the centenarian project is just a first step in revealing the genetic secrets of a long and healthy life.

“We need 10,000 genomes, not 100, to start to understand the link between genetics, disease and wellness,” said Venter, who is co-chairing the X Prize contest.

What’s the common denominator?

The 107-year-old Eberhardt of Chester, N.J., played and taught tennis until he was 94. He said he’s participating in the X Prize project because he’s interested in science and technology.

It’s not clear his genes will reveal much.

Nobody else in his extended family reached 100, and he thinks only a couple reached 90, he said in a telephone interview.

So why does he think he lived so long?

He credits 70 years of marriage to his wife, Marie. She in turn cites his “intense interest in so many things” over a lifetime — from building radios as a child to pursuing a career in electronics research.

But scientists believe there’s more to it, and they want to use genome sequencing to investigate.

Dr. Richard Cawthon of the University of Utah, who is seeking longevity genes by other means, said it may turn up genetic features that protect against multiple diseases or that slow the process of aging in general.

Living wrong, but living long Protective features of a centenarian’s DNA can even overcome less-than-ideal lifestyles, said Dr. Nir Barzilai of the Albert Einstein

BEACON BITS

Nov. 25

TABLE TENNIS TOURNAMENT The most-loved and attended event in the sport of table tennis is

the North American Teams Championships, held annually at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The event, which attracts 3,000 competitors and spectators from five continents, comes to town again on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 25-27. Spectator ground passes are good for all three days and cost $20 at the door. For times of tournaments, call (301) 816-

College of Medicine in New York. His own study of how centenarians live found that “as a group, they haven’t done the right things.”

Many in the group he studied were obese or overweight. Many were smokers, and few exercised or followed a vegetarian diet. His oldest participant, who died this month just short of her 110th birthday, smoked for 95 years.

“She had genes that protected her against

BEACON BITS

Dec. 2

THE NIGHT OF 100 ELVISES

Elvis lives, at least on the nights of Dec. 2 and 3 at Lithuanian Hall, 851-3 Hollins St. The main ballroom will host at least 12 bands and 12 Elvis tribute artists. All entertainers will perform Elvis music all night. A southern buffet featuring some of Elvis’ favorite foods will be served from 7:30 to 9 p.m., followed by coffee, cake and fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches beginning at 10 p.m. Tickets start at $55. For more information, visit www.nightof100elvises.com.

Breast Cancer Study Breast cancer survivors between the ages of 45-80 years needed to participate in a diet and exercise research study. Work with doctors, dieticians and exercise physiologists to change your diet and physical activity to help improve your fitness. Includes cardiac, diabetes, and blood pressure risk evaluation. No diet drugs.

If you are interested, please call U. of MD-BVAMC 410-605-7179 mention code: breast cancer

Have you been depressed since you had a traumatic brain injury?

The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine is seeking people who have developed depression since the traumatic brain injury for a treatment research study with escitalopram (Lexapro) or placebo (sugar pill)

Approved February 25, 2010

Seeking Men and Women to participate in a research study at the University of Maryland &Veterans Affairs of Baltimore to better understand balance and the prevention of falls in aging individuals.

You will receive:

• Health evaluation • Balance, step, strength, and/or flexibility exercises • Compensation for your time • Free parking

410-605-7179 Mention code: LIFT You must be at least 65 years old and in good health. CALL TODAY!

PROCEDURES: • Screening to determine eligibility • Administration of escitalopram (Lexapro) or placebo (sugar pill) for 12 weeks • Brain scans at the start and end of treatment • 4 scheduled clinical visits during the 12 week period All subjects who complete the 12 week study will be paid $200.00 at the end of the study.

For information, contact Vani Rao, M.D, at

0660 or email info@natabletennis.com.

Want to Prevent Falls in the Elderly?

the environment,” Barzilai said. One of her sisters died at 102, and one of her brothers is 105 and still manages a hedge fund.

No doubt many will be interested in learning what accounts for such a family history and what, if anything, can be done to replicate it.

For more information on the X Prize competition, see http://genomics.xprize.org.

— AP

410-550-2288

Principal Investigator: Vani Rao, M.D. Application No.: NA_00020154

Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

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DECEMBER 2011 — BALTIMORE BEACON

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“Well, I finally did it. I finally decided to enter the digital age and get a cell phone. My kids have been bugging me, my book group made fun of me, and the last straw was when my car broke down, and I was stuck by the highway for an hour before someone stopped to help. But when I went to the cell phone store, I almost changed my mind. The phones are so small I can’t see the numbers, much less push the right one. They all have cameras, computers and a “global-positioning” something or other that’s supposed to spot me from space.

Goodness, all I want to do is to be able to talk to my grandkids! The people at the store weren’t much help.

They couldn’t understand why someone wouldn’t want a phone the size of a postage stamp. And the rate plans!

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Call now and get a FREE Car Charger and FREE Leather Carrying Case – a $43.99 value. Try Jitterbug for 30 days and if you don't love it, just return it1. Why wait, the Jitterbug comes ready to use right out of the box. If you aren’t as happy with it as I am, you can return it for a refund of the purchase price. Call now, the Jitterbug product experts are ready to answer your questions.

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IMPORTANT CONSUMER INFORMATION: DoubleTime offer valid on Basic 19 plan and applies to new Jitterbug customers only. Offer ends 1/3/12. Offer valid until plan is changed or cancelled. Jitterbug is owned by GreatCall, Inc.Your invoices will come from GreatCall. All rate plans and services require the purchase of a Jitterbug phone and a one-time set up fee of $35. Coverage and service is not available everywhere. Other charges and restrictions may apply. Screen images simulated. There are no additional fees to call Jitterbug’s 24-hour U.S. Based Customer Service. However, for calls to an Operator in which a service is completed, minutes will be deducted from your monthly balance equal to the length of the call and any call connected by the Operator, plus an additional 5 minutes. Monthly rate plans do not include government taxes or assessment surcharges. Prices and fees subject to change. 1We will refund the full price of the Jitterbug phone if it is returned within 30 days of purchase in like-new condition.We will also refund your first monthly service charge if you have less than 30 minutes of usage. If you have more than 30 minutes of usage, a per minute charge of 35 cents will apply for each minute over 30 minutes.The activation fee and shipping charges are not refundable. Jitterbug is a registered trademark of GreatCall, Inc. Samsung is a registered trademark of Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and/or its related entities. Copyright © 2011 GreatCall, Inc. Copyright © 2011 by firstSTREET for Boomers and Beyond, Inc. All rights reserved.

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com | Fitness & Health

BALTIMORE BEACON — DECEMBER 2011

15

Drop your blood pressure with potassium Dear Pharmacist: types of diuretics, heartburn medications, I have borderline high blood pres- laxatives, insulin therapy and corticosteroid sure, but I don’t have predrugs. More classes of medscription drug insurance so ications are listed in my book, I’m not willing to start medDrug Muggers. ication yet. If you had to I cannot overestimate the pick only one vitamin or importance of restoring nusupplement to recommend, trients that get depleted by what would you suggest? medications, for this is your — M.G. side effect solution!

Dear M.G.: Most physicians are aware If I’m pinned to just one, I of the need to reestablish pick potassium chloride. It’s potassium levels after ordering inexpensive, sold over-the- DEAR a diuretic drug, so patients are counter at pharmacies nation- PHARMACIST commonly told to replace wide, and is well-documented By Suzy Cohen potassium with a banana. to help regulate blood presFYI, one cup of papaya or sure. There are even extended-release ver- French-style green beans have much highsions available by prescription, such as er amounts of natural potassium compared Micro-K and Klor-Con. to one banana, a fruit that is high in sugar Potassium lives in all of our cells, and you and prone to fungal disease at the plantation. need it to move your muscles and make your Potassium can also be depleted from the heart beat in perfect rhythm. Without body by intense workouts (think hot enough potassium on board, your muscles yoga), any kind of dehydration, vomiting, will cramp (and remember, your heart is a chronic or severe diarrhea and alcomuscle). Potassium also seems to protect the holism. If you want to know your blood levbrain from ischemic injury (like a stroke). els, physicians offer a blood test to evaluThe scary part to me is that there are ate your level of potassium and other elecdozens of drug muggers of potassium — trolytes. that is, other medications that rob the body Potassium works with its brother, sodiof needed potassium. These include certain um, and the two together help control your

body’s water balance, which in turn regulates blood pressure.

Potassium has a cumulative effect, and this makes it better to take a regular dose for two or three months, rather than to take large doses for short periods of time.

Never take more than your doctor recommends, and be careful because potassium interacts with certain diuretics and blood pressure drugs that are “potassium-sparing.”

Studies consistently support potassium in the regulation of blood pressure. Research has shown that adults (and animals) with high blood pressure who are given supplemental potassium often show a drop in systolic and/or diastolic pressure

by up to 12 mm Hg (sometimes more, depending on the study).

Animals prone to stroke also showed benefit from potassium in at least one study.

Only two percent of the rats who were potassium-supplemented suffered a stroke, compared to 83 percent of the untreated group.

When supplementing with potassium tablets, drink plenty of water and eat a snack because this helps ease the mineral into your body gently, while minimizing GI discomfort.

This information is opinion only. It is not intended to treat, cure or diagnose your condition.

Suzy Cohen is a registered pharmacist. To contact her, visit www.dearpharmacist.com.

Gentle Foot Care in Your Home Diabetic foot exams Corns/calluses Wound/infection care Toenail fungus Dr. Richard Rosenblatt DPM

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ADVERTORIAL

Baltimore Eye Doctor Helps Legally Blind to See Again Diplomat in Low Vision Care trains Dr. Thomas Azman to help those with age-related macular degeneration with reading and driving.

By Elena Lombardi Freelance Writer

Donald Paquette, 72, a former assessor from Anaheim, California, thought that his driving days were over. “I could not read the street signs soon enough and I couldn’t pass the vision test at the DMV office.”

Gonzalo Garcia, 74, Albuquerque, New Mexico, wanted to be able to read and write more easily.

He wanted to see the nails and screws when he tried to use them in home repairs. He wanted see his grandchildren singing in the church choir. But he thought those days were over when he was diagnosed with Macular Degeneration.

California optometrist, Dr. Richard J. Shuldiner and Baltimore optometrist Dr. Thomas Azman are using miniaturized binoculars or telescopes to help people who have lost vision from macular degeneration or other eye conditions.

“Some of my patients consider us the last stop for people who have vision loss.” said Dr. Azman, a low vi-

Hank Frese wearing Bioptic Telescope Driving Glasses

sion optometrist who has just completed training with Dr. Shuldiner in California.

“Amazing!” says Donald. “I can read the street signs twice as far as I did before and even see the television better!”

Macular degeneration is the most common eye disease among the senior population. As many as 25% of those over 65 have some degree of degeneration. The macula is one small part of the entire retina, but it is the most sensitive and gives us sharp images.

When it degenerates, macular degeneration leaves a blind spot right in the center of vision, which makes it impossible to recognize faces, read a book, or pass the drivers vision test.

The experts do not know what

causes macular degeneration. But major factors include UV light from the sun, smoking, aging, and improper nutrition.

Vitamins can help. The results of two studies, AREDS and LAST demonstrated a lowered risk of progression by about 25% when treated with a high-dose combination of vitamins. Dr. Azman advises patients on the best nutritional supplements during the low vision evaluation.

Nine out of ten people who have macular degeneration have the dry type. There is no medical treatment except for vitamins. The wet type involves the leakage of fluid or blood from the blood vessels behind the macula. Injections of Leucentis or Avastin are very effective in preventing the vessels from leaking.

“Our job is to figure out anything and everything possible to keep a person functioning,” says Dr. Azman.

“Whether it’s driving, reading, watching television, seeing faces, playing bridge… we work with whatever is on the persons “wish list.”

Even if it’s driving.

Maryland and California are two of many states that allow the use of telescopic glasses for safer driving.

Hank Frese, 69, a former High School Principal from La Palma, California saw Dr. Shuldiner last August.

“I could not read the street signs soon enough when driving, and I could not read my morning paper.”

Bioptic Telescopic glasses were prescribed to read signs and see traffic lights farther away. As Hank puts it, “These telescope glasses not only allow me to read signs from a farther distance, but makes driving much easier. I’ve also used them to watch television so I don’t have to sit so close. I don’t know why I waited two years to do this; I should have come sooner” “Telescopic glasses start at around $1500”, says Dr. Azman, “and low vision prismatic reading glasses start at $500. A small price to pay for better vision and increased independence.”

If you or someone you care about is struggling with vision loss, call Dr. Thomas Azman for a free telephone interview.

You can reach Dr. Azman by dialing (410) 561-8050.

Due to an inadvertent typographical error, prior versions of this ad have described Dr. Azman as an “opthomasetrist” rather than “optometrist” throughout. The Beacon was responsible for the error and we apologize for any confusion.

16

DECEMBER 2011 — BALTIMORE BEACON

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

Money Law &

Many foreign stocks trade on U.S. exchanges. Consider some of the companies highlighted below to diversify and strengthen your portfolio.

Investing overseas for dividends, income

By Jeffrey R. Kosnett Despite the turmoil in stock markets around the world, this is a great time to home in on solid dividend-paying and growth stocks of foreign companies.

Though it requires some extra research and may take you beyond your comfort zone, you’ll find hundreds of foreign stocks that trade in the U.S. as American depositary receipts (ADRs).

The payoffs of high dividends and an expanding roster of stocks at favorable prices make it worth the trouble. ADRs are priced in dollars and you can buy and sell them in an ordinary brokerage account.

Here are some examples to consider: • BHP Billiton (symbol BHP; recent price, $77) is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, and mines everything from aluminum to zinc. The company has prospered thanks to a boom in demand for natural resources, especially from fastgrowing emerging nations.

That trend should continue — as long as the world avoids a global recession. The company has boosted its dividend at an annualized rate of 23 percent over the past five years. The yield isn’t especially eyecatching, but BHP should deliver an attrac-

tive total return (dividends plus appreciation) over the long haul.

• Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (EOC; $47), known informally as Endesa Chile, provides power mostly in Chile, Argentina and Colombia. The dividend yield of the Santiago-based firm compares favorably with the best U.S. electrics, but its prospects are better, given the steady economic growth in the region it serves and Endesa’s long list of power projects under construction.

That contrasts with U.S. utilities, which build little nowadays, instead relying on obsolete facilities and trying to grow mainly by merging.

Because Endesa gets most of its electricity from hydropower, however, dry weather and climate change present special risks.

• Novartis (NVS; $55) is the world’s third-largest pharmaceutical company. It is well diversified, with a broad portfolio of prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and eye-care products.

Returns on Novartis’s shares have trounced those of U.S. and other European drug giants over the past five years. The company has been able to raise dividends

19 percent annually over that half-decade.

And its location in Basel, Switzerland, means U.S. investors benefit from the super-strong Swiss franc.

• Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo (SBS; $52) is a water-and-sewer utility in the giant Brazilian state of Sao Paulo. Compared with U.S. water stocks, Saneamento Basico yields way more and pays out far less of its profits as dividends (only 30 percent).

That gives it the flexibility to boost dividends even more.

Saneamento also has plenty of growth potential. It will take decades to bring water and sanitation to hundreds of poor settlements and to the new residences, offices and factories going up in booming Brazil. Dividends, which vary year to year, were 29 percent higher in 2010 than they were in 2009.

• Telefonica (symbol TEF; recent price, $19) provides phone and Internet services in Europe and Latin America and offers an unusually high 8.6-percent yield.

Part of that is because of the perceived risk of being headquartered in Madrid.

But Telefonica is far from a pure investment in Spain. The rest of Europe and

Latin America, from Mexico south, account for 71 percent of Telefonica’s revenues and 64 percent of its profits. Europe will produce little growth, but Telefonica generates enough cash flow to keep raising its dividends.

• Total (TOT; $44). Europe’s largest oil refiner is one of a shrinking number of integrated oil companies. It’s also involved in natural gas, as well as solar and wind energy.

The chief difference between Total and other integrated multinationals, such as BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil, is its yield: At 6.0 percent, Total, a French company, yields about twice as much as Exxon, which prefers to buy back huge amounts of its stock rather than boost its payout by a large amount.

• Unilever (UN; $31), an Anglo-Dutch company with dual headquarters in London and Rotterdam, competes with the likes of Procter & Gamble to sell soap, personal products and food. Well-known brands include Dove soap, Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Vaseline.

This is an odd duck. You can buy British See INVEST OVERSEAS, page 18

Scams target used car shoppers online

By Eileen AJ Connolly It’s another case of “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

The FBI is warning online auto shoppers to watch out for deals that offer cars at very low prices, then direct unwitting buyers to phony websites designed to separate victims from their money. The agency says more than $44.5 million was stolen through such scams from 2008 to 2010.

The agency said there are variations on the scheme, but the basic version involves a seller placing an ad on a legitimate website like Craigslist for a car at a below-market price. When an interested buyer responds via email, the return email often includes a story of hardship explaining why the price is so low — the seller lost his job, there’s a health care emergency, or even that the seller is being deployed by the military.

The email also includes a request to move the transaction to another website

“for security reasons,” yet at the same time offers (fake) buyer protection through another company, often identified as eBay Inc. The seller may also pose as a representative of a legitimate company in a live online chat, and will send a real-looking invoice that purports to be from eBay or another major site.

The return email will also ask the consumer to wire the money to pay for the vehicle, and sometimes to fax a receipt showing when that transaction has taken place.

The parties then agree on a time and place to deliver the vehicle — but it never arrives.

Red flags The FBI lists a series of warning signs that the sale is a scam on its website, www.fbi.gov .

To summarize the red flags: car shoppers should watch out for deals with ultra-low prices, sellers who want to switch websites,

claims that buyer protection is available from a website not involved in the transaction, and sellers who won’t meet in person to allow the buyer to see the car ahead of time.

Also beware of hard-luck stories that seemingly explain why the car is such a good deal. And any sale that requires funds to be wired ahead of time should be a big warning sign. Once funds are wired, there is no way to retrieve them.

Craigslist and eBay scams A bluntly worded warning posted on the “Cars & Trucks” page on Craigslist warns consumers against having a vehicle shipped to them.

“Offers to ship a vehicle are virtually 100 percent fraudulent,” the site states, and adds that customers should “never use Western Union or a wire transfer to pay for goods — only a scammer will ask for this, and any funds sent will be lost.”

There were nearly 14,000 complaints submitted to the FBI by consumers who have been targeted or fallen for this type of scam between 2008 and 2010.

Jack Christin, associate general counsel at eBay Inc., said the online auction company sees the scammers as “hijacking the eBay name.” The company has placed an alert on the top of www.ebaymotors.com warning consumers that their vehicle purchase protection only covers transactions completed on their site. If a seller from another site promises eBay protection programs, the warning says, “Walk away. It is fraudulent.”

The eBay Motors Security Center also offers tips for safe online car buying and links to report suspected fraud to the company and the Internet Crime Complaint Center, which is operated by the FBI and other government agencies.

— AP

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com | Law & Money

BALTIMORE BEACON — DECEMBER 2011

Money Shorts How to keep or obtain free checking Free checking accounts are increasingly coming with a little asterisk.

A recent study released by Bankrate.com found that the vast majority of banks still offer free checking accounts. But more of them require customers to meet certain conditions to have monthly fees waived.

For example, customers may have to maintain a certain balance or set up direct deposit, in which a paycheck or government benefit is automatically deposited into their account on a recurring basis.

Otherwise, the study found that only 45 percent of checking accounts are free with no strings attached. That’s down sharply from 65 percent last year and 76 percent just two years ago.

Even if customers find a free account, the other fees they run into may be somewhat higher.

The average total cost for using an outof-network ATM rose slightly to $3.81, from $3.74, the year before, the study found. That’s including the fees charged by the customer’s own bank and the ATM operator. The average overdraft fee also rose slightly to $30.83, from $30.47.

The findings were based on a study of banks in the country’s biggest markets in August.

The higher costs come as banks revamp their terms and conditions to adjust to new regulations.

Starting in October, the fees banks can collect from merchants whenever customers swipe their debit cards was

capped. These fees generated an estimated $19 billion in revenue for banks in 2009, according to the Nilson Report, which tracks the payments industry. Several large banks have cited the regulation in ending or scaling back their debit rewards program in the past year.

Banks are also experimenting with new ways to increase revenue. Chase and Wells Fargo, for instance, are testing a $3 monthly fee for customers who want debit cards with their checking accounts.

Another regulation that went into effect last summer requires banks to obtain a customer’s consent before enrolling them in overdraft programs, which often charge as much as $35 per violation.

Previously, it was a common industry practice to automatically sign up customers without giving them a way to opt out. Consumer advocates said that was misleading because most people assume they can’t spend more than they have in their account.

— AP

Medicare drug co-pays going up in 2012 A new study finds that Medicare Part D copays for brand-name drugs will be going up sharply in many plans next year.

Copays for preferred brand-name drugs will increase by 40 percent on average, and non-preferred brands will average nearly 30 percent more, according to the study by Avalere Health. Copays are the portion of the cost of each prescription that the customer pays the pharmacy directly.

Medicare announced this summer that premiums for most prescription plans would remain unchanged next year, an average of about $30 a month. But the gov-

ernment’s numbers didn’t delve into detail on copays.

The Avalere study shows that the plan with the lowest monthly premium may not always be the best deal when all costs are considered.

“Everyone’s drug needs are going to be individual,” said Medicare deputy administrator Jon Blum. “You can’t make a general conclusion until you look at the particular plan they are in and the particular drugs they are taking.”

In fact, since the study’s figures are averages for the entire program, actual costs could vary markedly by medication, plan and region of the country.

The changing scene underscores how important it is for seniors to check and see what changes are being made in their current plans — and look for other plans that may be cheaper — before the Part D open enrollment period ends Dec. 7. In the past, the enrollment period extended later in the year, but has been moving earlier to

17

allow companies more time for processing new members.

— AP

Get some benefit from old electronics Old electronics, or “e-waste,” constitutes the fastest-growing source of consumer trash. But don’t dump your old computers, cellphones and other devices in a landfill. Your trash could be someone else’s treasure.

• Sell it. Buyers at eBay and Amazon.com are always looking for deals. You can sell your used items yourself, or go through a company like iSold It, which sells products online for consumers.

Mike Hadad, owner of an iSold It outlet in See MONEY SHORTS, page 18

BEACON BITS STAYING SAFE

Dec. 6

Mt. Carmel Senior Center is sponsoring an event called “Be Prepared: Winter and Holiday Safety for Seniors” for family, friends and caregivers to learn how they can help keep older adults safe and ensure they have the resources they need. The program will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 6 from 12:45 to 1:30 p.m. The center is located at 17038 Pretty Boy Dam Rd., Parkton. For more information, contact Sally Cavanaugh at (410) 887-1923.

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Money shorts From page 17 Maryland, said he sells most of the electronics he gets on eBay, but he tends to place new or nearly new items on Amazon, where they usually fetch a higher price. ISold It franchises usually take about a third of the sale price in commission.

Anyone can become a seller on eBay or

DECEMBER 2011 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Amazon. If you don’t want the hassle of listing and shipping your items yourself, find an online trading assistant at http://ebaytradingassistant.com.

Capstone Wireless (www.capstonewirelessllc.com) buys back all varieties of cellphones, as long as they power up and have a good LCD display. Gazelle.com buys more than 20 categories of electronics. Apple offers a gift card in exchange for reusable Apple

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

Ongoing

START-UP EMAIL RESOURCE StartupDigest.com is a weekly email newsletter for startups in 40 cities, including Baltimore. Sign up at www.startupdigest.com.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR KINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS

Volunteers are needed for kindergarten and elementary school programs throughout Baltimore county. There is no minimum requirement for number of hours of service. Training will be provided by Baltimore County Public Schools before entering the classroom. For more information, call (410) 887-2715.

computers (go to www.apple.com/recycling/computer).

• Donate it. ReCellular resells phones it can find buyers for and recycles the rest (visit www.recellular.com/recycling/donatephones.asp). Give desktop computers and peripherals to the National Cristina Foundation (www.cristina.org) and the World Computer Exchange (www.worldcomputerexchange.org).

To establish the value of donated items for a tax deduction, use ItsDeductible (free at www.turbotax.com; look under “Tax Calculators and Tools”).

• Recycle it. Some retailers and many manufacturers take back electronics for recycling or resale. Best Buy stores accept most electronics. Staples stores take personal electronics (such as PDAs, cellphones and digital cameras) free, but charge $10 to take back office electronics.

Call2Recycle picks up cellphones and rechargeable batteries from many locations, including Radio Shack and Home

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www.ParkViewSeniorLiving.com Call the community nearest you to inquire about eligibility requirements and to arrange a personal tour or email seniorliving@sheltergrp.com.

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Depot stores (to find the nearest drop-off location, visit www.call2recycle.org).

For manufacturers’ take-back programs, visit the website of the Electronics TakeBack Coalition (www.electronicstakeback.org).

Dell partners with Staples and Goodwill to collect Dell products in their stores (http://reconnectpartnership.com).

To find other places to recycle electronics, visit www.earth911.com and search by zip code. Of course, you can always just give your e-trash away to someone nearby who wants it. Join your local Freecycle group at www.freecycle.org.

Important note: Whether selling or giving it away, clear your computer’s hard drive first, so your personal information doesn’t find its way to an identity thief. Use a free disk-wiping product, such as Active@KillDisk (http://killdisk.com/downloadfree.htm) or Darik’s Boot and Nuke (www.dban.org).

— Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

Invest overseas From page 16 ADRs (symbol UL) or Dutch ADRs (UN).

Their prices may vary by a few hairs because of different exchange-rate trends among the dollar, pound and euro. Either way, Unilever has paid dividends since 1937 and is your basic tried-and-true, lowrisk, growth-and-income stock.

• Vodafone (VOD; $26), based in England, provides cellphone services in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It also owns 45 percent of Verizon Wireless (the rest is owned by Verizon Communications), which represents a major part of Vodafone’s fortunes.

After not paying a dividend to its Vodaphone for six years, Verizon Wireless announced recently that it would distribute $10 billion to its parents next January.

Vodafone’s stock-price chart closely tracks that of Telefonica, but you ought to own shares of both if you’re interested in global telecommunications.

Jeffrey R. Kosnett is a senior editor at Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.

Send your questions and comments to moneypower@kiplinger.com. And for more on this and similar money topics, visit www.Kiplinger.com. © Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

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COMMUNITY SERVICES ONLINE DIRECTORY

The Maryland Community Services Locator website, www.mdcsl.org, is an interactive online directory that helps community members locate services that provide assistance with substance abuse, short-term housing, job readiness, adult education, health/mental health, emergency food assistance, family assistance, victim services and more. For more information, call (301) 405-9796 or visit the website.

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com | Law & Money

BALTIMORE BEACON — DECEMBER 2011

19

How to qualify for elder care tax breaks

By Kimberly Lankford Q: My mother, who’s in the early stages of dementia, has moved in with me. She will attend an adult day care program while I’m at work. Can I deduct any of the expense of her care?

A: You may be able to claim a dependent-care tax credit or set aside pretax dollars in a flexible spending account to pay for her care, as long as the expenses are necessary so that you (and your spouse, if you’re married) can continue to work.

To qualify for the tax credit, your mother must be physically or mentally unable to care for herself. The rules for claiming the dependent-care tax credit are less stringent than those for claiming a parent as a dependent.

That means even if your mother’s gross income exceeds $3,700 (the personal-exemption amount for 2011), you could still claim the dependent-care credit as long as

you provide more than half of her support.

For most taxpayers, the dependent-care credit is worth 20 percent of the cost of care, up to $3,000 for one dependent ($6,000 for two or more). But your mother must live with you more than half of the year to qualify for the tax credit.

So if she moved in after June, you won’t be able to claim the dependent-care credit on your 2011 income tax return that you’ll file next year; you’ll have to wait to claim the credit on your 2012 return. For more information about the tax rules, see IRS Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses.

Flexible spending accounts Your employer may offer a flexible spending account program (FSA), which allows you to set aside part of your salary tax free for use in caring for your mother.

If you are eligible for an FSA, ask

whether you can make a midyear election to designate up to $5,000 to a dependentcare account for this year. If not, you can set up an FSA for 2012 during this year’s open-enrollment season.

The rules for dependent-care FSAs can vary by employer, but generally your mother would be eligible if she is physically or mentally incapable of caring for herself, she lives with you for more than half the year, and you provide more than half of her support.

“A practical example of an eligible ex-

pense might be the fees for a senior day care center for elders with Alzheimer’s — if, say, a parent lives with and is dependent on an adult child who works, and the parent goes to [an adult day care] center each day because the parent can’t be left alone,” said Jody Dietel, of WageWorks, which administers FSA plans for many large employers.

You must choose between the FSA and the tax credit; you can’t claim both for the same expense. © 2011 Kiplinger. All rights reserved.

Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

VOLUNTEER AT SINAI HOSPITAL Sinai Hospital relies on volunteers to visit patients in nursing

units, greet and direct patients in admitting areas, deliver flowers, books or magazines, and survey patients about their hospital experience. To find out more, call Beth Markowitz at (410) 601-5023 or email bmarkowi@lifebridgehealth.org.

BEACON BITS

Nov. 28

LEFTOVERS MONDAY After Thanksgiving Leftovers Monday will be held from 10 to 11

a.m. on Nov. 28 at the Brooklyn Park Senior Activity Center, 202 Hammonds Lane.

Ongoing

RSVP SEEKS VOLUNTEERS Baltimore County’s Retired and Senior Volunteer Program is seeking volunteers for activities from mentoring children to preparing

Bring in a turkey sandwich and other leftovers, and get dessert. Call (410) 222-

income tax returns, planting trees and more. For more information, contact Ed-

6847 for information.

drena Miller at (410) 887-3101 or email volunteers@baltimorecountymd.gov.

to the fullest LiveLifeat Atrium Village BRAND NEW APARTMENT HOMES FOR ACTIVE ADULTS 62 OR BETTER Regency Crest is an extraordinarily carefree community because of the convenient lifestyle enjoyed by those who live here. We go the extra mile to provide our residents with distinctive amenities and service that cannot be found in ordinary active adult communities.

COMMUNITY AMENITIES • Beautiful club room with theater and demonstration kitchen • Wellness center • Indoor saltwater pool • Yoga studio & classes • Cooking Classes, and many more planned activities • Movie theater & Billiards Room • Business center • Incredible courtyard and meditation garden with koi pond and gazebo PLANNED ACTIVITIES SUCH AS WATER AEROBICS, RESIDENT MIXERS, COOKING CLASSES, ZUMBA, MOVIE NIGHTS, BBQ’S AND MANY MORE!

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You’re on top of your medications.

But we make a good back up.

You know it’s important to stay on your medications exactly as prescribed.

However, if you miss a dose, want a lower-cost alternative, or experience any side effects, we can answer any questions. Speak to your local CVS Pharmacist to learn more.

Find a store near you at www.cvs.com

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014331RXX11

BALTIMORE BEACON — DECEMBER 2011

21

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Careers Volunteers &

Does your organization use senior volunteers or do you employ a number of seniors?

If you do and you’d like to be considered for a story in our Volunteers & Careers section, please send an email to info@thebeaconnewspapers.com.

Entrepreneur focuses on the eco-friendly

By Carol Sorgen The late Steve Jobs changed not only the way we think about technology (admit it, how many of us are addicted to our Macs, iPhones, and/or iPads), but how we shop for it as well (think big box warehouse versus stylish Apple boutique).

BethAnn Lederer hopes to do the same thing for what she calls “tools for daily living.”

Whether it’s clothes, home decor, or even homes themselves, Lederer is on a crusade to shift our thinking, shopping and living to a greener, more environmentally friendly and healthier experience.

Lederer, a resident of Towson, became interested in environmentally responsible products when she was doing an ecofriendly remodel of her own home about five years ago.

“There wasn’t much available and there was no single destination — either online or in a bricks-and-mortar destination — where you could buy greener, safer, healthier products,” said Lederer, who prefers not to give her age.

With an entrepreneurial background as the former owner of a successful card and gift shop, Lederer decided there was an empty niche in the marketplace that she could fill.

In 2006, she founded Working Wonders, first out of her home, and now an e-commerce site that will eventually have more than 8,000 products from more than 100 designers and manufacturers available for sale online.

From umbrellas to bedding These range from clean burning palm wax candles to organic cotton bedding and clothing, flooring, window treatments, accessories, even biodegradable umbrellas, all the way to pre-fab housing manufactured in environmentally controlled facilities to reduce toxins.

“The clothes we wear and the objects we live with are often laced with very toxic materials,” said Lederer, suggesting that viewers watch a video produced by eco-activist Annie Leonard called The Story of Stuff, available on the Working Wonders website, www.workingwondersus.com.

All of the products Lederer sells meet her eight goals for greening our homes and lifestyles: reducing waste, conserving natural resources, improving air quality, saving energy and/or water, improving production practices, creating better shipping practices, providing better community relations, and supporting manufacturing in communities and countries that need to build their own economy.

Small showroom Lederer has also opened a deliberately compact (just under 1,000 square feet) temporary showroom at 1416 Clarkview Rd. in Mt. Washington. It is open by appointment to both the public and the design-and-build trade. The showroom will also be open for regularly scheduled open houses (the next one will probably be held close to Valentine’s Day).

Her goal is to find a destination location in Maryland for customers who want the same shopping experience they encounter

at, say, an Apple store — efficient, elegant, fun and sexy, said Lederer. And you don’t need a large amount of space to do that, she said, noting that Apple, with its comparatively small shops, tops U.S. retail chains in sales per square foot.

People often are reluctant to embrace the concept of “green,” fearing that they will have to spend more money or give up their creature comforts, Lederer acknowledges. But she is quick to assure prospective customers that that is not the case.

“Substitute ‘better’ for ‘green,” she suggested, saying the products she is selling are better for the earth, better for the workers who are manufacturing them in safer environments, and better for our own

health as we lessen the amount of toxins and allergens we take in.

Starting the business, especially in an economic downturn, has not been without its challenges, said Lederer. She is seeking investors to help her grow the company, which she has personally financed so far.

“Let’s say I have a lot of skin in the game,” she said of the money she’s put into the business. But it’s all for a cause she deeply believes in.

“To provide a more engaging shopping experience with vetted products to optimize our well-being…that is my passion,” said Lederer.

Learn more about Working Wonders at www.workingwondersUS.com.

“Sure, downsizing was a chore, but making room for new opportunities “

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DECEMBER 2011 — BALTIMORE BEACON

How to hang onto your job in tough times The jobless rate for older workers isn’t as high as it is for the overall U.S. workforce. But older workers who do lose their jobs tend to remain jobless much longer than their younger counterparts — if they’re able to find work at all.

Many have been forced to take parttime jobs, and their retirement plans are taking severe blows due to unplanned withdrawals and stock market upheaval.

For those too young to qualify for Medicare, the loss of employer-provided health insurance has been a devastating blow. Finally, those who do find new work most often accept jobs with lower pay and less valuable benefits.

So, to state the obvious: The best strategy for job security after age 50 is to keep the job you have, if at all possible.

OK, you can stop laughing at me now. I know it’s one thing to advise keeping your job, and another thing to do it in this miserable economy. But is job loss solely a matter of the luck of the draw?

Alan Sklover doesn’t think so. An attorney who’s represented or coached hundreds of older workers in employment cases over his 30-year career, Sklover — who also coaches older workers facing firings, downsizings or layoffs — believes there are things you can do to boost your odds of keeping your job.

Eight employment tips Sklover caught my eye with a recent video he created that outlines eight ways older workers can remain employed and employable. (You can view the video here: http://bit.ly/qFASnI.) I spoke with Sklover recently, and started by asking for his views on workplace age discrimination. The answer, coming from an employment lawyer who represents workers, surprised me.

He acknowledged that age discrimination is “rampant” in the workplace. But he also said it is “natural and normal,” even though it’s illegal, adding that, “We all make judgments based on age, no matter what anyone says.”

That means it’s that much more important for older workers to “find ways to enhance job security by making yourself indispensable,” he said. “We’re all wired to be sensitive to our own self-interest, and an employer’s self-interest is to ask, ‘Is this person helpful to me? Can they help me be successful?’ That is always where it starts.”

Here are some of the tips for enhancing job security that Sklover said have worked well over the years for his older clients.

Oh, and if he sounds a bit prejudiced against older workers, it’s worth mentioning that Sklover himself is over 60.

1. Be vigilant about appearance. “Some-

This isn’t far away.

times we get a little grayer, gain a little weight, term projects and programs. If your ordon’t stand up as straight,” he said. “Nature ganization is working on a project that will take three to five years to may have these effects on you, complete, do what you can to but that doesn’t mean you have get involved because that to cooperate in the process. probably will keep you on the “You can walk a little extra, or job for that length of time, take up yoga. Get a little extra Sklover said. sun and sleep — even drink 6. Be a reputation-enmore water. Do what you can — hancer. “Write an article and within reason — to maintain a submit it to a trade journal,” he perception of vitality.” said. “Do an appearance on tel2. Stay tech savvy. If you evision. In some way, help your don’t know the latest software RETIRE SMART organization polish up its perand other technologies, such as

By Mark Miller ception in the marketplace.” social media, it creates the per7. Play your strong card, which is exception that you’re over the hill. “You might need to hire a 15-year-old to be your tutor,” perience. Would you rather hire someone for a job who has 40 years of experience, or he said. What matters is that you learn.

3. Seek situations where you can four? “Don’t be afraid to market your expehave greater proximity to revenue. If rience and knowledge. But at the same there are things going on in your organiza- time, don’t allow yourself to be perceived as tion that involve revenue production, get in- someone who always is looking backward.”

8. Look beyond the horizon to the volved if you can, because you’re less likely to lose your job. “And if you do lose your future. Be someone who thinks about and job,” he added, “you’ll be a more attractive acts on what might be the next big wave in your field. candidate for the next job you apply for.”

Mark Miller is the author of The Hard 4. Build and maintain relationships.

This is important within your organization Times Guide to Retirement Security. He and outside of it. Be active in trade organi- publishes http://retirementrevised.com, rezations, stay in touch with old customers. cently named the best retirement planning “Relationships are critical to organiza- site on the web by Money Magazine. Contact tions,” Sklover said. “Don’t allow them to him with questions and comments at fall by the wayside.” mark@retirementrevised.com.

5. Involve yourself in critical long© 2011 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

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ARE YOU AN ENTREPRENEUR?

The Small Business Resource Center offers assistance to entrepreneurs with everything from preparing business plans to finding insurance for their employees. The center is free to the public and has a PC-based business library with literature and videos. Visit at 1101 E. 33rd St., Suite C307, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call (443) 451-7160 or visit www.sbrcbaltimore.com.

Luxury Apartment Living for Adults 62+ Neither is Springwell :-)

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BALTIMORE BEACON — DECEMBER 2011

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

Travel

23

Leisure &

Plant bulbs now for colorful blooms next spring. See story on page 25.

Alabama’s Civil War and civil rights sites Civil War is an opportune time to explore Alabama’s multiple layers.

The capital’s contrasts The 1851 state capitol building on “goat hill” — so called because of its original grazing denizens — dominates the center of Montgomery. Tour guides point out that segregationist Governor George Wallace and his wife Lurlene, remembered inside in statues and portraits, served 17 years.

Murals under the dome trace the state’s history. The old Senate Chamber, restored to the way it appeared in 1861, is where delegates from seceding southern states formed the Confederate States of America.

A refreshing break from the reminders of strife is the sweet statue of Helen Keller as a child at her family’s water pump the moment she first understood language.

Nearby is the fully-restored first White House of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis’s home, as it looked mid-19th century, showcasing personal items, like the family Bible.

Fast forward to the 1960s civil rights era at the red brick Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, just down the block from the capitol, where Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached self-empowerment and civil disobedience.

The words of Rev. Vernon Johns in the basement museum’s video are a chilling

PHOTO BY GLENDA BOOTH

By Glenda C. Booth Montgomery, Alabama, claims to be the birthplace of both the Civil War and the civil rights movement — events 100 years apart, but not unrelated.

Morgan Berney, with the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Convention and Visitor Bureau, told me: “You should come here to learn the history of the important things that happened here.” So I set out to do just that.

And it’s true: Here in the heart of Dixie, visitors can explore well-preserved buildings and homes and even reenact historic events in a part of the country where some still even debate what to call the 1861-1865 conflict — the Civil War, the War of Southern Independence or the War of Northern Aggression?

On the steps of the state capitol last March, 500 local students sang freedom songs at a rousing civil rights rally. Three weeks earlier, on the same steps, more than 1,000 people in genteel period finery re-enacted Confederate President Jefferson Davis’s 1861 inauguration, celebrating Montgomery as the first capital of the Confederacy.

Indeed, a trip across central Alabama is an expedition through the state’s schizophrenic past and a candid look at Alabama’s beauty marks and blemishes. The sesquicentennial commemoration of the

PHOTO BY GLENDA BOOTH

The Dexter Parsonage Museum is located in the home where Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his family lived when he was pastor of the Dexter Avenue (King Memorial) Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala.

At this year’s annual re-enactment of the 1965 voting rights march in Selma, Ala., U.S. Rep. John Lewis (left) recalls the original march, when walkers were attacked by state troopers. To his right are U.S. Senators Harry Reid and Tom Harkin, Rep. James Clyburn and Jesse Jackson, Sr.

reminder of the hostilities of that period.

“It’s safe to murder Negroes in Montgomery,” he says in the film.

The Dexter Parsonage Museum is the homey, seven-room, white frame house with the Kings’ starched doilies, rotary telephone and chenille bedspreads, depicting how the King family lived from 1954 to 1960. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was founded in the dining room.

The front porch bears a crater blasted by a stick of dynamite that blew while Coretta Scott King and her baby were home. Sitting in the home’s kitchen, I felt like MLK could walk in any minute.

Another must-see is the Rosa Parks Library and Museum, commemorating “the event that changed the world” — the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott. There’s a video re-enactment of seamstress Rosa Parks’s refusal to move to the back of the bus.

She later explained, “I had been pushed as far as I could stand to be pushed.” The museum has a replica of the bus and a film telling the story of the 381-day boycott.

These excellent museums tell the civil rights story and show how activists braved cursing and spitting crowds, courageous children integrated public schools, and police unleashed tear gas and billy clubs on marchers.

A black granite Civil Rights Memorial honors those who died. Designer Maya Lin has explained, “This is not a monument to suffering; it is a memorial to hope.”

Of course, visitors can also enjoy more typically tourist attractions here as well, including the Hank Williams Museum (the largest collection of Williams memorabilia worldwide), a cruise on the Harriett II riverboat, or a night out with the Biscuits — an AA baseball affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.

And between museums, you can “go southern” and savor fried green tomatoes, homestyle grits and banana pudding. Residents will greet you with friendly “hi y’alls” and warm southern hospitality.

An equal rights side note. In the state archives, I spotted a plaque that read, “To Our Heroic Women of the Sixties.” I thought, well, Alabama is honoring the women of the 1960s civil rights movement.

But I had jumped to the wrong conclusion.

The plaque was dedicated to the women of the 1860s and was sponsored by the United Daughters of the Confederacy!

Still marching in Selma Selma, 45 miles west of Montgomery and the birthplace of the White Citizens Council, comes across initially as a weary, runSee ALABAMA, page 24

24

Leisure & Travel | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

Alabama From page 23 down town. But probing deeper, you’ll find something very significant about the place.

During the Civil War, the town’s arsenal and foundry next to the Alabama River were Union targets. But Selma is best known for the 1965 voting rights march.

When police shot 26-year-old Jimmie Lee Jackson in Marion, Ala., people were inspired to march to Montgomery and present their demands to Gov. Wallace.

Led by Rev. King and others, as 600 people crossed Selma’s arched Edmund Pettus Bridge, the sheriff’s mounted deputies and a “sea of blue” state troopers sent by Wallace attacked the marchers with nightsticks and tear gas.

Every year, during the first weekend in March, the town perks up with a bridgecrossing jubilee, featuring a parade, rallies, music, a unity breakfast and many notables. On Sunday morning of jubilee weekend, commemorative church services are held around town.

I was welcomed to a two-hour service, led by Dr. Frederick Douglas Reece, who invited Rev. King to Selma in 1965 and was confronted by the police multiple times.

He recounted that as a young black boy he had one pair of pants and took a sweet potato to his all-black school for lunch. He commented that today in Selma, “All people are recognized of the same rank.”

While in Selma, be sure to visit the modest but informative National Voting Rights Museum, spotlighting the movement’s he-

BEACON BITS

Dec. 13

ENJOY THE HOLIDAY SEASON IN BRANDYWINE

Join the Essex Senior Center on Tuesday, Dec. 13, on this trip to the Brandywine River Museum in Pennsylvania to enjoy the Wyeth Family art collection. Take in the sights of Longwood Gardens and enjoy lunch at the Chadds Ford Tavern as well. Cost is $85. For reservations, call (410) 687-5113.

Ongoing

THE 511 ON MARYLAND TRAVEL

The Maryland Department of Transportation has launched a new official travel information service called Maryland 511. Travel information is provided through the Internet at www.md511.org and by phone at 511 (for those in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia).

Maryland 511 provides users with real-time traffic information, transportation alternatives and links to tourism spots across the state.

Senior Apartments LIVE WELL FOR LESS Roland View Towers

DECEMBER 2011 — BALTIMORE BEACON

roes and heroines. One exhibit quotes activist Wendell Paris, who said, “Selma was a real hellhole” and called the 1960s “absolute apartheid.” The Old Depot Museum has artifacts from both the Civil War and voting rights eras.

The National Park Service’s Lowndes County Interpretive Center east of town recalls the 54-mile march on Jefferson Davis Highway to Montgomery, which resulted in President Lyndon Johnson’s signing of the Voting Rights Act, which outlawed literacy tests and poll taxes.

Proud Tuskegee Tuskegee, about 85 miles east of Selma, brings back an earlier but notable time.

The center of the national historic site is the Tuskegee Institute, a college founded in 1881 by Booker T. Washington, the determined former slave who sought to give blacks education, work skills and opportunity. Here we’ll “do some common things uncommonly well,” he said.

The Oaks is Washington’s elegant 1899 home built by students. The Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center has exhibits on the civil rights struggle over two centuries and on the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study.

Also in Tuskegee, the Carver Museum highlights George Washington Carver’s scientific research on peanuts, sweet potatoes and other crops, techniques that revolutionized agriculture. Scientists here collaborated with the National Air and Space Administration in the 1980s to grow plants without soil on space missions.

Worth a visit is the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site at Moton Field, where legendary black airmen defied racial stereotypes and set the stage for desegregating the military.

At the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee I attended in March, one of the women ac-

tive in the 1960s Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee said, “We should not bury the past, but we should build on what happened here.”

Alabama is doing it.

If you go The least expensive roundtrip flights to Montgomery start at $306 on US Airways and $310 on Delta in early December from BWI Marshall Airport.

The state tourism agency at www.Alabama.travel provides information on attractions and itineraries like the Civil Rights Trail and history tours.

To get started in Montgomery, visit http://visitingmontgomery.com, call (334) 261-1100 or stop in the visitors’ center at 300 Water Street.

From the centrally-located Hampton Inn (rates start at $89 per night), you can walk to most major sites. Across the street, Wintzell’s Oyster House is noisy, but has “killa” shrimp, baked crawfish pie and gator tail. Motto: ”I got fried, stewed and nude at Wintzell’s.”

The House Restaurant touts “local grits with shrimp” and fried green tomatoes.

In Selma, check with the Welcome Center, 132 Broad St., (www.selmaalabama.com) for information.

For lodging, the historic 1838 St. James Hotel (www.historic-hotels-lodges.com/ saint-james-hotel.htm, (334) 872-3234) is the only downtown choice and a good one, perched atop the Alabama River in the historic district, exuding antebellum charm.

Rates start at $110 per night. Try shrimp hush puppies and seafood gumbo in the hotel restaurant.

In T uskegee, the Kellogg Hotel (www.tuskegeekelloggcenter.com, (334) 727-3000) on the university campus provides southern hospitality. Rooms start at $99 a night.

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BALTIMORE BEACON — DECEMBER 2011

25

Plant bulbs now for your spring garden

By Ruth Kling It has been difficult to get excited about the advent of fall weather this year due to a wet September and October. Yet gardening is all about hoping for the best.

This sense of hope is well represented by the spring bulb. Spring bulbs are nature’s little bundles of delayed gratification. In each bulb is a harbinger of spring; a snow drop or crocus, a daffodil or tulip.

All this will be yours in exchange for some hard labor now in the fall.

Bulbs are really some of the easiest flowers to grow and perhaps the most rewarding. They only need sun, well draining soil and water if it becomes very dry.

It is very easy to get carried away with purchasing spring bulbs, so I should urge you not to go crazy purchasing bulbs. But it is hard to resist their allure. (Brent and Becky’s Bulbs in Gloucester, Va., is a good, local source for bulbs.)

When to plant In our climate, we can plant bulbs up through early December in some years if the ground doesn’t freeze, which happens at about 20 to 24 degrees.

However, it is best to plant them when there will still be some time for them to develop a root system before they go completely dormant for the winter. Plant them too early, and the heat will cause them to bloom and they’ll be damaged in the coming cold periods.

But if you see little tips of bulbs coming out of the ground during a warm spell in December or January, just cover them up with some shredded leaf mulch.

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A Bahamas cruise to raise funds for the Louis S. Diggs Research Center for African American History will ship out from Jan. 7-16, 2012 from the Port of Baltimore, on the Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Sea. For more information, call Deborah Mullen at (410) 653-1918 or email dpm-travel@aol.com. For more information on the center or to make a donation, call Louis Diggs at (410) 356-5259 or email Louis-Diggs2@verizon.net.

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GROUP TOURS WELCOME AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY

The United States Naval Academy in Annapolis welcomes groups for tours of this historic military academy. You can organize a tour around topics including an historical tour, tour and tea, Jewish chapel tour, military reunion tour, and leadership training tour. To plan a group tour, call (410) 293-8687 or visit www.navyonline.com.

If you have purchased so many bulbs that you cannot plant them all at once, as I have been known to do, they can be placed in a paper bag and put in the refrigerator until they can be planted. Be sure to label the bags so you don’t plant daffodils where you wanted the fritillaria.

Fending off the squirrels Plant all bulbs, including tulips, to a depth of three times the height of the bulb.

This depth will help them weather temperature fluctuations and (supposedly) foil squirrels.

However, I never underestimate a squirrel’s ability to dig up something it wants, and squirrels love tulips. I try to preserve the tulips by rolling each bulb in chili powder as a repellent. (Beware: even though chili powder is not toxic to humans, you do not want to inhale it or get some in your

eyes!).

Bulbs in pots are practically like cookie jars for squirrels, so cover containers planted with tulips with a bit of chicken wire. The wire keeps the squirrels from digging the bulbs out, but lets the plant emerge.

Remember that many bulbs emerge before trees have their leaves, so a shady spot in summer will be sunny in the early spring.

There is nothing more lovely than some early crocus and grape hyacinth peaking up around the base of a tree. Some bulbs, such as daffodils, spread and only need to be divided every few years.

Other tips for planting Bulbs like a neutral ph, so it is possible in our rather acidic local soil that you might need to add some lime. (Amend the soil before planting the bulbs, not at the same time).

I do not recommend blood meal as a fertilizer because it attracts rodents. For fertilizer, I prefer to dig in some compost when planting, or organic bulb fertilizer.

Don’t forget the culinary bulbs, like garlic and shallots. Divide a head of garlic or shallots into cloves and plant each one tip up. After the green shoots emerge, mulch with shredded leaves. Next summer you will have plenty of garlic and shallots to eat and share.

Don’t fuss too much. The truth is bulbs are little powerhouses of life. Inside each bulb are the nutrients that the flower needs to bloom in spring.

So, be patient. If the flowers can make it through the winter only dreaming of blooming, so can you.

Falls Church, Va., gardener Ruth Kling blogs at ruthsgarden.blogspot.com. Send her gardening questions at gardenruth@gmail.com.

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DECEMBER 2011 — BALTIMORE BEACON

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We make children’s medicines a lot less yucky. Ask the pharmacist to add any of our 20 great flavors to any of your liquid medications.

BALTIMORE BEACON — DECEMBER 2011

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Style

27

Arts &

Baltimore lights up for the holiday season. See story on page 28.

Private Lives sparkles at Everyman Theatre Elyot declares that “some women should be struck regularly, like gongs.”

Amanda gives as good as she gets, though, and her mature sparring with Elyot is an interesting counterpoint to Sibyl — at first glance a bit of fluff, as the Brits would say, who eventually proves herself to have what it takes to be an Amanda-in-the-making.

there’s nothing wrong with that. Not every theatrical piece has to be a teachable moment. Sometimes sheer enjoyment is the order of the day. As Elyot says to Amanda, “Let’s be superficial and … enjoy the party as much as we can.”

Nuanced acting

Period design and costumes

In his portrayal of the world-weary Elyot, Bruce Nelson gets just as much mileage out of a glance or a gesture as he does from his rapid-fire dialogue, while Peter Wray’s Victor comes across as a thoroughly decent, albeit at times befuddled, chap.

Kudos to the four main characters for their British accents, which they managed quite admirably to keep on top of throughout the evening. That’s not an easy task, especially with such a quick-paced, dialogue-intense play. And a special mention to Sophie Hinderberger’s expertly delivered scenes, in French yet.

It can’t be said that there is any deep meaning to Private Lives, but quite frankly,

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In addition to the expert performances, a large part of the pleasure of this production is its thoroughly gorgeous set design and spot-on costuming. From the first-act hotel balcony See PRIVATE LIVES, page 29 Peter Wray and Deborah Hazlett star as the honeymooning Victor and Amanda in Noel Coward’s wicked comedy, Private Lives, now playing at Everyman Theatre.

PHOTO BY STAN BAROUH

By Carol Sorgen Noel Coward’s 1930’s comedy of manners, Private Lives, is a lighter-thanmeringue confection. For a thoroughly enjoyable bit of escapism, this production currently playing at Everyman Theatre is right on the mark.

The plot is simple: Amanda and Elyot divorced five years ago but find themselves suite-by-suite on the French Riviera, each honeymooning with a new spouse, Victor and Sibyl. The formerly married partners see each other, sparks fly, and they run off with each other.

Was their divorce a mistake, or is their newly rekindled romance a mere longing for what once was? All will be revealed in the next three acts through Coward’s witty banter, expertly delivered by company members Deborah Hazlett and Bruce Randolph Nelson, with strong — albeit less wordy — performances by supporting cast members Erin Lindsey Krom, Peter Wray, and Sophie Hinderberger as Louise, the French maid.

True, there are several lines in the play that reflect the sensibility of another time and make us cringe today — as when

28

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DECEMBER 2011 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Baltimore lights up for the holiday season

a es ift! k Ma at g e gr

6721 Greenspring Ave. through the month of December, weather permitting. There is no fee, but donations are welcomed.

For more information, visit www. thechanukahhouse.com.

Holiday train festival Celebrate the holiday season at Baltimore’s largest holiday display of toy and model train layouts from Nov. 25 through Dec. 31. If there’s a little one in your life, take note that Santa arrives by locomotive to the Roundhouse at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 25.

Weekend train rides and photo opportunities with Santa will go on through Dec. 21; then Frosty the Snowman moves in through Dec. 31. For more information, go to www.borail.org.

Artful shopping Skip the malls and head to the American Visionary Art Museum on Saturday, Nov. 26, for BAZAART — the American Visionary Art Museum’s Annual Holiday Marketplace of original creations by over 50 regional artists and craftspeople featuring painting, sculpture, paper crafts, metalwork, jewelry, textiles, mixed media, and other work that simply defies categorization! Admission is free. More details available at www.avam.org.

Parade of Lighted Boats Baltimore’s nautical spirit shines during the annual Parade of Lighted Boats, taking place Dec. 3, starting at 6 p.m. More than 50 boats and pleasure crafts festooned with holiday lights make their way from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor to Fell’s Point.

Find out more at www.fpyc.net.

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Washington Monument lighting The official lighting of our Washington Monument on Dec. 1 once again features an evening of choir performances, strolling entertainment and more. The event ends with a colorful fireworks finale choreographed to music. Visit www.promotionandarts.com to learn more.

A Chinese Chanukah Join the Jewish Museum of Maryland on Dec. 25 from noon to 4 p.m. as it celebrates all things Chinese at its annual family event. Play mah-jongg, make Chinese lanterns and origami, and enjoy Chinese treats as the museum pays tribute to its landmark exhibition, “Chosen Food: Cuisine, Culture and American Jewish Identity.” RSVP to Ilene Dackman-Alon, (410) 732-6400, x. 214; or email idackmanalon@ jewishmuseummd.org. Tickets are $10 for JMM member families; $15 for nonmember families.

Night tour of Fort McHenry Discover how Yuletide celebrations and Fort McHenry’s role changed over time.

Join the Park Rangers on Dec. 3 for an exciting walk through the War of 1812, Civil War, World War I and World War II and a rare glimpse of Fort McHenry at night!

Tours are free and last approximately 45 minutes.

Mayor’s Christmas Parade It’s not holiday season in Baltimore without a trip to Hampden, ‘hon. This year’s Mayor’s Christmas Parade is set for Dec. 4, and features the Baltimore Marching Ravens, Harley Davidson motorcycles and marching bands. See more at www.mayorschristmasparade.com.

Kwanzaa Family Day Inspired by “Hand Held: Personal Arts from Africa,” this year’s celebration of community and family on Dec. 28 at the Baltimore Museum of Art features a special performance by Keur Khaleyi African Dance Company and fascinating stories brought to life by actress Maria Broom, featured on the Beacon’s August cover. For more information, visit www.artbma.org.

Kwanzaa Crafts and Dancing Red, black and green — celebrate the

PHOTO COURTESY OF VISITBALTIMORE.COM

By Carol Sorgen Charm City is never as charming as it is this time of year, when it puts on its party clothes to celebrate the holidays. Why don’t you do the same and enjoy some of Baltimore’s favorite traditions — and maybe find a few new ones of your own?

Bromo Seltzer projections Summertime has open-air movies in Little Italy, and wintertime now has the colorful illuminations of artist and graphic designer Kelley Bell atop the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower. The winter-themed creation is projected from three of the four clock faces of the tower so that moving images shine on downtown Baltimore.

The projections can be seen from dusk until dawn through Dec. 12. For more information, visit www.bromoseltzertower.com.

Power Plant light show From now through Dec. 31, the Power Plant lights up the Inner Harbor with a magical display of lights, lasers, music and more.

Don’t miss this “electrifying” attraction! Find out more at www.itsawaterfrontlife.org.

Festival of Trees Get a head start on Christmas at the Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Festival of Trees at the Maryland State Fairgrounds, Nov. 25-27. This annual three-day extravaganza dazzles with its fairyland forests, gingerbread towns and toy train gardens, more than 100 craft boutiques, and a lineup of nightly entertainment. Learn more at http://festivaloftrees.kennedykrieger.org.

Chanukah House The Chanukah House has a new location, but the same festive display of lights. Stop by

Fireworks will light up the night around the Washington Monument on Dec.1

colors of Kwanzaa from Dec. 28-30 at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum with fun-filled activities for the family. Learn Kwanzaa traditions while working on craft projects.

Dance to traditional African music and enjoy a live performance from Farafina Kan, a professional West African percussion orchestra from Washington, D.C. More details at www.africanamericanculture.org.

New Year’s Eve Spectacular Ring out the old, ring in the new, with a celebration offering a night of live music and the countdown to 2011 starting at 9 p.m. at the Inner Harbor Amphitheater, and a fireworks display that is the largest in the region. The choreographed fireworks show starts at the stroke of midnight. For more information, visit www.bop.org.

From all of us to all of you, have a healthy and happy holiday season!

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Cars, boats, furniture, antiques, tools, appliances Everything and anything is sold on

Radio Flea Market Heard every Sunday, 6:30-8 a.m. on 680 WCBM

Pinball wizard

art and of history.”

From page 1

How pinball developed

Once he got over the initial disappointment of having to close the D.C. museum after less than a year, Silverman became excited about the prospect of moving it to Baltimore. He thinks the Inner Harbor location will be ideal, drawing in tourists and residents alike.

As of press time, the museum is scheduled to open at the end of November.

Check www.nationalpinballmuseum.org for updates.

The four-story building (the former Chocolate Factory at 608 Water Street) will house more than 100 machines on exhibit, and include an interactive area where visitors can play both vintage and modern machines.

There will also be classrooms, as Silverman wants to share his knowledge about pinball with the public — especially with young kids. “It’s more than a game,” he said. “Pinball machines are a piece of both

The tradition of pinball dates back to such games as bocce and lawn bowling.

Then in France, during the reign of French King Louis XIV from 1643 to 1715, billiard tables were narrowed, and wooden pins or skittles were placed at one end of the table, with players shooting balls with a stick or cue from the other end.

Because pins took a long time to reset by hand after being knocked down, they were eventually affixed to the table, with holes in the bed of the table becoming the targets. Players learned to ricochet balls off the pins to achieve the harder holes. A standardized version of the game eventually became known as bagatelle.

Between the 1750s and 1770s, billard Japonais (Japanese billiards) was invented (despite the name, in Western Europe). In that game, players used thin metal pins and, instead of a cue, a coiled spring and a plunger. With the plunger, players would

Private Lives From page 27 scene with its angular Art Deco details to the second- and third-act scenes set in an exquisitely staged Paris apartment, you are instantly transported to ever-so-stylish France (and may be left wondering how to re-create that living room in your own home; I know I am).

The costumes similarly reflect the era, but also serve to enhance the different ages and personalities of the characters.

Sibyl’s romantic dresses reinforce the sweetness and naïveté she brings to her new marriage (her first) to Elyot, while Amanda’s outfits, no less of the era, are more sophisticated, seductive and worldly (as befits a woman who has had a few dal-

liances along the way).

Private Lives marks the Everyman directorial debut of company member Carl Schurr, who served for 25 years as the producing artistic director for Pennsylvania’s Totem Pole Playhouse. If this assured production is an indication of Schurr’s skill, Everyman audiences will have much to look forward to in future efforts.

You could go to New York to see Private Lives currently running on Broadway (starring “Sex and the City” star Kim Cattrall), but you probably wouldn’t have any better a time than you will right here.

Private Lives runs through Dec. 11, with performances Wednesday through Saturday at Everyman Theatre, 1727 N. Charles St. Tickets are $10-$45. Call (410) 752-2208 or go to www.everymantheatre.org.

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29

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BALTIMORE BEACON — DECEMBER 2011

shoot balls up the inclined playfield toward the scoring targets, just as they do today with most modern machines.

Not only New York, but Los Angeles and Chicago as well once considered pinball so seedy they outlawed the machines.

And that was despite the fact that most of the major pinball machine manufacturers were located in Chicago.

But today the games are ubiquitous and well-received (for the most part), drawing in growing audiences as both the artwork — and the electronic bells and whistles — continue to develop.

Silverman says he doesn’t play as often as he used to. “Pinball is a game of concen-

ANSWERS TO SCRABBLE

tration and reaction,” he noted, ruefully admitting that his are not what they used to be in his younger days.

But that’s all right, Silverman said. “I have so many other areas of interest when it comes to pinball machines that I don’t miss playing as often or as well as I once did.”

If attendance (close to 5,000 visitors) at his short-lived DC museum is any indication, Silverman knows there are just as many other fans nostalgic for the games of their youth, and as many more interested in joining the fun.

So move over Angry Birds. “Pinball is far from being over,” said Silverman.

ANSWERS TO CROSSWORD H U R T

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From page 30.

P A A O R S E C H O F T H R T S T E S B O D L E O N I C A L A M F L Y T O M O P A L I L K A E S

R E A E V L D E U M O R N N E E B I R D S T G I O F T H E R F O E N I O S S O P F M Y H E C A A R A I I I C L D A P A R E

T I M I D

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DECEMBER 2011

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Puzzle Page

Daily crosswords can be found on our website: www.TheBeaconNewspapers.com Click on Puzzles Plus Puzzle of the Month

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— BALTIMORE BEACON

Crossword Puzzle

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Answer: When the doorman was arrested, the detective had an - OPEN AND SHUT CASE Jumbles: PENCE QUASH UPSHOT FEWEST

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1. “That’s hilarious” 5. Member of the Bear family 9. Fix the driveway 14. Exodus author 15. Undocumented, as a contract 16. 1980 Tony Awards Best Musical 17. IRA guy 18. Color close to beige 19. Evil spirit 20. Early greeting 23. Performing ___ 24. Society page word 25. Gidget portrayer 26. “___ Johnny!”

28. Hot rods first produced in 1955 31. Fed. org conceived by Nixon in 1970 32. October 31 shout 33. With “Day’s”, a chain of over 1000 restaurants 37. Politically neutral 41. Picturesque 42. Rival 43. Acapulco gold 44. Los ___ (New Mexico lab site) 46. Frasier’s sitcom brother 48. From ___ Z 51. Quickly cross the Atlantic 52. Future jr.

53. Source of sincerity 59. An ear-relevant word 60. Tonight Show host in 1960 61. Native Canadians 62. Follow compulsively 63. Sufferer of 45 Down, briefly 64. Supplements 65. There are two in every seventy-six 66. Burstyn’s costar in Same Time, Next Year 67. Dermatologist’s concern

1. Injured 2. Cowboy, with a buck 3. Pop music list 4. On the beach 5. Rhymers 6. St. Louis landmark 7. Peel, as an apple 8. Graduates 9. Make the harbor even deeper 10. 2-4-6-8; these numbers all have what trait?

11. Lacking courage 12. Make amends 13. Lion’s territory 21. Lauderdale and Myers, in FL 22. “___ Land of the Free...”

26. Makes an edge 27. Like Lawrence of Arabia 28. As well as 29. Very successful, as 16 Across 30. Paul McCartney title 32. “Relax!”

34. Reckless 35. Valuable, as a baseball card 36. Bachelors’ last words 38. Evidence on CSI: Miami 39. Schulz strip that predated Peanuts 40. Companions of fros 45. Nearsightedness 46. Japanese drama 47. Regurgitation medication 48. Belittle 49. Publicizes 50. Others from Spain 52. Neighbor of Turkey 54. Piece of Scheherazade’s strategy 55. Pass alternative 56. Co-worker of the butler, gardener, and cook 57. Commies 58. ___ pattern

Answers on page 29.

BALTIMORE BEACON — DECEMBER 2011

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410-485-1702. ***FREE FORECLOSURE LISTINGS*** OVER 400,000 properties nationwide. Low down payment. Call now 800-250-2043.

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Miscellaneous OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL? 18-24 guys and girls needed. Travel American Hot spots. Paid training, travel and lodging. 877-646.5050.

FREE GAS! Receive $300 Gasoline Savings!

Gasoline Stimulus Program provides $300 gas savings to participants of driving survey. Local Stations - Major Brands ! Call now 877-898-9027.

ATTEND COLLEGE ONLINE from Home. *Medical, *Business, *Criminal Justice. Job placement assistance. Computer available. Financial Aid if qualified. Call 800-494-3586 www.CenturaOnline.com.

FREE GROCERIES! Receive $2000 in Grocery Savings! Grocery Stimulus Program provides $2000 savings to participants of shopping survey. ALL MAJOR AND LOCAL supermarkets! Call 877-301-1682.

Personal Services LEARN ENGLISH – SPANISH – ITALIAN – FRENCH – PORTUGUESE Conversational.

Grammatical. Private lessons. Reasonable Rates. Tutoring students. 443-352-8200.

PARALEGAL: Experienced in trusts, estates and will preparation and other letters and paperwork. Call 301-565-2917.

Wanted CASH BUYER SEEKING WATCH MAKER’S TOOLS & PARTS, wrist & pocket watches (any condition), costume jewelry and antiques, coins.

410-655-0412.

BUYING NUMISMATIC COINS and most gold or silver items including coins, sterling, jewelry, etc. Will come to you with best cash offer. Call Paul: 410-756-1906.

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 rungs 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 301-279-8834. Thank you.

STAMPS! U.S. only. Small collector buying singles, sets or collections. Fair price paid. Southwest Stamp Club meets Friday, December 16, 2011, 1PM, Arbutus. 410-247-4169.

ARIZONA RANCH LOTS! 50%OFF! 15AAA+ View Lots $0Down! Starting $99/mo! Guaranteed Financing! Near Tucsons Intl Airport www.sunsiteslandrush.com 1-800-659-9957 PromoCode CPF.

ESTATE BUY-OUTS / CLEAN-OUTS FROM BASEMENT-GARAGE-ATTIC-STORAGE UNITS. ELECTRONICS, RECORD COLLECTIONS, TUBES, HI-FI SPEAKERS, ACCUMULATIONS. CASH PAYMENT, PROMPT REMOVAL. PLEASE CALL 410-740-5222 OR 240-478-1100.

For Sale

STAMP COLLECTIONS, AUTOGRAPHS purchased/appraised – U.S., worldwide, covers, paper memorabilia. Stamps are my specialty – highest price paid! Appraisals. Phone Alex, 301309-6637. Stampex1@gmail.com.

A NEW COMPUTER NOW!!! Brand Name Laptops & Desktops. Bad or NO Credit - No Problem Smallest weekly payments avail. It’s yours NOW - Call 800-893-0831.

Health MIAN FAMILY MEDICINE, LLC Board Certified in Family Medicine. Jamshid Mian, MD, FAAFP. Complete health care for you and your whole family. Seeing both children and adults for acute and routine checkups. School Physical, Work Physicals, Workman’s Compensation cases, Motor Vehicle Accident evaluations. Most Insurances Accepted. Weekend and Evening Hours Available. Call Today for your Appointment. 6830 Hospital Drive, Suite 104, Baltimore, MD 21237.

410-391-7200, 443-907-0884. Call Today – Call Now For Your Own Family Physician.

TAKE VIAGRA? SAVE $500! 100mg,/Cialis 20mg. 40+4 FREE, PILLS . Only $99.00 Discreet. .1-888-797-9024.

Miscellaneous PREGNANT? CONSIDERING ADOPTION? You choose from families nationwide.

LIVING EXPENSES PAID. Abby’s One True Gift Adoptions. 866-413-6292, 24/7 Void/Illinois.

VINYL RECORDS WANTED from the 20s through 1985. Jazz, Rock-n-Roll, Soul, Rhythm & Blues, Reggae and Disco. 33 1/3 LPs, 45s or 78s, Larger collections preferred. Please call John, 301-596-6201.

WANTED: YOUR UNWANTED BOOKS. Help me to help those less fortunate to own books too. Will pick-up. 443-799-4083 after 5 pm, weekends anytime.

WANTED JAPANESE MOTORCYCLES KAWASAKI 1970-1980 Z1-900, KZ900, KZ 1000, H2-750, H1-500, S1-250, S2-250, S2-350, S3-400 CASH. 1-800-772-1142, 1-310-721-0726 usa@classicrunners.com.

TOP CASH FOR CARS, Any Car/Truck, Running or Not. Call for INSTANT offer: 1-800-454-6951.

CASH FOR CARS, Any Make or Model! Free Towing. Sell it TODAY. Instant offer: 1-800-864-5784.

WANTED DIABETES TEST STRIPS Any kind/brand. Unexpired up to $22.00. Shipping Paid Hablamos espanol 1-800-266-0702 www.selldiabeticstrips.com.

CASH PAID FOR OIL & GAS interest, Mineral Rights to Property, Royalties and Annuities Themineralbuyer@aol.com 408-645-0538

31

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

QUILT EXHIBIT AT MCDONOGH SCHOOL

Fabric constructions by national quilt artists Dr. Joan Gaither and Janet Waters will be on display through Monday, Dec. 12 at McDonogh School, 8600 McDonogh Rd. in Owings Mills. The Tuttle Gallery, located in the Lyle Building, is open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call (410) 998 for more information.

Words of the month The curious origins of our words and rituals

December and January The names of the last and first months of the year are Latin in origin.

December takes its name from decem, the number 10, going back to a time when the calendar had only 10 months.

January derives from the Roman god Janus (shown here). He was a twoheaded deity, — the keeper of gates and doors, able to look both front and back — even as January looks both behind and ahead to the old and new year.

Auld Lang Syne This traditional New Year's Eve song was first published by the Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1796. But it was bandleader Guy Lombardo who popularized the song and turned it into a tradition.

Lombardo first played the song at midnight at a New Year's Eve party at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City in 1929. After that, Lombardo's version of the song was played every year at the Waldorf Astoria until 1976. Auld Lang Syne literally translates to "old long since" and means "times gone by." The song asks whether old friends and times will be forgotten and promises to remember people of the past with fondness.

Prepared by Wizard Communications© All rights reserved.

To submit a word or phrase to be researched, contact Wizard Communications at jpozga@verizon.net .

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, offer a personal service, or place a personal ad. Each ad is $10 for 25 words, 25 cents for each additional word.

Commercial Party Text Ads: For parties engaged in an ongoing commercial business enterprise. Each ad is $25 for 25 words, 50 cents for each additional word.

Note: Each real estate listing counts as one commercial 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

32

DECEMBER 2011 — BALTIMORE BEACON

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