November 2013 Howard County Beacon Edition by The Beacon Newspapers

The Howard County

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More than 30,000 readers throughout Howard County

Can you expand your brain?

Memory loss isn’t inevitable Whereas memory specialists have long concentrated on the physiological elements of the brain, the centers will move to improve the brain’s functioning by treating the lifestyle — eating, sleeping, exercising — of the individual to whom the brain belongs. “Slowing of memory and memory loss is a common occurrence as we age,” said Fotuhi, a Harvard Medical School graduate who got his Ph.D. in neurology from Johns Hopkins University. “But it doesn’t have to happen,” he said. “Through physical and mental activities, people can keep their brain and memory in good shape and ward off Alzheimer’s.” A recent article in AARP Magazine noted that “a mounting stack of studies suggests that the condition of the body somehow affects the condition of the

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PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER MEYERS

By Robert Friedman “Just because your brain can’t hop on a treadmill doesn’t mean it can’t exercise,” said Dr. Majid Fotuhi, chief medical officer of the NeurExpand Brain Center set to open in November on the Howard County General Hospital campus. The center, which Fotuhi will head, will treat “anyone who has concerns about memory and brain functions,” he said. “Our memory makes us who we are. It shapes the kind of life we live.” Fotuhi, a Baltimore-based neurologist, is fast becoming recognized by experts, from Dr. Mehmet Oz to RealAge author Dr. Michael Roizen, as being on the cutting edge of treating brain and memory problems. Fotuhi already operates one center in Lutherville, and plans call for another one next year in Chevy Chase. Executives of the company that has been formed to run the brain centers have set a goal to open some 100 centers around the country in the next five years, according to the Baltimore Business Journal. “What this [center] is designed to do is to focus on what you can do to make your brain stronger and improve your memory,” said David Abramson, who helped put together the new company. He said that he sees a significant business opportunity among the millions of aging baby boomers concerned about their brain functions.

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Escape to nearby Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains; plus, Spain’s Andalusian fusion of Christianity, Judaism and Islam page 25

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Majid Fotuhi, chief medical officer of the NeurExpand Brain Center, examines an MRI of the brain. The center, which will soon open a branch in Columbia, helps patients with memory problems by working to increase brain size through lifestyle improvements, memory exercises and biofeedback.

brain…Being obese quadruples the risk of [Alzheimer’s]. Diabetes can speed up brain shrinkage, as can high blood pressure,” as well as sleep apnea, depression and everyday stress. Depression, which used to be treated almost exclusively by psychiatrists going into mental histories and prescribing drugs, can now be greatly relieved, according to mental health specialists, through a change in lifestyle — especially increased exercise. And Fotuhi said not only could memory loss be averted, it could also improve through a 12-week, individualized program devised at the center and meant to grow the brain. “The best remedy for late-life Alzheimer’s

disease is mid-life intervention,” he said. While the program costs several thousand dollars, “all our testing and treatment protocols are covered by Medicare and major insurances,” Fotuhi said. “Patients do not need to have a major neurological disease to qualify.”

Fighting brain shrinkage The treatment aims to expand the hippocampus, the portion of the brain deep within the temporal lobes that controls short-term memory and determines which remembrances are stored longterm. It’s the hippocampus that “makes See FOTUHI, page 10

The limelight shines on music faculty at Howard Community College; plus, groundbreaking co-anchors Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff, and how not to be a doormat for your grown kids page 30

FITNESS & HEALTH 4 k New variety of flu shot options k How to get your necessary Zzzs THE SENIOR CONNECTION 18 k Howard County Office on Aging newsletter LAW & MONEY 20 k Take a bite out of restaurant tabs k European stocks on the rise PLUS CROSSWORD, BEACON BITS, CLASSIFIEDS & MORE

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With appreciation Each year, I look forward to fall, knowing from two national journalism competitions: that our annual 50+Expo can’t be far behind. the National Mature Media Awards and the I so relish the opportunity to North American Mature Pubspeak with hundreds of our lishers Association (NAMPA) readers in person and to see awards competition. you enjoying yourselves. At the NAMPA convention There is nothing so heartthis year, our four editions of warming to a journalist as to the Beacon garnered so many meet readers and hear accoawards that they asked me to lades and appreciation for stay near the announcer so I our work, as well as construcwouldn’t hold up the proceedtive criticism and suggesings walking back and forth tions for future articles. from my seat! Our 50+ Expo at the Silver FROM THE For example, for best ProSpring Civic Center was well- PUBLISHER file, Anne Ball won first place attended and hopping with By Stuart P. Rosenthal in the 20,000 copies and excitement. Our keynote was under category for a cover extremely well attended, our exhibit areas, story in our Howard County edition, “Denhealth screening and flu shot providers tist is astronomy rock star.” In the same were crowded all afternoon, and there size category, Connie George won third were people swaying and dancing to the place for a cover in our Coachella edition, sounds of our band and guest soloists. “Born to be a lifelong showgirl.” I want to thank all of you who attended, In the 20,001-50,000 category, Carol Sorand especially those who brought friends gen (contributing editor for our Baltimore and family along. I also want to thank our edition) won first place for her cover story exhibitors and sponsors (as well as our “A refugee’s artistic journey,” and Barbara hard-working staff) who make it possible Ruben (managing editor of all our edifor us to present this event each year. tions) won first place for “Her homes This is also a good time to note some re- change boys’ lives,” in the 50,001-100,000+ cent recognition the Beacon has received category, our Greater Washington edition.

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The Beacon is a monthly newspaper dedicated to inform, serve, and entertain the citizens of Howard County, Md. and is privately owned. Other editions serve Greater Baltimore, Md., Greater Washington DC, and Greater Palm Springs, Calif. Subscriptions are available via third-class mail ($12), prepaid with order. Maryland residents add 6 percent for sales tax. Send subscription order to the office listed below. Publication of advertising contained herein does not necessarily constitute endorsement. Signed columns represent the opinions of the writers, and not necessarily the opinion of the publisher. • Publisher/Editor ....................Stuart P. Rosenthal • Associate Publisher..............Judith K. Rosenthal • Vice President, Operations........Gordon Hasenei

Carol also won first place awards for her Arts Review stories, for a Community Service article, and second place for Feature Writing. Barbara also won first place awards for Feature Writing and for a Topical Issue story. Two cover stories by Robert Friedman, who writes for our Howard County edition, also won first-place awards. The judges (from the University of Missouri School of Journalism) called his cover story, “Muslim community reaches out,” “a fine piece of journalism.” Our travel writer, Victor Block won first place for his Travel Columns, and our new publishing assistant, Rebekah Sewell, won first place for her story in our Greater Washington Housing Options section about “Communities designed for military vets.” Our theater reviewer, Michael Toscano, won first place for his “in-depth reviews” in our Washington edition, and in the Personal Essay category, both Bob Levey and I won awards for our regular columns. Furthermore, both our Baltimore and Washington editions won General Excellence awards for their “inventive topics and entertaining features throughout,” and our Baltimore edition won Best of Show for amassing the most honors in its division. While NAMPA focuses on 50+ newspapers across the United States, the National Mature Media Awards has an even broader reach. It’s the competition that is often swept by AARP’s Bulletin and Magazine entries. Still, nearly every year we receive one or more Mature Media Awards, and this year we were thrilled to win seven: A Silver Award for my (somewhat controversial) column of last December, “The Time is Ripe,” urging efforts to address Social Security’s long-term issues, and a Bronze Award for another column of mine (addressing healthcare reform); three additional Bronze Awards — two of them for cover stories written by Barbara Ruben (“Her homes change boys’ lives” and “Pro-

viding kids good counsel”), one for a cover story from our Coachella Valley (Calif.) edition by Connie George (“Love after 50 still going strong”); and two Merit Awards — one for another cover story by Connie, and one in general recognition of our Greater Washington edition. Of course, whatever awards we do or do not win, what always matters most to us is what you, our readers, think. 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, which works so diligently to produce our four editions every month. I’d like to thank them by name for their efforts and devoted contributions to the Beacon: Managing Editor Barbara Ruben, Contributing Editor Carol Sorgen, Director of Operations Gordon Hasenei, Director of Sales Alan Spiegel, Graphic Designer Kyle Gregory, Asst. Operations Manager (and webmaster) Roger King, Advertising Representatives Doug Hallock, Steve Levin, Cheryl Watts, Dan Kelly and Jill Joseph, Publishing Assistant Rebekah Sewell, 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, Connie George in Coachella Valley, travel writers Victor Block and Glenda Booth, theater reviewer Michael Toscano, and freelance photographer Frank Klein. The Beacon would not exist without all of their efforts, nor without you reading our publications. My deepest appreciation goes to all of you.

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

• Director of Sales ................................Alan Spiegel • Assistant Operations Manager ..........Roger King • Managing Editor............................Barbara Ruben • Graphic Designer ..............................Kyle Gregory • Advertising Representatives ........Doug Hallock, ................................................ Steve Levin, Jill Joseph • Publishing Assistant ....................Rebekah Sewell

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 and advertising is the 1st of the month preceding the month of publication. See page 35 for classified advertising details. Please mail or email all submissions.

Dear Editor: Your recent issues have had so many useful articles for seniors. Among those which I appreciated: Avoiding drug interactions with impact of aspirin and Vitamin E (these two meds could easily slip under the radar screen) for patients taking heart medications. Drug expiration dates and impact on nitroglycerin and liquid medications. Checklist prior to travel. Steps to prevent losing height. I thought I was shorter at 71 than at 35, and wondered

what was going on and how fast it progressed. Refreshing editorial on “Intractable problems.” Other articles I have not had time to read and digest yet: robotic surgery, lab grown organs and good employers for seniors. I also appreciated a recent essay on Mr. Rosenthal’s interaction with his father’s issues. It makes one feel comfortable that he is connected to aging seniors. Keep up the good work! John Stevens Via email

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TWIST AND DON’T SHOUT. The Orthopaedic and Spine Institute at Saint Agnes will get you moving again, and enjoying life again, without the pain. Our superb physicians, surgeons, nurses and rehab specialists surround each patient as one coordinated team. Our breakthrough treatments, including our joint replacements and minimally invasive spine surgeries, reduce complications and speed recoveries.’ And our patient-centered approach earns outstanding patient satisfaction scores. Small wonder. When you can move pain-free again, you tend to be very satisfied. To learn more or find an orthopaedic surgeon, call 888-495-5031 or visit MySaintAgnes.org.’

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Health Fitness &

GETTING YOUR ZZZs Adequate sleep is vital for a strong immune system and healthy heart YOUR HEART’S BEST FRIEND Studies show that owning a dog can keep you healthy and reduce stress MEDICARE RX PLAN CHANGES Review your options for Medicare’s prescription coverage by Dec. 7 TYLENOL RISKS Tylenol is found in so many products that people can accidentally overdose

New flu vaccines offer tailored protection By Lauran Neergaard Flu vaccination is no longer merely a choice between a jab in the arm or a squirt in the nose. This fall, some brands promise a little extra protection. For the first time, certain vaccines will guard against four strains of flu rather than the usual three. Called quadrivalent vaccines, these brands may prove more popular for children (who tend to catch the newly added strain more often) and older adults. These four-in-one vaccines are so new that they’ll make up only a fraction of the nation’s supply of flu vaccine, so if you want a dose, better start looking early.

Many options, more confusion But that’s only one of an unprecedented number of flu vaccine options available this year. Allergic to eggs? Egg-free shots are hitting the market, too. Plus there’s growing interest in shots brewed just for those 65 and older, and a brand that targets the needle-phobic with just a skin-deep prick. “We’re moving away from the one-sizefits-all to choosing the best possible vaccine for an individual’s age and condition,” said Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious disease specialist at the Mayo Clinic. “The flip side of that,” he said, is that

“this will be a confusing year” as doctors and consumers alike try to choose. Federal health officials recommend a yearly flu vaccine for nearly everyone, starting at 6 months of age. On average, about 24,000 Americans die each flu season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some questions and answers about the different vaccine varieties to choose from: Q: What’s the difference between those new four-strain vaccines and the regular kind? A: For more than 30 years, the vaccine has offered protection against three influenza strains — two common Type A strains called H1N1 and H3N2, and one strain of Type B. Flu strains continually evolve, and the recipe for each year’s vaccine includes the subtypes of those strains that experts consider most likely to cause illness that winter. Type A flu causes more serious disease and deaths, especially the H3N2 form that made last year such a nasty flu season. But the milder Type B flu does sicken people every year as well, and can kill. Two distinct Type B families circulate the globe, making it difficult to know which to include in each year’s vaccine. Adding both (as in the quadrivalent vaccines) solves the guesswork, and a CDC model estimates it could prevent as many

as 485 deaths a year depending on how much Type B flu is spreading. Q: How can I tell if I’m getting the four-strain vaccine? A: All of the nasal spray version sold in the U.S. this year will be this new variety, called FluMist Quadrivalent. The catch is that the nasal vaccine is only for healthy people ages 2 to 49 who aren’t pregnant. If you prefer a flu shot, ask the doctor or pharmacist if the four-strain kind is available. Younger children, older adults, pregnant women and people with chronic health conditions all can use flu shots. Four-strain versions are sold under the names Fluzone Quadrivalent, Fluarix Quadrivalent and FluLaval Quadrivalent. Manufacturers anticipate producing between 135 million and 139 million doses of flu vaccine this year. Only about 30 million doses will offer the four-strain protection. Q: Who should seek it? A: Type B flu tends to strike children more than the middle-aged, Poland noted. And he said it’s not a bad idea for seniors, who are more vulnerable to influenza in general. But the CDC doesn’t recommend one vaccine variety over another, and the American Academy of Pediatrics said either kind is fine — just get vaccinated. Q: How are these new vaccines different from the high-dose flu shot for seniors?

A: Fluzone High-Dose protects against the traditional three strains of flu, but it quadruples the standard vaccine dose in an effort to rev up age-weakened immune systems that don’t respond as actively to regular flu shots. The government calls the high-dose shot an option for seniors, not one that’s proved better. Fluzone maker Sanofi Pasteur said initial results from a study of 30,000 seniors vaccinated over the past two flu seasons suggest the high-dose shot is about 24 percent more effective. Federal health officials will have to review the full study results to see if they agree. Q: What if I’m allergic to eggs? A: Traditional flu vaccine is made from viruses grown in eggs, and specialists say it’s usually not a problem unless someone has a serious egg allergy. But the new FluBlok vaccine eliminates that concern because it is made with cell technology, like many other non-flu vaccines. So far, it’s only for use in people ages 18 to 49. Q: What if I’m scared of needles? A: If you don’t qualify for the ouchless nasal spray vaccine, there is one shot made with a teeny-tiny needle that pricks the skin instead of muscle. Called Fluzone Intradermal, it’s available for 18- to 64-yearolds, and protects against the usual three See FLU VACCINES, page 5

Might memory loss be treatable someday? By Lauran Neergaard Scientists have found a compelling clue in the quest to learn what causes age-related memory problems, and to one day be able to tell whether those misplaced car keys are an early warning sign of Alzheimer’s. A new report offers evidence that age-related memory loss is a distinct condition from pre-Alzheimer’s — and offers a hint that what we now consider the normal forgetfulness of old age might eventually be treatable. Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center in New York examined brains, young and old ones, donated from people who died without signs of neurologic disease. They discovered that a certain gene in a specific part of the hippocampus, the brain’s memory center, quits working

properly in older people. It produces less of a key protein. That section of the brain, called the dentate gyrus, has long been suspected of being especially vulnerable to aging. Importantly, it’s a different neural neighborhood than where Alzheimer’s begins to form. But it’s circumstantial evidence that having less of that protein, named RbAp48, affects memory loss in older adults. So the researchers took a closer look at mice, which become forgetful as they age in much the same way that people do. Sure enough, cutting levels of the protein made healthy young rodents lose their way in mazes and perform worse on other memory tasks just like old mice naturally do.

Reversing memory loss More intriguing, the memory loss was reversible: Boosting the protein made forgetful old mice as sharp as the youngsters again, the researchers reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine. “It’s the best evidence so far” that agerelated memory loss isn’t the same as early Alzheimer’s, said Nobel laureate Dr. Eric Kandel, who led the Columbia University team. And since some people make it to 100 without showing much of a cognitive slowdown, the work brings another question: “Is that normal aging, or is it a deterioration that we’re allowing to occur?” Kandel asked. “As we want to live longer and stay engaged in a cognitively complex world, I think even mild age-related memory decline

is meaningful,” added Columbia neurologist Dr. Scott Small, a senior author of the study. “It opens up a whole avenue of investigation to now try to identify interventions.” This is early-stage research that will require years of additional work to confirm, cautioned Dr. Molly Wagster of the National Institute on Aging, who wasn’t involved with the report. But Wagster said the findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting “that we’re not all on the road to Alzheimer’s disease” after we pass a certain age. For example, other researchers have found that connections between neurons in other parts of the brain weaken with normal aging, making it harder but not impossible to retrieve memories. In contrast, Alzheimer’s kills neurons. — AP

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Flu vaccines From page 4 strains. Q: How soon should I be vaccinated? A: Early fall is ideal, as it’s impossible to predict when flu will start spreading and it takes about two weeks for protection to kick in. But later isn’t too late; flu season

typically peaks in January or February. Q: How much does flu vaccine cost? A: The vaccine is covered by insurance, and Medicare and some plans don’t require a co-pay. Drugstore vaccination programs tend to charge about $30; expect the quadrivalent versions to be slightly more expensive. — AP

BEACON BITS

Nov. 20

TEST YOUR MEMORY Free, confidential memory screenings will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Elkridge Senior Center,

6540 Washington Blvd., Elkridge. For more information, call (410) 313-5192 or register online at www.nationalmemoryscreening.org.

GREAT AMERICAN SMOKE OUT The Howard County General Hospital will distribute literature and

information, call the center at (410) 313-1400.

free vein screenings on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at his office at 11065 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia. For more information, call (410) 550-8346.

OCEAN CITY GETAWAY Enjoy a day at the beach, including a holiday show and dinner at Dunes Manor, on the Recreation & Parks bus tour leaving on

Saturday, Nov. 23 at 9:30 a.m. and returning at 10:30 p.m. For more information,

www.BloodTestForLungCancer.com

Call (240) 453-6342 To receive an info packet by mail

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Check the boxes you’re interested in and return this form to: The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915 or fax to (410) 248-9102.

11/13 HC

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More information for you and your doctor is available online at:

Address________________________________________________________________

❏ Alzheimer’s Research Studies (see article on page 16) ❏ Falls Prevention Study (see ad on page 16)

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For persons age 50 and over that smoked for at least 20 years. Can Identify Lung Cancer at earliest stages when most treatable. Covered by most insurances and Medicare.

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Nov. 23

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Johns Hopkins vascular surgeon Dr. Richard Feinberg will conduct

❏ Alta at Regency Crest (see ad on page 29) ❏ Brooke Grove (see ad on page 36) ❏ Charlestown (see ad on page 31) ❏ County Gardens Assisted Living (see ad on page 24) ❏ Harmony Hall (see ad on page 10) ❏ Heartlands (see ad on page 22) ❏ Ivy Manor (see ad on page 33) ❏ Homecrest House (see ad on page 14) ❏ Morningside House Ellicott City (see ad on page 13) ❏ Park View at Colonial Landing (see ad on page 12) ❏ Park View at Columbia (see ad on page 12) ❏ Park View at Ellicott City (see ad on page 12) ❏ Park View at Emerson (see ad on page 12) ❏ Shriner Court (see ad on page 22) ❏ Somerford Place (see ads on pages 8 and 17) ❏ Vantage House (see ad on page 15)

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Housing Communities

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a.m. at the Ellicott City Senior Center, 9401 Frederick Rd., Ellicott City. For more

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Pharmacist Don Hamilton will be available to answer questions about medications and prescriptions on Monday, Oct. 28 at 11

For free materials on housing communities and health studies, just complete and clip this coupon and mail or fax it to the Beacon.

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Oct. 28

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Columbia. For more information, call the hospital at (410) 740-7890.

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other resources to help people quit smoking on Thursday, Nov. 21

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Nov. 21

Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

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Adequate sleep is vital for good health By Gretel H. Schueller Can’t get enough sleep? You’re not alone. An estimated 50 to 70 million U.S. adults don’t get enough sleep, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But hold that yawn! We’ve got five reasons why you need to get enough sleep for your health — and most importantly, seven sleep remedies to help you get more shut-eye. [See sidebar on next page.] How much sleep do you need? Aim for seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Being well-rested makes you more alert and keeps your brain sharp. (When you’re tired, some brain cells actually nod off during the day.) Sleep also gives you more energy overall.

But sleep does so much more.

Health benefits 1. A stronger immune system Skimping on sleep can compromise your immune system. A 2012 article in the journal Sleep reported that sleep deprivation had the same effect on the immune system as physical stress — such as from an illness or surgery, or grieving for a loved one. After sleeping eight hours a night for one week, the men in the study were kept awake for 29 hours. This major sleep deprivation caused an increase in certain white bloods cells that are key players in immune activity. Another recent study published in the same journal found that shorter sleep dura-

tion adversely affected study participants’ responses to a standard hepatitis B vaccination. Researchers suggest this decreased antibody response may explain why people who don’t get enough sleep are more susceptible to infectious diseases. 2. Healthier heart When it comes to heart health, research definitely supports the need for a good snooze. Adults who regularly sleep less than six hours a night have an increased risk of developing high blood pressure and having heart attacks compared to those who sleep seven to eight hours per night. Similarly, a large Swedish study reported recently in the European Journal of Epidemiology found an association between short sleep duration (five hours or less per night) and increased cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke. On the other hand, going much beyond seven or eight hours of sleep each night might also be harmful. Recent studies have shown an association between excessive sleep (more than nine hours a night for adults) and cardiovascular disease. In one study, researchers observed elevated levels of C-reactive protein — an indicator of heart disease — both in women who slept five or fewer hours and also (and even more markedly) in those who slept nine or more hours.

3. Trimmer waist If you don’t sleep enough, you will probably gain weight, or at least find it more difficult to lose. Plenty of research confirms that adults who sleep less than six hours a night are at higher risk of being overweight. (Among children, sleeping less than 10 hours can cause unhealthy weight gain.) According to a recent study at the University of Colorado, the effect of sleep may be even more powerful than we realized. The new study indicates that even just a few sleepless nights in a row can cause almost instant weight gain. Participants gained on average two pounds after one week of five-hour nights. Granted, the study was small — 16 men and women were tracked for two weeks — but it may have real-world implications. One reason for this weight gain is because a lack of sleep increases hunger and appetite. Researchers have found a biochemical reason for this: Insufficient sleep can decrease levels of leptin — a hormone that tells us when we’ve eaten enough and suppresses appetite — and increase ghrelin, a hormone that signals the body to eat by stimulating hunger. Not only does lack of sleep trigger ap-

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See SLEEP, page 7

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Sleep From page 6 petite, it also increases the craving for highfat, high-carbohydrate foods — aka junk foods. Researchers at Harvard University, for example, found that if you’ve missed even just an hour or two of sleep, you’re more likely to give in to junk food the next day. 4. Lower diabetes risk Over the long term, sleep deprivation increases the risk of serious health problems, including type 2 diabetes. Various studies have shown, for instance, that how much we sleep can affect blood sugar levels. Not getting enough sleep can cause an increase in insulin resistance, making it harder to metabolize blood sugar properly. (Insulin is a key blood-sugar-regulating hormone.) A 2012 study is the first to record this effect at the cellular level. Although it was a small study, with just seven participants, researchers were able to see how insufficient sleep shrinks the ability of fat cells to respond to insulin. With meals strictly controlled, the seven healthy men and women snoozed 8.5 hours for four nights in a sleep lab. Then for the next four nights, they were restricted to 4.5 hours of sleep. The researchers found that sensitivity to insulin in fat cells decreased 30 percent after participants slept less. This means that those sleep-deprived fat cells needed roughly three times as much insulin in order to ac-

Tips for better sleep 1. Avoid large meals and alcohol late at night According to the National Institutes of Health, late-night meals can cause indigestion that interferes with sleep. The same goes for alcohol. While a nightcap may help you initially fall asleep, imbibing as few as two alcoholic drinks actually robs you of precious REM sleep, which means you’ll wake up more frequently. Alcohol-related sleep disturbances are worse for women, say researchers at the University of Michigan. 2. Get to bed early Try to get your sleep earlier rather than later — as in early to bed, early to rise, etc. People who stay up late tend to

tivate an enzyme (called Akt) that plays an important role in regulating blood sugar. When this sort of insulin resistance becomes chronic, it can cause excess sugar and cholesterol to accumulate in the blood, thereby increasing the risk of diabetes and other health problems, such as metabolic syndrome. 5. Younger skin If these reasons aren’t enough for you,

eat late, even when they’re not hungry. Furthermore, many studies indicate that calories from late-night snacking seem to pack more of a punch, and may increase cholesterol levels more so than if that same snack was eaten earlier in the day. 3. Drink tart cherry juice In several studies, melatonin-rich tart cherry juice has been shown to help with sleep. Tart cherries contain melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone produced by our bodies and triggered by darkness. In a small pilot study, adults with chronic insomnia got some relief when they drank a cup of tart cherry juice twice a day. 4. Eat calcium-rich foods A calcium deficiency might make it

how about cosmetic ones? Researchers at Cornell University found that one night of sleep deprivation may cause your skin to lose elasticity, firmness and moisture. It also makes fine lines and wrinkles more noticeable.

difficult for you to fall asleep, so eating foods rich in the nutrient — such as milk, yogurt, cheese, kale and broccoli — can help. 5. Boost your magnesium intake Eating more magnesium-packed foods, such as bran from rice, wheat or oats, may improve your sleep. Seeds — like sesame, sunflower, squash and pumpkin — are also delicious sources of magnesium. 6. Grab a banana This fruit, along with fortified cereals, chickpeas and most fish (especially salmon, halibut and tuna), contains vitamin B6, which helps the body produce melatonin. — Gretel H. Schueller, EatingWell

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N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

A dog could be your heart’s best friend By Daniel DeNoon My twice-daily walks with my border collie, Clair DeNoon, are the highlights of my day. A new report from the American Heart Association will put an extra spring in my steps on these walks. It turns out that having a canine companion may help lower my risk of heart disease. Studies linking pet ownership to better physical and mental health have been popping up for decades. The findings were usually encouraging to pet owners, but none of these studies offered conclusive proof. Although that’s still lacking, a panel of experts from the American Heart Association (AHA) has weighed all the available evidence. The verdict: Having a pet — a dog in particular — likely lowers the risk of heart disease.

Exercise and affection “People who have dogs live longer than

people who have cats, and the assumption has been that dogs naturally cause their owners to be more active,” suggested Dr. Thomas Lee, co-editor in chief of the Harvard Heart Letter. “The emotional benefits of having an affectionate creature are also one of the theories for why dog-lovers live longer.” The evidence reviewed by the AHA indicates that dog owners are more likely to exercise, have a better cholesterol profile, have lower blood pressure, be less vulnerable to the physical effects of stress, and be more likely to survive a heart attack. Or it could be the other way around, pointed out Dr. Lee, a cardiologist and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. It’s possible that healthier people — or those who are making the kinds of lifestyle changes that reduce heart risk — are more likely to have a dog than are people in frail health.

The AHA panel could not rule out this possibility. It admitted it can’t tell whether owning a dog causes heart health or is merely a marker for people more likely to have healthy hearts. Even so, the panel’s cautious recommendation favors dogs: “Pet ownership, particularly dog ownership, may be reasonable for reduction in cardiovascular disease risk.” The statement on pet ownership was published online in the journal Circulation. If it were just about companionship, maybe dogs wouldn’t beat cats. But while the data show that dog owners get more physical activity than people who don’t own dogs, the evidence is pretty convincing that ownership isn’t enough. A 2008 study of 2,199 people found that those who owned a dog — but didn’t walk it — were actually more likely to be obese than people who didn’t own a dog. Dog walkers,

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on the other hand, were much less likely to be obese, although they were no less likely to be overweight than their petless peers.

Better response to stress But it’s not all about physical activity. A 2001 study looked at 48 people with high blood pressure and high-stress jobs who agreed to adopt a dog or a cat if so asked. Half did, and six months later those who got a dog or cat had significantly lower blood pressure when stressed. Getting a dog also seems to help even if you already have heart disease. A 1995 study followed 369 people with cardiovascular disease. A year later, those who owned a dog were four times more likely to be alive than those who didn’t have a dog. Cats, however, did not improve their owners’ odds of survival. If dog ownership is heart healthy, should everyone who cares about heart health have a dog? No. According to the AHA panel, “the primary purpose of adopting, rescuing, or purchasing a pet should not be to achieve a reduction in cardiovascular risk.” The mere act of getting a dog is no substitute for a plan to get regular physical activity, to eat a heart-healthy diet, and to get regular medical care. That said, dogs do seem to be good for your heart in many ways. “Loneliness can’t be a good thing, either from a cardiovascular or a psychological perspective,” Dr. Lee noted. “I am not going to be prescribing dogs for patients with heart disease, but I certainly won’t discourage them — even if they consider themselves fairly limited by their medical problems.” Daniel J. DeNoon is executive editor of the Harvard Heart Letter. He was senior medical writer for WebMD for 14 years. © 2013 President and Fellows of Harvard College. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.

BEACON BITS

Nov. 9

HOLIDAY CRAFT AND FLEA MARKET

A holiday craft and flea market will be open Saturday, Nov. 9 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Miller’s Grant Welcome Center, 9531 Frederick Rd., Ellicott City. For more information, call (443) 605-1008 or visit lalbin@clvillage.org.

Nov. 9

“GREATEST GENERATION” REMEMBERED

Fred Campbell, associate professor of history at Howard Community College, examines the experiences of those who fought on the European front in World War II on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. at Miller Branch Library, 9421 Frederick Rd., Ellicott City. For more information, call (410) 313-1950.

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

Target Pharmacy has you covered. Members of AARP® MedicareRx plans, insured through UnitedHealthcare,® could save on Medicare prescription copays at Target Pharmacy. For more information, visit www.UHCPreferredPharmacyNetwork.com/Target.

Additional Medicare plans are also accepted. See pharmacy for details. Plan is insured or covered by UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or one of its affiliates, a Medicare-approved Part D sponsor. UnitedHealthcare pays a royalty fee to AARP. These fees are used for the general purposes of AARP. ©2013 Target Stores. Target and the Bullseye Design are registered trademarks of Target Brands, Inc. All rights reserved. 483404 Y0066_PDPSPRJ14842 _000 IR

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Fotuhi From page 1 you, you.” said the 51-year-old Fotuhi. It’s also the part of the brain that shrinks with age more than any other. “When you get older, the hippocampus has a tendency to shrink, usually .5 percent each year after 50, which would mean shrinkage of 10 percent in 20 years,” said Fotuhi. And the size of your hippocampus matters. “Changes in its size bring noticeable changes in a person’s memory and cognitive function,” he said. When it comes to peak brain performance, bigger is undeniably better. But can natural shrinkage with age be reversed? Yes, Fotuhi said. He pointed to research published a few years ago in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in which one group of seniors did stretching exercises, while another group walked 45 minutes four days a week, both for a year. MRIs showed that while areas of the hip-

pocampus in the stretchers shrank by about 1.5 percent during that period, those of the walkers increased by about 2 percent, “effectively reversing age-related loss in volume by 1 to 2 years,” the researchers said. Furthermore, the increased brain volume was associated with improved memory function and oxygen consumption in the walkers compared with the stretchers. In a book published in 2008, Fotuhi suggested that a great workout for the brain would be doing the New York Times crossword puzzle daily. He has also recommended that older adults put on their dancing shoes. Dancing is the perfect activity to keep the brain young, Fotuhi said. He told CNN that he began ballroom dancing when he was a student at Harvard Medical School, and that he and his wife Bita have mastered the tango. Dancing, crossword puzzles and other lifestyle changes may sound simple, but they’re based on sound science, Roizen said in an interview.

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

“I think that what Dr. Fotuhi is recommending is something that helps you expand your current brain power. Whether exercise or memory games, his treatment is at the forefront of medicine,” said Roizen, who heads the Wellness Clinic at the Cleveland Clinic and wrote the introduction to Fotuhi’s newest book, published in September. In the book, Boost Your Brain: The New Art + Science Behind Enhanced Brain Performance, Fotuhi calls the hippocampus “the gateway for new memories and essential for learning; as such, it is a major player in the quest for a bigger, stronger brain.” Look at the hippocampus as if it were the brain’s librarian, Fotuhi suggests in Boost Your Brain. “It processes all new information and decides what to keep and what to discard....The good stuff — that which the hippocampus deems storageworthy — is sent to various parts of the cortex for long-term storage.” What is deemed forgettable may be held for a short-time, then is tossed.

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How the program works Fotuhi stressed that his 12-week program is not in any way akin to the “miracle” cures promised on TV infomercials for various health concerns. Rather, it is an individualized treatment plan with proven results. “I take pride in the fact that 90.6 percent of the patients who have gone through this program have significant improvement of their memories,” he said. ”The one-size-fits-all approach does not work, and we need to assess each person’s current brain health and make a plan with that in mind,” he said. The plan starts with a doctor visit and extensive testing. Among other things, the participants give their health history, get bloodflow exams, physical stress tests and mental memory tests. An EEG (electroencephalography) checks out brain-wave function. After physical and mental habits are assessed, the doctor explains how to immediately embark upon a drug-free personalized treatment program. Patients meet with a “brain coach” who helps them with tasks to boost memory, including memorizing a list of random items. Neurofeedback therapy — biofeedback applied to the brain using EEG — is also part of the program. Some patients, such as those who had a concussion in the past, require more training than others to enhance their brain function and are offered cognitive training. Stress reduction strategies and meditation are also offered as ways to improve memory and increase brain size. Treatments for sleep disorders and apnea are also available. In Boost Your Brain, Fotuhi said that “with a greater understanding of how to stave off brain atrophy, it’s likely that just as we have experienced an increase in lifespan over the past century, we will see an increase in our ‘brain span’ — the portion of our lives that we live in peak cognitive condition. “Memory, creativity, mental agility — our ability to respond quickly or ‘connect the dots’ — all can be improved with a bigger brain,” Fotuhi said. For more information on the NeurExpand Brain Center, call (443) 393-6280 or visit www.NeurExpand.com/BeaconHow.

BEACON BITS

Nov. 25+

SYMPHONY OF LIGHTS DISPLAY

The annual display of holiday lighting benefiting Howard County General Hospital opens Monday, Nov. 25 at 6 p.m. at Symphony Woods, off Broken Land Pkwy in Columbia. The 1.4 mile drive-through display will be open nightly through Sunday, January 5 except for Tuesday, December 31. Admission is $20 per car. Tickets maybe purchased at the main gate. For more information,

Visit us online at LiveHarmonyHall.com Or call (888) 620-4945

call (410) 740-7666 or visit www.hch.org/symphonyoflights.

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3

Drug safely cuts risk of prostate cancer By Marilynn Marchione Long-term results from a major federal study ease worries about the safety of a hormone-blocking drug that can lower a man’s chances of developing prostate cancer. The drug cut prostate cancer risk by a third without raising the risk of dying of an aggressive form of the disease as earlier results hinted it might. The new work could prompt a fresh look at using the drug for cancer prevention. Experts say it could prevent tens of thousands of cases each year, saving many men from treatments with seriously unpleasant side effects. The drug is sold as Proscar by Merck & Co. and in generic form as finasteride to treat urinary problems from enlarged prostates. It’s also sold in a lower dose as Propecia to treat hair loss.

Did it cause aggressive tumors? A decade ago, the drug was found to cut the risk of prostate cancer. But there was a small rise in aggressive tumors among its users. Some researchers said that by shrinking the prostate, the drug was just making these tumors easier to find in a biopsy sample — not causing them. But the concern led the Food and Drug Administration to turn down the drug for cancer prevention, and to add warnings to its label.

Now, with 18 years of follow-up from that earlier study, researchers report that men on the drug were no more likely to die than those not taking it. That’s reassuring because if the drug were truly spurring lethal tumors, there would have been more deaths among its users as time went on, said Dr. Michael LeFevre, a family physician at the University of Missouri. LeFevre wrote an editorial that appeared with the study in the New England Journal of Medicine. He is one of the leaders of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of doctors who advise the federal government. The group has not taken a stance on finasteride for prevention, but has advised against screening with PSA blood tests. Screening does more harm than good, the panel has said, because although 240,000 new prostate cancers are diagnosed each year in the United States, only about 30,000 prove fatal. That means many men are treated for cancers that grow too slowly to be life-threatening, and often suffer sexual and urinary problems as a result.

nasteride could lower the risk of prostate cancer in men who were getting screened with annual PSA blood tests, as many still choose to do. Researchers assigned 18,882 men 55 or older with no sign of prostate cancer on blood tests or a physical exam to take either finasteride or dummy pills for seven years. When the study ended, those who had not been diagnosed with prostate cancer were offered biopsies to check for hidden signs of the disease.

For the new analysis, researchers tracked the study participants for a longer time — 18 years in all since enrollment began. Only about 10 percent of men on finasteride developed prostate cancer versus 15 percent of those on dummy pills. Aggressive tumors were found in 3.5 percent of men on the drug versus 3 percent of the others. Yet 78 percent of both groups were See PROSTATE DRUG, page 12

New study ends doubts The study, led by Dr. Ian Thompson at the Cancer Therapy and Research Center in San Antonio, was done to see whether fi-

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N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

What women can do to counter hair loss We’ve grown accustomed to seeing men lose their hair as they get older. These days, it’s not only socially acceptable for a man to be bald — it’s physically appealing. Celebrities like Sean Connery, Bruce Willis and Vin Diesel have made bald sexy. But what about hair loss in women? We rarely see female celebrities go bald. Women don’t flaunt their bald spots — they hide them. Up to 40 percent of hair loss sufferers are women, yet there’s a double standard in the way female-pattern baldness is perceived, said Dr. Sandy Tsao, a dermatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and instructor in dermatology at Harvard Medical School. “Culturally, it just hasn’t become as so-

cially accepted in women,” she said. Hair loss treatments also tend to favor men. “The medications and treatment options that have been available for men tend to not be as available or effective for women,” Tsao said. “So we deal much more with having to camouflage hair loss” for women.

Causes of hair loss differ When men lose their hair, the first strands typically fall from the front of the head, near the temples. The next hairs to go are on the back of the head. Eventually the two balding areas meet, leaving a horseshoe-shaped ring of hair around the perimeter of the scalp. In contrast, “Women lose hair through-

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out the scalp,” Tsao said. Instead of developing large bald spots, women typically get widespread thinning. What causes female pattern baldness? Genes are often at the root of hair loss. They affect the way the body responds to male hormones (androgens — which both men and women have). Too much of these hormones in the hair follicles can slow the growth of new hair and make the hair that does grow in shorter than it was before. Hair loss in women can also result from a number of conditions, including an underactive thyroid gland, anemia, pregnancy, a significant illness, a stressful event (negative or positive — such as an illness or death in the family, a move, or a divorce), and certain medications, such as chemotherapy for cancer. When your hair falls out, you need to treat it like any other medical symptom and see your doctor. Blood tests can frequently detect an undiagnosed thyroid problem or other health-related cause. “If we’re not able to discern what the cause is, taking a biopsy of the scalp can often give a more conclusive diagnosis,” according to Tsao.

Restoring lost hair

Prostate drug

a prevention drug, he said. Finasteride’s other impact is financial. Proscar and a similar drug, GlaxoSmithKline PLC’s Avodart, cost about $4 a pill. Generic finasteride is available for less. Insurers cover it when prescribed to treat urinary problems, but may not pay if it’s used solely for cancer prevention. The drug also can cause hot flashes, fatigue, weakness, low sex drive and trouble having sex. “A man certainly needs to know what he’s getting into if he decides to take this,” LeFevre said.

From page 11 alive after 15 years. That means the drug cannot be recommended to prolong life, but it might ease suffering by preventing disease, LeFevre said. “You may be preventing cancers that don’t need to be prevented” because so few are life-threatening, but screening is finding these tumors anyway and leading to unnecessary treatments, he said. Reducing that number is a valid reason to use

If a thyroid problem or other medical issue is making you lose your hair, treating the condition should stop the hair loss. Eventually, your hair should grow back in. Treating hair loss that doesn’t have a clear medical cause is trickier in women. “There are so few treatments available that have actually proved effective in women,” Tsao said. Oral finasteride (Propecia), which is a staple of treatment in men, doesn’t have the same results in women. The best hair loss medication for women is topical minoxidil (Rogaine), which comes in 2 percent and 5 percent solutions. When you apply it twice a day, topical minoxidil can help preserve the hair you have and can even regrow hair. The only catch is that you have to keep using it indefinitely. Also, topical minoxidil can cause itching, dryness and scalp irritation, which you can combat by conditioning every time you shampoo your hair. Another option is to try a hair transplant — a technique that moves hair follicles from a thicker part of the scalp to a thinning patch. See HAIR LOSS, page 15

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3

Changes in Medicare options for 2014 By Bill Salganik There are nine new Medicare prescription plans in Maryland for next year, while two current drug plans and two Medicare health plans (health insurance coverage such as HMOs) are leaving the Maryland market. Confusingly, some plans are changing names. Also, plans can — and do — change their premiums, their co-pays, and their lists of covered drugs each year. All of this means that the plan that was right for you in 2013 isn’t necessarily going to be a good fit for you in 2014. Failing to check for changes in your current plan can prove costly. Your chance to switch is now, during the annual enrollment period from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7. Coverage starts Jan. 1. In Howard County, the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) offers one-on-one assistance in comparing plans. Call (410) 313-7392 to make an appointment. Here’s a quick look at some of the changes for 2014: Dropping out. Envision Rx Plus Gold and Humana Complete are drug plans that will not be offered for 2014. (Other Envision and Humana plans will continue.) Also, Aetna is no longer offering its PPO Medicare Advantage Plan or its Premier HMO, but will continue its Basic and Standard HMOs.

If you’re in one of these departing plans, you will either be switched to a different plan — which may or may not meet your needs — or you will be left without coverage altogether. Be sure to read the information sent to you by your current plan, and remember that you can make an appointment with SHIP to review your options. Name changes. The Humana Walmart Preferred plan is changing its name to Humana Preferred Rx, but there is a new plan called Humana Walmart Rx Plan. Other name changes are: CIGNA Medicare Plan One to CIGNA Medicare Rx Secure; HealthSpring Reg. 5 to CIGNAHealthSpring Reg 5; First Health Part D Premier to First Health Part D Essentials; and Reader’s Digest Value Rx to HealthMarkets Value Rx Premiums. Eight plans are reducing premiums for 2014, others are raising premiums by as much as $20.20 per month. The lowest premium in the state for 2014 is $12.60 per month. But don’t just choose a plan based on the premium — out-of-pocket charges and the list of covered drugs also determine if a plan is right for you. Deductibles. The limit on deductibles — the amount you pay before plan coverage kicks in — has been reduced from $325 to $310. Many plans still offer lower or no deductibles.

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plans may offer a better deal for you. Call (410) 313-7392 for an appointment with SHIP. SHIP offers regular office hours at the Florence Bain Center, the North Laurel 50+ Center, the Ellicott City Senior Center, and the Glenwood 50+ Center. In addition, SHIP will offer special review and enrollment events, including some on evenings and Saturdays. Bill Salganik is a counselor with Howard County Senior Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP).

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Help paying for plans. Maryland’s prescription assistance program (open to individuals with income up to $34,470 per year or couples up to $46,530) will pay up to $40 per month toward premiums, up from $35 in 2013. Check with SHIP to be sure you’re enrolled in any assistance program for which you’re eligible. Even if your plan is not on this list of changes, you should re-shop. For example, your plan may drop coverage for some of your medications, or one of the new

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N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Be aware of dangers of Tylenol overdose By Matthew Perrone Bottles of Tylenol sold in the U.S. will soon bear red warnings alerting users to the potentially fatal risks of taking too much of the popular pain reliever. The unusual step disclosed by Johnson & Johnson, the company that makes Tylenol, comes amid a growing number of lawsuits and pressure from the federal government that could have widespread ramifications for a medicine taken by millions of people every day. The warning will appear on the cap of new bottles of Extra Strength Tylenol sold in the U.S. starting in October and on most other

Tylenol bottles in coming months. The warning will make it explicitly clear that the overthe-counter drug contains acetaminophen — a pain-relieving ingredient that is the nation’s leading cause of sudden liver failure. The move to add a new warning comes at a critical time for the manufacturer, which faces more than 85 personal injury lawsuits in federal court that blame Tylenol for liver injuries and deaths. Overdoses from acetaminophen send 55,000 to 80,000 people in the U.S. to the emergency room each year and kill at least 500, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and

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Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA is drafting long-awaited safety proposals that could curtail the use of Tylenol and other acetaminophen products.

Drug is in numerous products Most experts agree that acetaminophen is safe when used as directed, which generally means taking no more than 4,000 milligrams, or eight pills of Extra Strength Tylenol, a day. But acetaminophen can be found in more than 600 over-the-counter and prescription products used by nearly one in four American adults every week, including household brands like Nyquil cold formula, Excedrin pain tablets and Sudafed sinus pills. Acetaminophen overdoses occur when the liver is overwhelmed by too much of the drug, producing a toxic byproduct that kills liver cells. Liver failure occurs when most cells are no longer able to function. At that point, a patient generally has 24 to

See TYLENOL, page 15

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COMPOUNDING specialists

Nov. 19

LOOKING FOR LEADERS Interested in learning how to plan volunteer projects for yourself,

others or local nonprofits? The Volunteer Center is holding a workshop on Tuesday, Nov. 19 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Columbia Art Center, 6100 Foreland Garth, Columbia. The workshop is free, but registration is required by

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48 hours to live without a transplant. Each year, some 100 million Americans use acetaminophen, but liver damage occurs in only a fraction of 1 percent of users. Still, liver specialists say those cases are preventable. Part of the problem, they say, is that there are sometimes hundreds of pills in a bottle, making it easy for consumers to pop as many as they please. For example, McNeil sells Extra Strength Tylenol in bottles containing up to 325 tablets A bigger problem is that acetaminophen is found in so many different products. Imagine you’ve had major dental surgery, and your dentist prescribes a five-day supply of Percocet. You take the recommended two pills every six hours, which totals 2,600 milligrams of acetaminophen per day — well below the 4,000-milligram-a-day safety threshold.

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HISTORY BUFFS NEEDED Opportunities to share the history of Howard County with visitors to four historic sites around Ellicott City are available to volunteers

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3

Tylenol From page 14 But you’re still experiencing pain, so you decide to add Extra Strength Tylenol, six caplets a day for another 3,000 milligrams. Now you’re feeling better but you still have trouble sleeping, so you take Nyquil, which contains another 650 milligrams. After a few days on this 6,250 milligram per day regimen, experts say acute liver damage is a real risk. The labels on all of these products warn against mixing them. But researchers say many consumers either don’t read or don’t understand such warnings.

Hair loss From page 12 However, because of the widespread pattern of hair loss in women, hair transplants may not be as effective at permanently restoring hair as they are in men, Tsao said. The procedure can also be expensive, costing several thousand dollars, depending upon the amount of hair being transplanted. If you’re considering this option, Tsao advised, “Go to a hair transplant specialist who treats a lot of women. Talk with women who have undergone the treatment.” Several newer techniques for treating hair loss are in development, including the laser hair comb — a handheld device that emits a low-level laser light, which is supposed to stimulate new hair growth. Tsao calls it “a compelling and very possible means of regrowing hair.” However, laser combs haven’t yet been studied well enough to determine whether they’re effective. Until the results of more clinical trials are released, Tsao recommended that you “save your money, but keep it in mind.”

Camouflaging bald patches A number of techniques can camouflage hair loss. One is to wear a wig that matches your hair color and style. Another is to have your hairdresser cut and style your hair in a way that conceals bald patches. To hide hair loss and preserve the hair you still have, you can also try these tips: • Be kind to your hair. Don’t wear tight buns, ponytails or other styles that pull on your hair and cause it to fall out even faster. The same goes for overtreating hair. “Try to minimize a lot of the procedures that make your hair more brittle, such as straightening and perming,” Tsao suggested. • Supplement thinning hair. Ask your doctor about taking biotin, a vitamin that strengthens hair. Just don’t exceed the recommended dose, which is 30 micrograms daily. • Try a spray-on hair product. It might sound silly (especially if you’ve seen the infomercials for one of these products), but spraying a matching shade onto your scalp can quickly hide bald spots. “It immediately gives the illusion of thicker hair,” Tsao said. Rarely do we talk openly about hair loss in women or see women represented in com-

Even after taking into account people who ignore labels, there are still cases of liver damage that stump researchers. These are the people who have apparently taken about 4,000 milligrams a day or less, well within the safety threshold. “It’s still a little bit of a puzzle,” said Dr. Anne Larson, of the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle. “Is it genetic predisposition? Are they claiming they took the right amount, but they really took more? It’s difficult to know.”

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

Experts first identified acetaminophen overdose as a major public health concern in the 1990s, but it has taken years to form

a clearer picture of the problem. In 1994, the company added a warning about the risk of liver damage when combining alcohol with Tylenol following a lawsuit brought by Antonio Benedi, a former aide to President George H.W. Bush, who fell into a coma and underwent emergency liver transplant after mixing Tylenol with wine at dinner. Then, in 2002, an expert panel of FDA advisers recommended that the government agency require all acetaminophen products to carry a warning about the risk of “severe liver damage” when not taken as directed. The group’s votes are non-binding, though the FDA usually follows them.

McNeil voluntarily added the warning to its products in 2004, five years before the FDA made it mandatory. Of the roughly 500 acetaminophen deaths reported annually, about half are accidental, with the rest deemed suicides. About 60 percent of the unintentional overdoses involve prescription opioid-acetaminophen combination drugs such as Percocet and Vicodin, according to a database of liver failure cases run by Dr. Lee at the Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Those two products alone were prescribed more than 173 million times last year, according to IMS Health. — AP

mercials for hair transplant companies and hair-loss medications. The gender bias surrounding this condition can make us hesitant to ask for help when our hair starts to thin. Don’t let preconceived ideas prevent you from getting the treatment that could stop — or even reverse — your hair loss.

Even though you may not see other women openly dealing with hair loss, you’re definitely not alone. “Hair loss is a very common concern among a majority of women,” Tsao said. “Don’t be afraid to address it. Though the options may not be as broad as they are for

men, hair loss in women can be treated. And it’s important to make sure there isn’t an underlying medical cause.” — Harvard Women’s Health Watch © 2013 President and fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Not a new threat

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Health Studies Page

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

THE PLACE TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION ON AREA CLINICAL TRIALS

New treatments for Alzheimer’s under study By Carol Sorgen Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder named for German physician Alois Alzheimer, who first described it in 1906. It is progressive and fatal, today affects more than 5 million Americans, and is the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States. Alzheimer’s destroys brain cells,

causing memory loss and problems with thinking and behavior severe enough to affect work, lifelong hobbies or social life. There are seven stages to Alzheimer’s, from early-onset to severe. Researchers are also now studying an early form of memory impairment called mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which may be less significant than

Have You Fallen? 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 If interested call: 410-605-7179 & Mention code: LIFT Baltimore VA/University of Maryland Gerontology Recruitment Line *You must be at least 65 years old and in good health *Participants will be seen at the Baltimore VA Medical Center and University of Maryland School of Medicine *You will attend approximately 41 visits for 1 to 4 hours of time per visit

CaLL Today!

Alzheimer’s disease, but still is characterized by noticeable worsening of cognitive abilities. This cognitive decline may not affect functioning, but is apparent to the patient and others around him, and may place the patient at increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. “Memory problems and Alzheimer’s disease can place a terrible strain on those caring for these patients, as well as the patients themselves,” said geriatric psychiatrist Dr. Alan Jonas of PharmaSite Research in Pikesville. “Researchers are putting much effort and research dollars into finding treatments for this growing population.”

Three studies available Jonas is currently conducting three clinical studies in patients with MCI, mild, and moderate Alzheimer’s disease. These trials are part of a nationwide study effort to evaluate the efficacy and safety of new treatments that may address the possible underlying causes of the disease, rather than just treating the symptoms. Those selected to participate in the study will visit the PharmaSite location at 1314 Bedford Ave. in Pikesville once a week to start, and then once a month over the course of 18 months for screening, treatment, and follow-up. The patient must be accompanied by a caregiver — either a member of his or her family, a paid caregiver, or a close friend or neighbor who

has regular contact with the patient. Screening procedures will include a physical and neurologic exam, cognitive evaluations, laboratory assessments, ECG, and may also include an eye exam, MRI, and a PET scan of the brain. Other study procedures include regular cognitive assessments and screenings for mental health. There are no costs to participate in any of the studies. The study medication will be administered by pill taken daily, or by a monthly intravenous infusion. PharmaSite staff will assess the patients to measure cognitive function, and interview the caregivers to determine whether they have noticed any improvement in the patients’ cognition and daily functioning.

Who can participate? The studies are open to individuals with MCI, mild or moderate Alzheimer’s, who live alone, with a caregiver, or in an assisted living (but not nursing home) environment. Participants need to be ambulatory (with assistance if necessary). Patients who have suffered a stroke or have been diagnosed with vascular dementia are not eligible for this study. A modest stipend is provided for the patient and caregiver for time and travel expenses. For more information about these studies, call Surya Korn at (410) 602-1440, or visit www.pharmasiteresearch.com.

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FREE EMPLOYMENT HELP Assistance with job search and placement, as well as access to

copiers, faxes, computers and other aids in the job search, are available at the Columbia Workforce Center at 7161 Columbia Gateway Dr., Columbia. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Wednesday and Friday, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday. For more information, call (410) 290-2600, fax (410) 312-0834, or visit Columbia@dllr.state.md.us.

• Eye Care for All Ages • Specialists in Cataracts, Glaucoma, Diabetic Retinopathy and Macular Degeneration • Contact Lens Specialists • LASIK - Laser Vision Correction • Plastic & Reconstructive Eye Surgery

Full In-House Optical Department Outpatient No-Stitch Cataract Surgery • Laser Surgery MEDICARE ASSIGNMENT ACCEPTED LENARD H. HAMMER, M.D., F.A.C.S. GORDON LUI, M.D. SCOTT B. BECKER, M.D. MEDICARE EYE EXAMS

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Companies deliver dinner ready-to-cook By Joseph Pisani Sarah Michaelson no longer wonders what she’ll be having for dinner. Her meals are delivered to her door. Last fall, she signed up with Blue Apron, a company that ships ready-to-cook dinner kits. Michaelson and her husband, Phil, pay $59.94 a week to have six uncooked meals sent to their home every week. Blue Apron’s kits are filled with everything needed to whip up a meal, from the raw meat and fish, to spices and vegetables. Recipes, with step-by-step instructions and pictures, are included. “It saves us a lot of money,” said Michaelson, a marketing manager at Betterment.com, an online investment management company. She now eats dinner at home at least three times a week. Before, she would order takeout while at work, or head to a restaurant. Takeout can cost as much as $35 for the New York couple, and dinner at a restaurant starts at $40 for the two of them, Michaelson said. Ready-to-cook dinner kits are the latest concept in online grocery delivery. Blue Apron — and fellow startups HelloFresh and Plated — are targeting busy consumers who want to cook at home, but don’t have the time to hit the grocery store every week. The companies are new — all three have launched within the last year — but are growing quickly and have plans to reach more customers in more states soon.

No need to shop; no waste The kits make cooking at home easier. Since all the ingredients are included and measured, you don’t have to buy six onions when all you need is one, or a bottle of a spice you’ll only use a sprinkle of. The kits can sometimes be cheaper than dining out or ordering in, costing between $10 and $15 a meal. But some of the companies require a subscription or buying a minimum amount of meals a week. They all work differently, but they all aim to give even the most inexperienced cook the ingredients to cook a gourmet meal. Michaelson said she has become a better cook since joining Blue Apron. For a recent dinner party, she made seared rainbow trout and an arugula and peach salad, using a Blue Apron recipe. “Usually, I’m pretty basic with how I cook,” said Michaelson. Subscribers are able to choose the dishes they want. A box is sent with that week’s meals. The boxes are packed with ice packs and insulated to keep the items fresh. All three services use seasonal vegetables and fruits, and recipes change every week. Subscribers benefit from variety so they’re not repeating the same meals week in and week out. The dinner kits are not cheaper than fixing a bowl of spaghetti at home, but they can be cheaper than takeout. Blue Apron’s meals cost less than $10 each. The meals at HelloFresh and Plated are a couple of dollars more, but you can lower the price if

you buy more meals per shipment or opt for the vegetarian meals from HelloFresh. While the companies tout the per meal price, Blue Apron and HelloFresh require buying a minimum of six meals for each shipment. Plated requires four meals. The cheapest is HelloFresh’s vegetarian dinner kit, which costs $59 a week. Delivery for all three companies is free.

Singles face leftovers But be aware that these services cater to couples and families. Single subscribers may end up with more food than they know what to do with. The minimum dinner kit available from Blue Apron and HelloFresh has two servings of three different recipes. That’s six meals all together. At Plated, you can order a minimum of two servings of two different recipes, a

total of four meals per shipment. Josh Hix, Plated’s co-founder, said the company’s single customers save extra food for leftovers or use it for date nights. If subscribing to a ready-to-cook delivery service sounds appetizing, here’s what you need to know about each company. All companies listed deliver in Maryland: Blue Apron — www.blueapron.com Pricing: A minimum of $59.94 a week, which includes three meals for two people ($9.99 a meal). No membership required, cancel any time. A kit for four people costs $119.88, and for six, $179.82. Recent recipes: Cod with crispy kale and roasted tomato. Lemongrass shrimp with soba noodles and Chinese broccoli. Vegetarian option: Yes HelloFresh — www.hellofresh.com Pricing: A minimum of $69 a week, which includes three meals for two people

($11.50 a meal). For four people, it’s $129 a week, or $10.75 a meal. The vegetarian kits are $59, which includes three meals for two people ($9.83 a meal). Recent recipes: Beef cabbage wraps with sweet potato fries. Honey chili chicken with tomato relish. Vegetarian option: Yes. Plated — www.plated.com Pricing: A minimum of $60 for four meals ($15 a meal). Order six or more meals for $14 each. If you pay a monthly membership of $10, it’s $12 a meal if you buy four or $10 a meal if you order six or more. Recent dishes: Pork tenderloin with watermelon, mint, feta and cucumber salad. Apricot chicken with green beans and almonds. Vegetarian option: No. (The company expects to add it later this fall.) — AP

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N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

VOLUME 3, NO. 11 • NOVEMBER 2013

A Message from the Administrator By Dayna Brown, Office on Aging Administrator

November marks the start of the holiday season, a time that gives us all reasons to think about loved ones near and far — family, friends and neighbors. Thanksgiving offers a special time for most of us to be with those we care about and love; I hope you will join us for our annual Thanksgiving Luncheon and Dance on Thursday, November 14 at Ten Oaks Ballroom in Clarksville. November is also Alzheimer’s Awareness Month and National Family Caregivers Month, a time to reflect on care issues that affect so many families in Howard County. Caregiving takes many forms, and each family’s situation is unique, so the Office on Aging has developed several programs to share information and offer assistance. Our “Prepare to Care” series is designed for adult children to learn more about Office on Aging programs and services available for their aging family members. The next session will be held Tuesday, Nov. 5, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the North Laurel Community Center, 9411 Whiskey Bottom Rd. in Laurel. And don’t miss “You Are Not Alone,” our second annual caregiver workshop on Saturday, Nov. 9, also at North Laurel. Marsha Ansel from the Howard County Mental Health Authority will offer keynote remarks, followed by a series of helpful workshops to address caregiver concerns. The event is free and includes lunch. A variety of exhibitors will also be onsite to offer information and provide support. Free respite care for your loved one is available; call (410) 313-5980 by Nov. 1 to arrange care or reserve lunch. Lastly, we are excited to announce the publication of a newly revised guide for caregivers. This free guide includes informative articles on a number of caregiving topics, as well as contact information for programs, businesses, and non-profit organizations serving older adults, caregivers and their families in Howard County. To request a free copy, contact Maryland Access Point at 410-313-5980. Happy Thanksgiving!

Caregiver Workshop Set for Saturday, Nov. 9

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter once said, “There are four kinds of people in this world: those who have been caregivers, those who currently are caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers.” In honor of National Family Caregivers Month, the Office on Aging invites all caregivers to join us for “You Are Not Alone,” on Saturday, Nov. 9, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the North Laurel Community Center, 9411 Whiskey Bottom Rd., in Laurel, Md. The Office on Aging’s second annual caregiver event will feature an enlightening keynote address by Marsha Ansel, psychogeriatric coordinator for the Howard County Mental Health Authority. Following the keynote presentation,

attendees may choose from a variety of informative workshops on legal matters, Howard County resources, long-term care options and stress management. A caregiver support group will also be available for those who would like to join in and share their experiences. This event is free, and includes a continental breakfast and lunch, but registration is required. Respite care will be provided on-site by Office on Aging Senior Center Plus staff. For more information or to register, call Maryland Access Point of Howard County at 410-313-5980. Please call by Nov. 1 to arrange respite care and reserve lunch, or to request sign language interpretation or other accommodations to attend.

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N â&#x20AC;&#x201D; N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3

Coming Events

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The Senior Connection

Friday, Nov. 1, noon â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Anniversary Dance Party, Glenwood 50+ Center Enjoy a catered meal and the sounds of Too Smooth Dudes, featuring Maryland Idol Winner Sterling Dorn. Cost: $6; call 410-313-5440 to register. Nov. 1 to 30 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Trek to Turkey Day, Glenwood 50+ Center Join our month-long trek to be more active. Programs are assigned a mileage amount; get involved to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;travelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; the distance and get a specially designed t-shirt! Call 410-313-5440 for details.

Saturday, Nov. 2, 1 to 3 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mystery Author Showcase, East Columbia 50+ Center Meet, mingle and enjoy refreshments with authors from the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Free; call 410-313-7680 for more information.

Tuesday, Nov. 5, noon â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Honor our Veterans Luncheon, Glenwood 50+ Center Come share your story while you feast on a homemade spaghetti lunch with garlic bread, salad and dessert. Call 410-313-5440 to register. Cost: $6 (free for veterans).

Tuesday, Nov. 5, 6:30 to 8 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Prepare to Care, North Laurel 50+ Center Learn about services and programs for aging family members, how to assess needs, design a long-term plan, explore options for Aging in place, assisted living and nursing home care. Free; call Maryland Access Point to register at 410-313-5980. Wednesday, Nov. 6, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Bain Holiday Craft Fair, Bain Center Get your holiday shopping done early, with great art and craft work by our members on sale in the lobby. Tables are available for a $5 donation (Bain members); all others $15. Reserve your table early.

Wednesday, Nov. 6, 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Basket Weaving, East Columbia 50+ Center Welcome to the world of weaving! Enjoy ultimate satisfaction from an item you have woven and created. Cost: $35; call 410-313-7680 to register.

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+RZDUG &RXQW\ 0DU\ODQG

The Senior Connection is published monthly by the Howard County Department of Citizen Servicesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Office on Aging. We welcome your comments and suggestions. To contact us, or to join our email subscriber list, email seniorconnection@howardcountymd.gov with â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;subscribeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in the subject box.

Howard County Office on Aging

6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia, MD 21046

410-313-6410

www.howardcountyaging.org www.Facebook.com/HoCoCitizen

Dayna Brown, Administrator

Advertising contained in the Beacon is not endorsed by the Howard County Office on Aging or by the publisher.

Wednesday, Nov. 6, 7 to 8:30 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Medicare 101 - What You Can Expect From Medicare, Bain Center Learn how Medicare Parts A (Hospital), B (Medical) and D (Prescription Drug) work, what the benefits are, and when you should make decisions related to your coverage. No fee; sponsored by SHIP. Call 410-313-7391 to register. Thursday, Nov. 7, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Meet the Author: Tom Glenn, Bain Center Centered on the TĂŞt Offensive of 1968, Tom Glennâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Friendly Casualties tells the stories of casualties of the Vietnam War. Come meet the author! Free; call 410-313-7213 for details.

Tuesday, Nov. 12, 1 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Disease & Home Safety, Ellicott City Senior Center Jamie Jackson from Griswold Home Care, presents a snapshot of common, yet serious, safety issues that impact people with Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, their families and caregivers. Free; call 410-313-1400 to register.

Wednesday, Nov. 13, 10 a.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pirates on the Chesapeake, Glenwood 50+Center Wayne Schaumberg, our go-to guy for Baltimore history, will be here with an information-packed talk on this fascinating subject. Free; call 410-313-5440 to register. Monday, Nov. 18, 1 to 3 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pets R Us, Ellicott City Senior Center Our program features a brief history of dogs, socialization and general pet care, followed by a bereavement ceremony for pets that have passed on. Call 410313-1400 to register. Tuesday, Nov. 19, 9 a.m. to noon â&#x20AC;&#x201C; National Memory Screening Day, Bain Center Get a free memory screening by a qualified healthcare professional. The non-invasive screening takes just 5-10 minutes; results are confidential. For appointments, call 410-313-7213. Tuesday, Nov. 19, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Memory Screening, North Laurel 50+ Center Humanimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dr. Jennifer Schwartz-Mitchell will offer free screenings for memory function. Call 410-313-0380 for an appointment. Walk-ins are welcome!

Wednesday, Nov. 20, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Cranberry Bar, East Columbia 50+ Center Enjoy our â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fruit of the Monthâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; cranberries! Enjoy tastings, smoothies, decorating ideas and all things cranberry! Free; for more information, call 410-

313-7680. Wednesday, Nov. 20, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Lunch Time Theatre, North Laurel 50+ Center Join us for lunch and a performance by the Fabulous 50+ Players of Howard County; sponsored by the Howard County Arts Council. Cost: lunch contribution; for reservations, call 410-313-0380 by Nov. 12.

Wednesday, Nov. 20, 7 to 8:30 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Medicare 102: Why Medicare Isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Enough, Bain Center Learn about Medicare Part C/Health Plans and Medigap Supplement Policies and how different plans cover out of pocket expenses. No fee; sponsored by SHIP. Call 410-313-7391 to register.

Thursday, Nov. 21, 12:30 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Pâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s of Thanksgiving, Ellicott City Senior Center Thirst â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Howl Productions presents a musical retrospective of Thanksgiving traditions, from pilgrims to pies to parades. Free; call 410-3131400 to register.

Mondays, Jan. 6 through Feb. 10, 5:30 to 8 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Living Well Workshops, Medical Pavilion at Howard County, 10710 Charter Drive, Suite 1, Columbia, Md. 21044 In just six weeks, Living Well helps adults and caregivers learn techniques to manage chronic conditions. Fee is $28 and includes all materials; financial assistance is available. Space is limited; call 410-313-5980 to register. A PRESENTATION OF THE

HOWARD COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CITIZEN SERVICES

OFFICE ON AGING

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Marsha Ansel, Psychogeriatric Coordinator Howard County Mental Health Authority

Saturday, November 9, 2013 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM North Laurel Community Center 9411 Whiskey Bottom Road, Laurel, MD 20723 Continental breakfast & lunch provided. On-site respite provided.

To register, or for additional information, contact Maryland Access Point (MAP) at 410-313-5980 or email to map@howardcountymd.gov

Reservation deadline for lunch and respite is Friday, Nov. 1 If you need this document in an alternative format or need accommodations to attend this event, please call 410-313-5980.

www.howardcountyaging.org

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

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Money Law &

MANAGE YOUR FINANCES ONLINE Recommendations for the best online banks and budgeting sites, including Citibank, Wells Fargo and Mint.com. ALL THAT GLITTERS Gold prices have come way down, so does that mean it is time to buy or be cautious? What are the best ways to hold gold?

Are you paying too much for TV programs? By Lisa Gerstner The long list of cable channels that you never watch. The skyrocketing bills — and the battles with your provider’s customerservice department to return them to Earth. The fees for everything, from equipment installation to service calls. Those are just a few of the reasons why dealing with a cable or satellite-TV provider is so frustrating — and costly. According to the Federal Communications Commission, the average cable bill is $62 a month, or $744 a year. And prices can go a lot higher depending on the plan you choose. You could be happier (or at least richer) if you ditched cable and took advantage of the growing options for watching TV shows and movies online.

Watch via the Web Companies such as Netflix and Hulu provide access to large collections of movies and previously aired TV shows. Hulu.com is the online hub for viewing TV shows from participating networks. Typically, you can stream the five most recent episodes of a show’s current season free, and programs usually pop up on the site the day after they air on TV. (Fans of

Fox shows have to wait eight days after an episode’s air date to watch it online — except for subscribers to eligible cable or satellite services.) Upgrade to the $8 monthly Hulu Plus service, and you’ll get access to a wider selection of TV and movies — including full seasons of TV shows — as well as the ability to stream many shows through compatible devices, such as smartphones and a Roku box. If you can’t find a show free on Hulu, check the station’s website (current-season episodes of some CBS shows, for instance, are at CBS.com but not Hulu.com). If you can’t stream a TV show free, look into buying episodes from services such as Amazon Instant Video or iTunes. You may be able to purchase the full season of a show for less. For instance, buying the 22 episodes of “Scandal’s” second season in HD on iTunes, at $3 a pop, would total $66; buy the full season, and you’ll pay only $30. Through Amazon Instant Video, order a TV Pass to get discounted episodes of current-season TV shows as soon as they are released. Netflix’s $8 monthly streaming service doesn’t carry new, current-season episodes of popular network and cable-TV

shows (though you’ll find previous seasons of many programs). But Netflix has waded into creating original shows, such as “House of Cards” and “Orange Is the New Black,” that have proved popular with viewers. (In fact, the critically acclaimed “House of Cards” is now on sale through other streaming services.) And rather than use the standard model of releasing new episodes periodically, Netflix has made new full seasons available all at once.

Other options A start-up called Aereo is testing the waters for streaming more TV online. For $8 a month, subscribers can view programming live from major broadcast networks and local channels and record shows to view later. Aereo is available in a few cities now, and it has plans to expand to the Washington area. The company has clashed in court with broadcast networks about the legality of its business, but so far Aereo has prevailed. Methods of slinging Web video beyond your PC screen are expanding, too. Google, for example, recently introduced a $35 device the size of a USB flash drive called Chromecast. Plug it in to any HDTV

and you can stream content wirelessly from compatible services, including Netflix and YouTube. Your computer, tablet or smartphone acts as a controller. Video services are also responding to customers’ increasing appetite for viewing programs on their mobile devices by offering smartphone and tablet applications. You also might want to do something as simple as setting up an antenna to pick up programming on local broadcast stations. If you go to www.antennaweb.org and enter your address or zip code, the site will pull a list of available TV stations as well as the type of outdoor antenna required to get a signal from each. (Bonus: You may find that your HDTV reception using an antenna is sharper than with cable or satellite.) You should be able to get stations that have strong signals using an indoor antenna (a good one may cost $40); for weaker signals, you’ll need a good outdoor antenna ($50 to $100 or more). Lisa Gerstner is an associate 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. © 2013 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

Reasons to give reverse mortgages a look Ever since the housing boom and boost, to help supplement their retirement income. the real estate market has been clawing its way back from the bottom. For those keep- Transform equity to cash ing track, prices peaked in 2006 before The firming housing market has dropping by over 30 percent brought reverse mortgages nationally and far more in back into the spotlight. A resome markets. verse mortgage is a home loan Housing bottomed out in that allows homeowners 62 and January 2012, almost three older to convert a portion of the years after the stock marequity in their homes into cash, ket. The reason for the lag is as long as the home remains simple: a house is an illiquid their primary residence. asset, which makes it more Most reverse mortgages are difficult to sell than a puboffered through the Department licly traded stock or stock of Housing and Urban DevelopRETIRE SMART ment and are guaranteed by the mutual fund. This year, activity has By Jill Schlesinger Federal Housing Administration picked up, and prices are finally rising. This (FHA) through a program called Home Eqis good news for those who were counting uity Conversion Mortgages (HECM). FHA on selling their homes and/or using equity provides online counselors as well as valu-

able information by phone at 1-800-569-4287. The borrower is required to continue to pay real estate taxes, utilities and hazard and flood insurance premiums. The amount you can borrow depends on several factors, including the age of the youngest borrower, the current interest rate, the appraised value of your home and whether the rate is fixed or adjustable. The more valuable your home is, the older you are and the lower the interest rate, the more you can borrow. If the home is sold or no longer used as a primary residence, or if the borrower dies, then the loan, the accumulated interest and other HECM finance charges must be repaid. All proceeds beyond the amount owed belong to your spouse or estate. If the house sells for less than the money owed,

the FHA takes the loss — no debt is passed along to the estate or heirs. Unlike a traditional mortgage, there’s currently no lengthy underwriting process, and you don’t make monthly principal and interest payments.

Will it be harder to qualify? But the reverse mortgage market could change in the coming months. The FHA has informed Congress that the housing market crash has meant that some reverse mortgage borrowers don’t have enough money to pay their property taxes and homeowners insurance. Since failure to do so allows the lender to foreclose on the home, this has led to a number of tragic situations. To shore up the system and reduce the See REVERSE MORTGAGES, page 23

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N â&#x20AC;&#x201D; N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3

9 ways restaurants get you to spend more By Cameron Huddleston Times are tough for restaurants. The average check size has increased just 1.7 percent per year over the past five years, according to NPD Group, a market research firm. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because diners are watching what they spend at restaurants by forgoing pricey extras, such as drinks and appetizers, said Bonnie Riggs, NPD Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s restaurant industry analyst. In response to penny-pinching patrons, restaurant owners are compelled to find creative ways to get customers to fork over more cash. With the help of restaurant industry veterans, consultants and researchers, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve identified nine common tactics â&#x20AC;&#x201D; ranging from subtle to overt â&#x20AC;&#x201D; designed to increase the cost of your next meal out: 1. The upsell Servers will attempt to upsell you during every step of the meal-ordering process to increase your bill, said David Bakke, a former restaurant manager who is now an editor for the blog Money Crashers (www.moneycrashers.com). When you order a burger, for example, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll likely be asked whether you want cheese with it. Or if you order a steak, you might be asked if you would like a side of creamed spinach. Price-conscious diners should ask immediately if proposed extras will add to the bill.

2. The downsell Beware a little reverse psychology from your server. Some restaurants will recommend lower-priced items on their menus â&#x20AC;&#x201D; often with the good intention of providing better value and encouraging repeat visits. Still, the approach can lead customers to spend more in total for several lowerpriced items than they might have spent on a single, higher-priced meal, said Tom Frank, one of the creators of the P.F. Changâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s restaurant concept, who advocates the value-selling approach. 3. Wordy menu descriptions Think $12.95 is too much to pay for a salad? What if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a Kentucky Bibb lettuce salad with heirloom tomatoes, Maytag blue cheese, crispy bacon and homemade bourbon-infused vinaigrette? Carefully crafted descriptions can soften the price in a customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head, said Gregg Rapp, a menu engineer with 31 years of experience helping restaurants increase profits. In particular, descriptions that use geographic labels (Austin Tex Mex), nostalgic terms (Uncle Bobâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s barbecue), sensory triggers (sizzling, savory, creamy) and brand names (San Marzano tomatoes) are most effective at creating a sense of value for customers. 4. Menus without dollar signs Another way restaurants â&#x20AC;&#x153;softenâ&#x20AC;? prices

BEACON BITS

Oct. 31

MODERATE INCOME HOUSING

The Moderate Income Housing Unit (MIHU) program requires developers of new housing in certain zoning districts to sell or rent a percentage of new dwelling units to households with moderate income. Open enrollment for this quarter ends Thursday, Oct. 31. For an application, call (410) 313-6318 and select option 4, or visit the MIHU website at www.howardcountymd.gov/housingmihu.htm.

is to leave dollar signs off their menus, Rapp said. A study by researchers at Cornell Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Center for Hospitality Research found that diners given a numeralonly menu spent 8.15 percent more, on average, than customers given a menu with dollar signs. Rapp also advises restaurants to omit the dots that connect prices to items on menus. The dots make it easier for patrons to scan menus for the cheapest price, then to follow the line of dots over to the item to order it. 5. Menu item placement Savvy restaurant owners will place items that they want to sell most in the top spot

under each course offering, Rapp said. Sometimes these items might be the highest-priced, such as lobster or foie gras. Other times, the items in the top spots will carry the highest profit margin (think cheap ingredients such as pasta that can be gussied up). Restaurants also will place boxes around higher-priced items to draw dinersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; attention to them. 6. The daily special The daily special is pushed heavily by servers, Bakke said, because it often costs more than regular menu items and can See RESTAURANTS, page 23

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N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Consider banking and budgeting online By Anya Kamenetz According to new research from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 51 percent of Americans bank online, and more than one-third do so using their mobile phone. This trend is growing, as younger and more educated folks are more likely to bank online. There are some security concerns with online banking, but you can address them with simple measures. Make sure to access your account only from your person-

al, private computer, which should be running up-to-date software systems and antivirus protection. Avoid clicking on any emails that look like they’re from a bank; you should navigate directly to the website of your bank or app. And monitor your account balances too: some of the apps mentioned below can flag suspicious activity. Just about every bank out there has a website you can use to monitor your spending, set up automatic payments,

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transfer money from checking to savings and more. If you’ve been hesitant to try banking online, here are some painless ways to get started. Recommendations are based on multiple reviews and reports.

Best conventional banks for online use Citi and WellsFargo have each topped ratings from Global Finance magazine, Consumer Reports and Forrester for the ease of navigability of their websites. They have special features (such as instant spending charts that put your spending into categories), automatic bill pay, and tools for budgeting and setting savings goals. Citibank even lets you link your accounts from other financial institutions so you can look at them all in one place. And they have apps for the iPad and iPhone.

Best online-only banks Yes, it is possible to do all your banking with no physical branch visits. Typically, online banks offer higher rates for savings accounts, and they waive ATM fees so you can take out cash wherever you want. Consumer Reports rates Capital One 360, formerly ING Direct, as its top online-only bank, while Ally Bank, a unit of Ally Financial (the former GMAC), advertises great customer service and ranks high on Bankrate for savings (currently at 0.84 percent APR).

Best budgeting websites To manage money on your computer, you don’t necessarily need to use fancy software or even go online. Plenty of people use regular old spreadsheets for track-

ing expenses and keeping books. However, if you want a few more bells and whistles, the consistently highest rated site by consumer publications is Mint.com, owned by Quicken. The budgeting site is free to use, supported by advertising offers. It fetches all your transactions from every checking, credit and investment account, categorizes them and shows them all in one place. The budgeting tool allows you to set spending targets in each separate category, and then it alerts you when you go over. You can also get email or text alerts in case of a low balance in any account, or an unusual fee or overdraft charge. I’ve been using it since 2009, and the alerts can come in handy. The newer site YouNeedABudget.com was recently voted tops by readers of the blog Lifehacker. For $60, you get a software package that will guide you step by step through tracking every dollar you earn, spend and save, adjusting budget projections as you go. YouNeedABudget.com claims its users experience a median net worth increase of $3,300 after nine months.

Best financial mobile apps The sites and services mentioned all have their own apps. You might also want to check out Check (formerly Pageonce), rated tops by PCMag, which allows you to schedule a bill payment or quickly check balances. And Spendee (www.spendeeapp.com) is a well-designed expense tracker worth considering. Anya Kamenetz welcomes your questions at diyubook@gmail.com. © 2013 Anya Kamenetz. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3

Reverse mortgages From page 20 risk of foreclosures, FHA wants to introduce some form of financial assessment to the process as well as a cap on the amount of money that can be extracted from the home’s value. To change the current system, FHA needs congressional approval. The House gave these new ideas a thumbs up earlier in the summer, but it’s unclear whether

Restaurants From page 21 carry a higher markup. But patrons might not realize this because the price of the special isn’t always printed in the menu. Servers usually just rattle off a list of specials without quoting dollar figures. It’s then up to patrons to ask for the price of each special — or potentially face a costly surprise when the bill arrives. 7. Background music The music a restaurant plays can affect the amount of money you spend. A study by Scottish researchers found that customers spent 23 percent more on food and drink when slow music was playing than when the soundtrack featured fast music. And a separate study by British researchers found that restaurant tabs were 10.4 percent higher when classical music

the Senate will follow suit. In essence, a reverse mortgage can help retirees convert an illiquid asset — a house — into a liquid one that can help supplement retirement income, which explains why at least 595,000 households have an outstanding reverse-mortgage loan, according to the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association. But there is, of course, a downside: Younger retirees who use them may run out of money and options at too young an

age. These folks may have been better off selling their homes and using the equity to purchase another home or rent. Additionally, it may make sense to spend other assets before extracting home equity via a reverse mortgage. Another consideration is the cost, which may be far less expensive than it was a few years ago but can still total 2 to 3 percent of the loan amount. It’s also important to remember that reverse mortgage payouts also can impact a

borrower’s eligibility for means-tested benefits programs, like Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and/or Medicaid. If you are serious about a reverse mortgage, consult a registered investment adviser or an attorney, who can help determine if it is in your best interest. Jill Schlesinger, CFP, is the Emmy-nominated, Senior Business Analyst for CBS News. She welcomes comments and questions at askjill@jillonmoney.com. © 2013 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

was played than when pop music was piped in. 8. Souvenir items Many restaurants — chain restaurants, in particular — make a lot of money selling souvenir items in addition to food. One source with 23 years of experience as a waiter, bartender and supervisor at a popular restaurant chain said that customers often don’t want to feel like they’re being pushed to buy a souvenir, though.

So when the source (he asked not to be named to protect his employment prospects in the industry) asks patrons whether they want a small or large cocktail, he tells them that they get to keep the glass if they order a large. Usually, he said, they go for the large. 9. Refills Because many restaurants don’t charge extra every time the server adds more coffee to your cup or iced tea to your glass, it’s

easy to assume that refills will be free everywhere you go. However, some restaurants charge for refills, but only divulge that fact in the menu’s fine print — or not at all. A table of four that orders refills during the meal and again during coffee service might unwittingly add $20 to a tab. If it’s not clear whether refills are free, ask. © 2013, Kiplinger. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

AVOID HEALTH INSURANCE SCAMS

The Howard County Office of Consumer Affairs has prepared a fact sheet alerting residents to possible fraudulent marketing schemes that may be based on the new Affordable Care Act (ACA). Key among them: Most people do not have to do anything if they are already covered through Medicare, Medicaid or another program; the government is not calling, sending emails or knocking on doors to sign up people for the program; there is no fee involved. For information on how the law works, the plans available, and how to sign up for coverage, visit www.marylandhealthconnection.gov or call 1-855642-8572. Howard County residents can also receive free information and assistance with signing up from the Door to HealthCare, a program of Healthy Howard Inc. at www.DoorToHealthCare.org or 1-855-642-3667.

Clarksville: 443-535-9321 • Olney: 301-774-1344

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N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Six things to know about investing in gold By Nellie S. Huang 1. Solid gold is not always solid. The price of bullion peaked in September 2011 at nearly $1,900 an ounce. But gold fell to $1,230 in early July, and is now trading around $1260. Among the factors that could continue to weigh down gold: a strong dollar, a surging stock market, and tepid economic growth around the world. 2. Defense, defense. Think of gold as a hedge against unexpected, catastrophic

financial events. For example, the credit downgrade of U.S. debt and worry about a Greek default fueled a 44-percent rally in gold prices in the first nine months of 2011. 3. A little bit goes a long way. Many experts say a small exposure to gold — from 1 percent to 5 percent of your portfolio — can be a good long-term portfolio diversifier whether prices move up or down. That’s because gold tends to move out of sync with stocks and bonds.

4. You could start your own treasure chest. Consider buying the actual metal in one-ounce coins, such as American Eagles, said Alec Young, global equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ. “Buy through a reputable dealer, one that’s been around for 30 years and that’s listed with the Better Business Bureau,” he said. You’ll pay a premium when you buy and sell the pieces. But Young said you shouldn’t pay more than a 5- to 6-percent premium over spot-gold prices when you buy, and you should accept no more than a 1- to 2-percent discount to spot prices when you sell. Store the coins in a safe-deposit box at the bank. 5. Or invest in an exchange-traded fund. Many so-called gold bugs have chosen to buy shares in an ETF, such as iShares Gold Trust (symbol IAU), which tracks the price of gold by buying bullion. Note that the IRS considers gold a col-

lectible and gives it special tax treatment. When you sell your shares, your gains will be taxed at your ordinary income rate, up to a maximum of 28 percent, if you’ve held the shares for more than a year. If you sell your shares within a year of buying them, your profits will be taxed as ordinary income, up to 39.6 percent. 6. Gold stocks are riskier. Prices of gold stocks are often more volatile than the price of the metal itself. For example, over the first four months of the year, the price of bullion declined 16 percent; by contrast, an index of the biggest U.S. gold mining stocks plunged 36 percent. Nellie S. Huang is a senior associate 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. © 2013 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

BEACON BITS

Nov. 26

FILM ON JEWISH LIFE

About Face, a documentary on assimilated Jews in Germany and Austria before and during the Nazi takeover, will be shown on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 10:30 a.m. at the Bain Center, 5470 Ruth Keeton Way, Columbia. The film is sponsored by jGROUP, a program of the Jewish Federation of Howard County. For more information, call (410) 730-4876, ext. 103 or email SNovinsky@JewishHowardCounty.org.

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3

Say you saw it in the Beacon

Travel

Leisure &

A convergence of cultures is on display in Southern Spain, including at this museum in Seville. See story on page 27.

Escape to nearby Blue Ridge Mountains

A park with a view

From atop the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains at 3,000-plus feet, a vast panorama of layered rolling mountains unfolds, fading from the foreground’s lush green to a wispy bluish-gray and punctuated by multiple peaks shimmering through a gauzy haze across the horizon as far as the eye can see. Trees nod and leaves softly rustle. The wind whispers as tufted titmice tweet and hop from limb to limb, as a crow caw-cawcaws in the distance. The serenity is mesmerizing. Naturalist John Muir wrote, “Wilderness is a necessity.” Shenandoah National Park is a place to get your wilderness “fix” just 100 miles southwest of Columbia. Over a million people visit every year to see one of the few big national parks in the East. Seniors are the number one population demographic, say park managers, but they quickly add, “There’s something for everyone.” In addition to nature, visitors can get a slice of the South. A greeter at the Skyland Lodge restaurant drawled, “Y’all ok? I’ll be with ya’ll in a few minutes.” Groups like the Possum Ridge String Band and Shenandoah Valley Cloggers perform in the lodges. Dishes like rainbow trout, roasted turkey, fried chicken and braised Smithfield pork shank jump off the menus, not to mention the not-tobe-missed blackberry ice cream pie, SNP’s signature dessert. You can start the day with the Southern Sampler breakfast: sausage gravy, buttermilk biscuits, buttermilk hotcakes and grits. “Our sausage gravy is just like my grandma makes,” our waiter bragged.

Getting oriented Hikers can take a steep 1.7-mile roundtrip trail to view the 70-foot Dark Hollow Falls near the Byrd Visitor Center at Shenandoah National Park. The park includes more than 500 miles of hiking trails.

Shenandoah National Park, sprawling across Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, harbors rich

By Glenda C. Booth We crouched down on our knees to study a thumbnail-sized, shiny green pendant dangling precariously by a silky thread from a three-inch-wide cement edge of one of the visitor center’s brick support columns. The ranger explained it was the chrysalis, or pupal stage, of the monarch butterfly, transitioning from larva to adult — a tiny miraculous marvel of nature in a 300-square-mile national park known for its broad vistas, dense forests of tall trees, bulging granite boulders, plunging waterfalls and soaring peaks. The “bigness” of Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park (SNP) is what typically gets people’s attention. But probing more deeply unveils much more. It’s the granular and the grand, the minute and the magnificent, for it is a park rich in diversity and eye-opening adventures, mini, mega and in between.

Trees turn crimson and gold in Shenandoah National Park’s autumnal show of color. The 300-square-mile park is one of the few large national parks on the East Coast and less than a two-hour drive from Howard County.

forests, sparkling waterfalls, craggy peaks, inviting hiking trails and imposing rock formations. The Skyline Drive, with 75 overlooks, splices along the park’s spine for 105 miles and joins the Blue Ridge Parkway, which goes another 469 miles to Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains. Mileposts are numbered north to south starting at zero at the Front Royal entrance and ending with Rockfish Gap at the southernmost end (milepost 105). The 1 billionyear-old Appalachian Mountains, of which the Blue Ridge Mountains are a part, constitutes one of the oldest ranges in the world. Created as a national park by Congress in 1935 to provide a traditional “western” national park experience in the East, it’s one of the few big national parks east of the Mississippi. The Civilian Conservation Corps built recreational facilities, guard walls and trails during the Depression. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the park in 1936. The park has around 1,100 flowering plants, 100 species of trees, 300 types of animals and 200 of birds. Waterfalls spill down the mountainsides. Hikers delight in over 500 miles of hiking trails, including the Maine-to-Georgia Appalachian Trail, a 2,176-mile ribbon through 14 states. Visitors can get glimpses of deer, bobcats, raccoons and foxes. Families of wild

turkeys waddle into the woods. Park managers estimate that there are several thousand deer and 300 to 500 bears. The really lucky might see the federallyendangered Shenandoah salamander, which has only been observed on three mountain tops in Shenandoah National Park and nowhere else in the world. Geology buffs can examine the nuances of sharp ridges and rocky outcrops of granite, sandstone, quartzite, phyllite, basalt and grandiorite. Two peaks, Hawks Bill and Stony Man, soar above 4,000 feet. Old Rag, at 3,291 feet, is the most popular, yet most dangerous, hike. The mountains are known for the everpresent bluish-gray haze, hence the Blue Ridge name. Sadly, 80 percent of the haze is pollution from the industrial and traffic fumes drifting in from near and far. Visibility has decreased 50 percent in the last 50 years thanks to human activity. At night, the lights of towns below make the valleys twinkle. Fog too can shroud the mountains, and while fog may blur long-distance vistas, the fog provides a softly comforting, almost surreal, atmosphere. It also encourages visitors to focus on things up close, such as butterflies nectaring on blossoms, insects probing dewy flowers, and thistles releasing their seeds amid a chorus of chirping chickadees. See SHENANDOAH, page 26

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Shenandoah From page 25

Four-season serenity “People have been coming here for 100 years to escape the heat of the city and experience things they cannot see in the city,” explained Lorrie Knies, supervisory interpretative ranger. “It’s close and quieter, slower, a way to get away from the city.” Quietly imbibing the peace and beauty are plenty for many people. Some folks like ranger programs. Active types may plunge into the wilderness, gear and meals in tow. Others enjoy a slow, winding drive

along the mountaintop, stopping at overlooks. The best time to go? “It depends,” said Knies. There’s something for everybody every season, she maintained. Fall foliage astounds all, when the park blazes with orange-red-yellow hues. Warblers and monarch butterflies migrate through. It is the busiest season (though quieter on weekdays than on weekends). Spring climbs up the mountains 100 feet a day starting in March, rangers said. The park sparkles with rushing streams, waterfalls, vernal pools, and plants like trilliums, jack-in-the-pulpit, mountain laurel, rhodo-

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

dendrons, dogwoods, azaleas and lady slippers. Summer is cooler on the mountain tops than down below. Fawns and bear cubs start exploring and streams murmur. Baby birds fledge. Winter offers quiet, crisper air and clearer views. Foxes and bobcats become more active. Exhibits at the Byrd Visitor Center (milepost 51) outline the park’s history. Those at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center (milepost 4.6) explore nature. Around 500 miles of easy-to-strenuous hiking trails get people into the woods. Trails range from short walks to a 101-mile segment of the Appalachian Trail. Over 95 percent of the park is forest, but the 130-acre, treeless Big Meadows has vernal pools and at times an explosion of small critters, a “supermarket for insecteating birds,” one ranger said. Barn swallows dart around snagging gnats midair. Ranger programs, especially in summer, include basket-making, cooking demos, hikes, campfire talks, raptor demonstrations. They take visitors on walks to some of the more than 100 cemeteries in the park, some with small plots, others with up to 100 gravesites. Rangers lead a 30-minute bus ride to Rapidan Camp, President Herbert Hoover’s restored, rustic retreat, about which Hoover said, “This is just what I want — a camp of retreat, far removed from the city environ and the confines of the White House.” Conservation advocate Sigurd Olson explained the lure of the wilderness in 1946: “Wilderness to the people of America is a spiritual necessity, an antidote to the high pressure of modern life, a means of regaining serenity and equilibrium.”

If you go The park’s two lodges are in the central part of the park, between U.S. 211 at Thornton Gap (milepost 31.5) and U.S. 33 at Swift Run Gap (milepost 65.7). Both have comfortable rooms. Big Meadows Lodge (milepost 51.2), a stone and timber structure with a chestnut interior, offers rooms and cabins, a dining room and a great room with expansive views of the valley. Skyland Lodge (milepost 41.7), at the park’s highest point, 3,680 feet, has a dining room, lodge, moteltype rooms and rustic cabins. There are also some back-to-nature cabins (some without water) and trailside huts. Campgrounds offer both first-come, first-served and reservable sites. Study the facilities’ details carefully before reserving. The park has four entrances: Front Royal, on U.S. 340 near Interstates 81 and 66; Thornton Gap, on U.S. 211; Swift Run Gap, on U.S. 33; and Rockfish Gap, at Interstate 64 and U.S. 25. A vehicle is a must. Amtrak serves Charlottesville and Greyhound serves Waynesboro, towns that have car rental companies. Gas stations inside the park are open only from spring through fall. Park managers recommend lodging and camping reservations well in advance, especially for fall visits. In winter, only a few facilities are open. For more information, see the National Park Service’s brochure on SNP at www.nps.gov/shen. Lodging reservations can be made at www.goshenandoah.com or by calling 1-877-847-1919. Campground reservations can be made at www.recreation.gov or 1-877-444-6777. Glenda C. Booth is a freelance writer in Alexandria, Va.

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Nov. 20

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Andalusian fusion: Christianity and Islam By Giovanna Dell’orto Last month, our lead travel story was about contemporary attractions in Northern Spain. This month we follow up with a story about the sites of Southern Spain. For the third time in a week, I’m touring the Alhambra, one of the most popular sites in the world’s fourth most-visited country, and finally I have it all to myself. Not a pushy guide but a bullfrog in one of the fountains is the loudest sound on a late May night in this hilltop Islamic palace complex in southern Spain. I linger to stick my nose into the cabbage-size roses lining the pathways and to gaze over the floodlit red-tinged ramparts. Their massive simplicity belies the infinite intricacy of the palaces inside, and I can easily believe the legend that the last Muslim ruler wept as he left Granada. Centuries later, we can be grateful that the conquering Christian royalty left this masterpiece nearly intact. Nowhere in Europe is the complex coexistence between Islam and Christianity more etched in historical landscapes and current customs than here, in Spain’s Andalusia — a vast region of snowy mountains, olive-studded valleys and desert coasts whose tip sits less than 10 miles from Morocco. For nearly 800 years, Muslim caliphs ruled Andalusia. In 1492, the Catholic king and

queen (and ultimate power couple), Ferdinand and Isabella, conquered this last Islamic stronghold in Europe — a few months before signing off on Christopher Columbus’ trip to the new world, which also started here.

A convergence of cultures I’ve traveled through the region in fall, winter and spring to admire the MuslimChristian monuments in the major cities of Granada, Cordoba and Seville. But this year, on a longer trip, I found the mingling of cultures in everyday life. In Granada, I bought almond cookies and orange wine through a wooden rotating tray from an unseen cloistered Catholic nun in a convent near re-created Arab baths, where I sipped mint tea and spent a silent hour steaming and soaking feet sore from climbing cobblestone alleys. And it turns out that tapas are a classic example of the region’s cultural fusion, having originated in Andalusia centuries ago, even though internationally they have come to symbolize trendy modern Spanish cuisine. Of course, Andalusia also offers all the other experiences that draw tourists to Spain: Channeling Hemingway at a bullfight, getting goose bumps from a wailing flamenco singer, mingling sacred and profane at the Eastertide processions and fairs, gorging on jamon iberico (cured

ham) and whole fish baked in sea salt, and joining throngs of sunburned Northern Europeans on Mediterranean beaches. But what’s unique about Andalusia is the trail of Islamic conquerors who arrived in the eighth century, and the Catholic monarchs who imposed their reconquista (reconquering) centuries later — vanquishing not just Islam but also eventually the Jews who had flourished under the Muslims’ tolerant rule.

Cordoba Begin your visit with the earliest masterpiece — the bizarrely repurposed great mosque, now a cathedral, of Cordoba. From its massive size and horseshoe arches, the Mezquita’s exterior gives some hints that this is not your usual medieval cathedral. But walking in still stuns. Out of the darkness pierced by low-hanging lights is a multiplication of two-tiered arches in all directions, disorienting like a house of mirrors. This forest of shiny columns and redand-white arches — together with the kaleidoscope of golden mosaics, Arabic inscriptions and carvings — show off what I see as the hallmarks of Andalusian Islamic art. Geometry and repetition play with light to create flowing motifs that simultaneously overwhelm with their richness

and seem weightless. Smack in the midst sits an unremarkable church, built in the 16th century. A much nicer reconquista touch is a few blocks away in the 14th-century Alcazar — a fortress whose gardens lined by pools and rippling fountains mirror the centrality that water has in Islamic architecture. The whitewashed homes around both monuments, covered by decorative iron grilles and bright potted plants, were part of Cordoba’s Jewish quarter, called the Juderia, a center of Jewish intellectuals before the Catholic takeover. The great philosopher Maimonides was born in Cordoba in the 12th century, and a modern statue of him is located in the quarter near a 14th century synagogue. But Maimonides did not die here; he fled to Egypt as the persecution of Jews began under the Catholic regime. Digging deeper into cultural fusion: The Roman philosopher Seneca was also born in Cordoba, and a restored bridge from around his time still crosses the wide river behind the Mezquita.

Seville Less than 100 miles to the southwest, Seville’s grand cathedral also incorporated See SOUTHERN SPAIN, page 29

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3

Southern Spain From page 27 a Muslim element: La Giralda, the former 12th-century minaret, now bell tower, nearly identical to towers still standing in Rabat and Marrakech. Next door is another much embellished Alcazar fortress, this one also visited by Ferdinand and Isabella as well as Columbus. Its style, called mudejar, is all about fusion — reflecting the taste and workmanship of Muslim artists in Catholic Spain. Around it is the former Jewish neighborhood, the barrio de Santa Cruz, centered on small, orange-tree lined squares with homes and palaces whose doors and windows are often bordered in blue and gold.

Granada Seville is the region’s largest, most cosmopolitan city. But my Andalusian favorite is Granada, framed by the improbably snowy Sierra Nevada mountain range. It’s a university city that is small enough for the tradition of free tapas with each drink (think giant chorizo sausage and heaping plates of fried whitebait for the price of a 2euro frosted glass of beer). But its attractions are outsized — not only the Alhambra, arguably the most impressive secular medieval monument from the Muslim world, but its ideological counterpart, a triumphant cathedral with its royal chapel preserving the marble funeral monuments of, who else, Ferdinand and Isabella. I most enjoyed my night visits to the Alhambra’s Nasrid Palaces, where every inch is covered in Koran and poetry inscriptions, star-patterned tiles, and gravitydefying ceilings decorated with pointed ornamentation called muqarnas, all deflecting light with a soothing, awe-inspiring effect that plays on the motto written all over: “Only Allah is victor.” In the many marbled patios and sprawling Generalife gardens farther uphill, water fountains seem to trace in the air the same curves as Arabic script, bubbling and flowing with precise patterns. On the opposite hill is the Albaicin, the much restored Muslim quarter of whitewashed homes hiding scented gardens, or carmenes (watered by medieval cisterns), whose only outside signs are overflowing purple bougainvillea and austere cypress spires. Nearby, two more churches show off Roman-inspired triumphalism — the convent of San Jeronimo with its giant altarpiece, and the Cartuja’s small Baroque sagrario (altar), which theatrically swirls with chubby angels and saints in a profusion of red marble and gold. That Christian humanism sitting next to Islamic intellectualism is Andalusia’s own enchantment. Back in the Generalife, a guard watched

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me linger by water jets arching into a long pool. She was the daughter of a watchman there who raised his eight kids in a house on its property, and she’s worked in the Alhambra for 31 years. “Magico, no?” she whispered. Three days later, I got back for visit number four.

drals at www.catedraldecordoba.es, www.catedraldesevilla.es, and www.catedraldegranada.com. If you make Granada your base, consid-

er a stay at Hotel Los Tilos (www.hotellostilos.com) with views of the Alhambra, cathedral and Sierra Nevada. Rooms start at $89 per night. — AP

If you go More information on Andalusia is available at www.andalucia.org/en/. The region’s most convenient airport is in Seville. The least expensive roundtrip fare for mid-November is $1,084 on Iberia Airlines from BWI. The three Andalusian cities of Granada, Cordoba and Seville are connected by train and bus. Cordoba is about 2 1/2 hours from Granada by train; Seville is about three hours from Granada. Parts of the cities’ historic centers are off-limits to cars. Reserve timed tickets for the Alhambra well in advance at www.alhambra-patronato.es. Get ticket info for the three cathe-

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Bob Levey writes about how to make sure your grown children don’t take advantage of your good will. See his column on page 33.

College music faculty jazz up the stage Horowitz Center Smith Theater on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 4 p.m. He will be playing along with vibraphonist Joe Locke, who won a critics’ poll at DownBeat, the major jazz magazine, as one of the best vibes players in the land. The concert is part of a series by HCC faculty offered throughout the year. Tickets cost $17 for general admission; $11 for those 60 and over.

Evolving jazz sounds Blackman said that jazz is currently undergoing profound, still-to-be-determined changes. In the not too distant past (before the Internet), American jazz was a major influence in those parts of the world where it was heard and appreciated — especially in Europe and Latin America. American musicians like tenor saxophonist Stan Getz brought bossa nova from Brazil into jazz, and pianist Dave Brubeck integrated Turkish music into his odd-metered composition, “Blue Rondo ala Turk.” Now countries around the world are bringing jazz into their own folk music. Because of the Internet, we are in a period of “global influx of various styles of music”

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mixed with jazz, Blackman said. “People around the world want to use the same structure as American jazz — presenting the melody, improvising, then returning to the melody. They want the general sense of freedom and improvisation that’s in jazz. They are interpreting jazz in their own folk style,” he said. He added: “It’s not your father’s jazz. It could be confusing. We are very much in a transition period. But this exporting and hybridization of the music is an exciting development."

Making it all work

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALAN BLACKMAN

By Robert Friedman When Duke Ellington wrote “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing,” he was, of course, talking about the music called jazz. But now, jazz may be taking on a new beat as it combines with music from around the world, according to Alan Blackman, a member of the Howard Community College (HCC) music faculty. The musical definition of swing involves a rhythmic style that elongates eighth notes and subdivides quarter notes and triplets. Jazz trumpet immortal Miles Davis defined swing in more understandable terms. You’ll know it, he said, if a musician “makes you pat your foot and if you feel it down your back.” That’s what the best of jazz has been doing to its listeners, going back to the 1920s and '30s. But the jazz times may be a-changing, according to Blackman, who along with being a teacher, also happens to be a swinging pianist. He has appeared at Blues Alley in D.C., the Kennedy Center, and other top jazz venues. Blackman will be swinging jazz standards and delving into his own original compositions when he appears at HCC's

Alan Blackman, a jazz musician and member of the

Nowadays, Blackman Howard Community College music faculty, will play noted, very few musicians jazz standards and his own compositions at a concert on Nov. 24. The school’s faculty members offer concan live by gigs alone. For excerts on a weekly basis. ample, he also gives private piano lessons, lectures on the “That got me started, and I’ve been conhistory of jazz, jams at nightclubs, engi- necting with (piano-playing) friends neers recordings, and composes music for since,” said the 42-year-old Blackman. film and TV. Blackman began like most young pianists, This will be Blackman’s ninth jazz duo playing the classics. “But from a young age, I recital at HCC since 2007, his first with a was working up my own music rather than vibes player. In the other concerts, he playing the notes chosen for me. My dad teamed up with other pianists, inspired, he played recordings of Oscar Peterson for me said, from listening to the great late jazz pi- when I was young, and I was in awe.” anist Marian McPartland, who often paired See JAZZ, page 31 up with other jazz pianists on her show.

Columbia Pro Cantare Handel Messiah December 8, 2013, 7:30 PM

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