March 2025 | Baltimore Beacon

Local twins are soup-meisters

By Laura Melamed

Keith and Kevin Mullaney started a soup business 25 years ago and are still stirring, selling and serving fresh, hot soup together.

The identical twin brothers, 60, grew up in Mayfield in Northeast Baltimore. They started their company in California but came home in 2007 to be closer to their mother.

In 2008, they opened a shop in Mount Vernon, and ever since, Soup’s On has been selling 10 varieties of soup — along with sandwiches, frittatas, salads and dessert — six days a week.

“It’s a lot of work,” Kevin Mullaney said. “When we get in here, we start with a whole walk-in [refrigerator] full of produce, and by the end of the day, that’s all [turned] into five-gallon buckets of soups. We try to get 20 or 30 gallons of soup done a day…We go through like 300 pounds of onions.”

The Mullaneys started cooking in their teenage years. They graduated from high school early, at age 15, and went to college, first at Johns Hopkins, then Morgan State.

When they were 19, they worked at Gianni’s in Harborplace, prepping food for Anthony Bourdain, who later became a celebrity chef, author and TV star.

Success in California

Wanting a change of pace, the twins left Baltimore in 1984 and transferred to California State University in Los Angeles.

“We were going to college here, but we decided to finish up in California. We were the youngest of five, and we were the first to leave. We went out on our own, and we paid for our own education, and we just stayed” in California, Kevin Mullaney explained.

All through college, they both worked in restaurants. While studying for his master’s degree, Keith was working at a struggling coffee house in Palo Alto.

To help turn the tide, he suggested the owners change the menu. He tested a few recipes in the coffee house’s off-site kitchen and presented them with a roster of soups.

“They were losing money,” Kevin said. “Keith came in and revamped the menu and provided soups and other items, all fresh — and that company went from losing money to making a million dollars the first year.”

When the coffee shop asked the broth-

LEISURE & TRAVEL

Explore the Gulf Coast, “America’s Mediterranean,” or warm up in the British Virgin Islands page 15

ers to come on board, the twins had a revelation, Kevin said. “We said to ourselves, ‘Well, if we can do it for you, we can do it for ourselves.’”

The brothers took the concept to Los Angeles, where they officially launched a wholesale soup business in July 1999.

When the brothers met with their very first customers, the owners of a local coffee shop, they arrived dressed exactly alike. There, they discovered the shop’s owners were also identical twins, also dressed the same!

“It was like a ‘Twilight Zone’ episode,” Kevin said.

As wholesalers, the Mullaneys dispatched 50 gallons of soup a day via trucks throughout the city — delivering to cafés, coffee shops and grocery stores.

After a year as wholesalers, they went into retail, selling at farmers markets year-round.

Even in July, Californians wanted soup.

“They would buy soups all year long,” Kevin said. “Here in Maryland, they all ignore me during the summer. I’ll do cold soup, but they’ll still ignore me.”

The Mullaneys eventually opened 10 locations of Soup’s On throughout Los Angeles.

“We used to open up [a new location] every two or three years,” Kevin said. “The first month [at the site]…we did just soup. That’s all we really want to do. But we can’t get away with it.”

After a month, customers usually started asking for salads and sandwiches, so the Mullaneys complied, eventually adding frittatas and chocolate mousse.

“And every [location], within a year, would make a profit, which is pretty amazing. We had it down to a science,” Kevin said.

SOUP, page 20

ARTS & STYLE

Friendship takes center stage in Primary Trust, at the Everyman Theatre through March 2 page 19

PHOTO COURTESY OF SOUP’S ON

Twin brothers Keith and Kevin Mullaney, born and raised in Baltimore, run Soup’s On in Mount Vernon. When they retire, Kevin said, they’d like to give away the store, “just like Willy Wonka — do some kind of contest...to find someone that would like it and just let them carry on the torch.”

Music from the ether

As many of you may know, I took off the month of January for another of my “musical sabbaticals.”

I love to play the piano and compose music, but I can never find enough time to do either when I’m working. Fortunately, I’ve managed to carve out a few weeks in each of the past three years to focus on my hobby (and, I hope, my future retirement gig).

I never know where my inspiration will come from, but this time — in a first for me — I awoke one morning with a song in my head that I didn’t recognize. I immediately jotted it down and started asking people, “Have you heard this before?”

something a bit spooky, in my opinion.

The song in my head was only the first few bars of something; not an entire number. So, I played around with it on the piano, as I always do when I compose, until I came up with some additional measures that seemed to flow well from the first ones and serve as a nice counterpoint.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

By Stuart P. Rosenthal

That’s important, I find, because we all go around with songs in our heads (especially those darn earworms). And a composer really might not know if his “creations” are original or simply dredged up from an attenuated memory. It’s an occupational hazard.

Eventually, I decided I must have come up with the melody myself and went to work turning it into a piano piece. But there’s more to the story. In fact, there’s

During the weeks I worked on the piece, I played it for different groups of friends (fellow amateur pianists, for the most part) and always asked the same thing: Have you heard this song before? I was always assured they had not.

So then I needed to come up with a title. The song has the beat of a tango, which stands to reason, as I’ve been learning and enjoying some beautiful tango numbers by a famous Argentinian composer, Astor Piazzolla, for more than a year now.

But my jazzy dance number transitions into a pensive love song in a later section. Since that part is rather romantic, I think of it as a nocturne. So, for a tentative title, I came up with “Tango Nocturne.” Catchy, I thought. When I compose a new piece, I like to

inform,

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post on YouTube and Facebook a video of myself playing it, so my friends and others can give it a listen, should they choose to.

But as there are literally billions of videos on YouTube, I wanted to check and see if others may have used the title “Tango Nocturne” before.

I thought I was fortunate when I got only one hit — something called “Tango Notturno.” As it happens, it’s a romantic song from a German film of the same name made in 1937.

OK, so what’s the big deal? No one is going to mistake my piece for a German song from a black-and-white film dating from the 30s, right? Well, then I listened to an old recording of “Tango Notturno,” also found on YouTube.

And I kid you not, part of that song is nearly identical to my own, in both notes and rhythm!

I cannot for the life of me imagine that I somehow had heard this song before. Or if I did, that I would recall its notes well enough to seemingly serendipitously come up with it while writing my tango.

And how to explain the nearly identical title? Sure, “Tango Nocturne” isn’t exactly the strangest combination of words. But note that the only reason I searched for and discovered this piece of music — and its uncanny similarity to my own — was because I had also come up with the same title!

I know what you’re thinking. The mind works in strange ways, and somehow both the theme and the title were embedded deep in my unconscious and happened to make a veiled appearance last month as I tooled around on my piano.

I suppose it’s possible.

But it might be equally possible (and similarly improbable) that what has been called “the music of the spheres” is running 24/7 out there in the ether, and that now and then we tap into that universal consciousness when we come up with something “original,” or seemingly so.

Think of the great scientific discoveries made at the same time (or thereabouts) in different parts of the world by people who had no communication between them.

Examples of such “multiple independent discoveries” include the development of calculus by both Newton and Leibniz, and of the theory of evolution by Darwin and Wallace. Some say the telephone and computer mouse were also independently developed by more than one inventor around the same time.

Perhaps our brains do indeed tap into some invisible source of new ideas (or songs) whose time has come.

At any rate, I went back and rewrote the part of my piece that was such a close version of the 1937 tune. I also changed the name of my composition to “Latin Nocturne” (yes, there are several other works of music online with that title as well, of course).

I’m just hoping my replacement melody doesn’t turn out to be “borrowed” too!

To listen to “Latin Nocturne” and my other compositions, please visit stuartsmelodies.com and click on Music. If you think you’ve heard any of my melodies before, keep it to yourself!

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Home Carevs. Home Health Care Services

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Home health care involves medical services being provided to mf older adults in the co foort of their own home.

Sm ome Care and Why is it tantforOlderAdults?

their budget and individual needs. Home health care, however, may require a doctor’s order and is d f often recommende foor people with chronic conditions, those y g f recoverin frrom surger y, , or older adults with serious diseases and conditions.

Providers

Home care services can be perffoormed by people who are not f licensed medical profeessionals, such as certified nursing assistants. But home health care services f must be perfoormed by licensed f healthcare profeessionals, such as a registered nurse.

Costs

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esexpens foor these clinical services and medical equipment may y f qualiffy foor coverage through private health insurance or Medicare or Medicaid.

In contrast, private duty home id f care is pa foor privately by older adults and their families, either rf out of pocket o frrom a long-term y care insurance policy. . B ecause of this, there are no eligibility s f requirements and anyone i frree to use the service on a short-term or long-term basis. In addition, there is the flexibility to match clients with caregivers based on ef skills, pr feerences and overall compatibilityy. .

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Chips, cereal, candy and other processed foods can affect the brain

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Drinking alcohol before bed can backfire, causing wakeups and chronic insomnia

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How to reduce risk of dementia after age 55

By Lauran Neergaard

About a million Americans a year are expected to develop dementia by 2060, roughly double today’s toll, researchers reported in January.

That estimate is based on a new study that found a higher lifetime risk than previously thought: After age 55, people have up to a 4 in 10 chance of eventually developing dementia — if they live long enough.

It’s a sobering number, but there are steps people can take to reduce that risk, such as controlling high blood pressure and other bad-for-the-brain health problems. And it’s not too late to try even in middle age.

“All of our research suggests what you do in midlife really matters,” said Dr. Josef Coresh of NYU Langone Health, who coauthored the study in the journal Nature Medicine

Dementia isn’t only Alzheimer’s

Taking longer to recall a name or where you put your keys is typical with older age. But dementia isn’t a normal part of aging — it’s a progressive loss of memory, language and other cognitive functions. Sim-

ply getting older is the biggest risk, and the population is rapidly aging.

Alzheimer’s is the most common form, and silent brain changes that eventually lead to it can begin two decades before symptoms appear.

Other types include vascular dementia when heart disease or small strokes impair blood flow to the brain. Many people have mixed causes, meaning vascular problems could exacerbate brewing Alzheimer’s symptoms.

Measuring the risk from a certain age over the potential remaining life span can guide public health recommendations and medical research.

“It’s not a guarantee that someone will develop dementia,” cautioned Dr. James Galvin, a University of Miami Alzheimer’s specialist. He wasn’t involved with the new study but said the findings fit with other research.

Dementia risk is different by age

Prior studies estimated about 14% of men and 23% of women would develop some form of dementia during their lifetime.

Coresh’s team analyzed more recent data from a U.S. study that has tracked the heart health and cognitive function of about 15,000 older adults for several decades.

Importantly, they found the risk changes with the decades. Only 4% of people developed dementia between the ages of 55 and 75, what Coresh calls a key 20-year window for protecting brain health.

For people who survive common health threats until 75, the dementia risk then jumped — to 20% by age 85 and 42% between ages 85 and 95.

Overall, the lifetime dementia risk after age 55 was 35% for men and 48% for women, the researchers concluded. Women generally live longer than men, a main reason for that difference, Coresh noted. Black Americans had a slightly higher risk, 44%, than white people at 41%.

Ways to help lower dementia risk

There are some risk factors people can’t control, including age and whether you inherited a gene variant called APOE4 that raises the chances of late-in-life Alzheimer’s.

But people can try to avert or at least

delay health problems that contribute to later dementia. Coresh, for example, wears a helmet when biking because repeated or severe brain injuries from crashes or falls increase the risk of later-in-life dementia.

Especially important: “What’s good for your heart is good for your brain,” added Miami’s Galvin. He urges people to exercise, avoid obesity, and control blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol.

For example, high blood pressure can impair blood flow to the brain, a risk not just for vascular dementia but also linked to some hallmarks of Alzheimer’s.

Similarly, the high blood sugar of poorly controlled diabetes is linked to cognitive decline and damaging inflammation in the brain.

Stay socially and cognitively active, too, Galvin said. He urges people to try hearing aids if age brings hearing loss, which can spur social isolation.

“There are things that we have control over, and those things I think would be really, really important to build a better brain as we age,” he said.

There’s hope for carpal tunnel syndrome

By Kristin Karim, M.D.

Dear Mayo Clinic: I’m a homebuilder and have begun experiencing numbness and tingling in my hands. Sometimes I drop things because I can’t get a good grip. A friend suggested I might have carpal tunnel syndrome. But doesn’t that mostly affect people who use computers all day? Can you explain more about the condition?

A: Carpal tunnel is a condition caused by compression of the median nerve located in the wrist. This nerve provides feeling to the thumb and the index, middle and part of the ring fingers, and also sends signals to the muscles around the base of the thumb. Some causes of carpal tunnel syndrome include medical conditions such as arthritis, gout, diabetes, amyloidosis, infections, masses and severe wrist injuries. Other causes are environmental or workplace conditions that involve forceful and repetitive gripping, and using heavy machinery and vibrating manual tools.

The symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome include:

• Numbness and tingling in the fingers

• Swelling and discomfort of the hands and fingers

• Weakness, especially when pinching and gripping

• Dropping things

• Waking up at night to shake out the hands

• Numbness of the fingers first thing in the morning

Diagnosing carpal tunnel

To determine if you have carpal tunnel syndrome, an orthopedic specialist will discuss the history of your symptoms and perform a physical examination of your hands and wrists. Other tests may be performed or requested, including:

• Two-point discrimination test on your fingertips to identify which fingers have decreased sensation

• Tinel’s test, which taps the nerve in

the carpal tunnel at the wrist to see if it causes tingling in your fingers

• Durkan’s test, which involves pressing a thumb over the nerve in the carpal tunnel at the wrist to see if the numbness or tingling gets worse

• X-rays of your affected hand

Treating the condition

Nonsurgical treatments include wearing a wrist brace during the night and undergoing cortisone injections.

Surgical intervention for carpal tunnel syndrome is a carpal tunnel release. The roof of the carpal tunnel is divided, which relieves pressure on the median nerve. Surgery may be open or endoscopic.

Preventing carpal tunnel syndrome

There are no proven strategies to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome, but you can minimize stress on hands and wrists by:

• Reducing your force and relaxing your grip. If your work involves a

cash register or keyboard, for instance, hit the keys softly.

• Taking short, frequent breaks. Gently stretch and bend hands and wrists periodically. Alternate tasks when possible. Even a few minutes each hour can make a difference.

• Watching your form. Avoid bending your wrist all the way up or down. A relaxed middle position is best.

• Improving your posture. Incorrect posture rolls shoulders forward, shortening the neck and shoulder muscles and compressing nerves in the neck. This can affect the wrists, fingers and hands, and can cause neck pain.

• Keeping your hands warm. You’re more likely to develop hand pain and stiffness if you work in a cold environment. If you’re experiencing symptoms, consult with an orthopedic surgeon.

© 2024 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Probiotics have a lot to offer

By Kristen N. Smith

Probiotics are live microorganisms that provide health benefits when consumed in adequate amounts. Found in fermented foods and supplements, these beneficial bacteria are particularly renowned for their role in promoting gut health, enhancing immune function and supporting overall well-being.

Probiotics are most commonly associated with improved gut health. The human gut contains trillions of bacteria, collectively known as the gut microbiota, which play a crucial role in digestion, nutrient absorption and overall gastrointestinal health.

Probiotics help maintain a healthy balance of gut bacteria, especially after disruptions caused by antibiotics (which kill off good as well as bad bacteria) or illness.

Research shows that probiotics can alleviate symptoms of gastrointestinal disorders. Additionally, probiotics can help prevent and treat diarrhea, including traveler’s and antibiotic-associated diarrhea.

Immune system support

Probiotics also play a significant role in strengthening the immune system. Since the gut is home to a substantial portion of the body’s immune cells, maintaining a healthy gut microbiota is crucial for optimal immune function.

Probiotics enhance the production of natural antibodies and stimulate immune cells like macrophages and T-lymphocytes. This immune-boosting effect can reduce the frequency and severity of infections.

Metabolic health benefits

Probiotics may also support metabolic health by improving insulin sensitivity and reducing inflammation, which are critical factors in managing conditions like obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Research suggests that probiotics may help lower blood cholesterol levels and regulate blood sugar.

How to add probiotics

Adding probiotics to your diet is pretty simple: use foods and/or supplements.

Natural sources include fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso and tempeh. When selecting probiotic-rich foods, check for labels indicating live and active cultures.

Probiotic supplements are also available in various forms, including capsules, tablets and powders. Choose a product that specifies the strains included and the number of colony-forming units (CFUs), which typically range from one to 10 billion CFUs per dose.

The bottom line

Incorporating probiotics into your diet may provide benefits, from improving gut health and supporting the immune system to enhancing metabolic health. Always consult with your healthcare provider before starting any new supplement regimen.

Reprinted with permission from Environmental Nutrition, a monthly publication of Belvoir Media Group, LLC.

© 2024 Belvoir Media Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Ultra-processed foods may damage brain

By Andrew E. Budson, M.D.

Americans love their ultra-processed foods, whether they come as cereal (like Cap’n Crunch, a favorite of mine as a kid), snack foods (like Cheetos), entrees (like hot dogs) or desserts (like Twinkies).

Sure, loading your plate with vegetables, fruits, fish, healthful oils and grains in a Mediterranean-style diet boosts heart and brain health. But if you also eat some ultra-processed foods, is that bad for your brain health?

What to know about the study

A recent study appears to deliver a resounding yes. Eating ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is linked to a greater risk of cognitive impairment and strokes.

This observational study examined data from the REGARDS (REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke) project, a longitudinal study of non-Hispanic Black and white Americans ages 45 years and older.

Study participants were initially enrolled between 2003 and 2007 and were given a number of questionnaires evaluating health, diet, exercise, body mass index, education, income, alcohol use, mood and other factors. In addition, tests of memory and language were adminis-

tered at regular intervals.

To examine the risk of stroke and cognitive impairment, data from 20,243 and 14,175 participants, respectively, were found usable based on the quality of the information from the questionnaires and tests. Approximately one-third of the sample identified as Black, and the majority of the remaining two-thirds identified as white.

The

results

of the study

• According to the study authors’ analysis, increasing the intake of ultraprocessed foods by just 10% was associated with a significantly greater risk of cognitive impairment and stroke.

• Intake of unprocessed or minimally processed foods was associated with a lower risk of cognitive impairment.

• The effect of ultra-processed foods on stroke risk was greater for individuals who identified as Black compared to individuals who identified as white.

Study participants who reported following a healthy diet (like a Mediterranean, DASH or MIND diet) and consumed minimal ultra-processed foods appeared to maintain better brain health compared to those who followed similar healthy diets but had more ultraprocessed foods.

Why might ultra-processed foods be bad for your brain?

Here are some biologically plausible reasons:

—UPFs are generally composed of processed carbohydrates that are very quickly broken down into simple sugars, equivalent to eating lots of candy. These sugar loads cause spikes of insulin, which can alter normal brain cell function.

—Eating ultra-processed foods is associated with a higher risk of metabolic syndrome and obesity, well-established conditions linked to high blood pressure, abnormal blood lipid levels, and Type 2 diabetes.

—There are unhealthy additives in ultra-processed foods that change the texture, color, sweetness or flavor. These additives disrupt the microbiome in the gut and can lead to gut inflammation, which can cause:

• the production of microbiome-produced metabolites that can affect brain function (such as short-chain fatty acids and lipopolysaccharides)

• leaky gut, allowing toxins and inflammatory molecules to enter the bloodstream and go to the brain

• altered neurotransmitter function (such as serotonin) that can impact mood and cognition directly

• increased cortisol levels that mimic

being under chronic stress, which can directly impact hippocampal and frontal lobe function, affecting memory and executivefunction performance, respectively

• an increased risk for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases due to inflammatory molecules traveling from the gut to the brain.

Because ultra-processed foods have poor nutritional value, people will often be hungry shortly after eating them, leading to overeating and its consequences.

The take-home message

Avoid processed foods, which can include chips and other snack foods, industrial breads and pastries, packaged sweets and candy, sugar-sweetened and diet sodas, instant noodles and soups, ready-toeat meals and frozen dinners, and processed meats such as hot dogs and bologna.

Instead, eat unprocessed or minimally processed foods, which, combined with a healthy Mediterranean menu, include fish, olive oil, avocados, whole fruits and vegetables, nuts and beans, and whole grains.

Andrew E. Budson, M.D., is a contributor to Health Publishing and an Editorial Advisory Board member.

© 2024 Harvard University. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Why alcohol keeps you awake at night

Alcohol is a common part of socializing and unwinding, with almost 87% of American adults having consumed it at some point, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Surprisingly, around 20% of Americans use alcohol as their sleep aid, unaware it may worsen insomnia.

For me, if I drink even one regular full glass of wine, I will sleep for an hour and then be up pretty much all night! But if I drink a small amount, I sleep just fine. I’m sure that’s just my body chemistry, but I’m not alone. Understanding alcohol’s effects on sleep patterns can reveal why drinking too much for your own chemistry backfires and causes insomnia.

• Rebound wakefulness: Alcohol’s sedative effects wear off as it metabolizes, leading to early awakenings and difficulty returning to sleep.

• Nocturia: As a diuretic, alcohol increases nighttime trips to the bathroom, further disrupting sleep.

trol over drinking despite significant consequences. Symptoms include drinking more or longer than intended, failing to cut back despite wanting to, neglecting responsibilities due to drinking, and drinking to avoid withdrawal symptoms.

PHARMACIST

By Suzy Cohen

While alcohol may help you fall asleep initially, it disrupts the restorative quality of sleep by altering sleep architecture and causing several issues:

• Reduced REM sleep: Alcohol decreases the amount of time spent in REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, essential for memory and feeling refreshed. As alcohol is metabolized, REM sleep rebounds later in the night, often causing vivid dreams or nightmares and interrupting sleep.

• Acid reflux: Alcohol relaxes your esophageal sphincter, increasing the risk of GERD symptoms like heartburn, which can wake you up.

• Worsened sleep apnea: Alcohol relaxes throat muscles, potentially aggravating sleep apnea and snoring.

• Circadian rhythm disruption: Regular alcohol use can disrupt your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle, leading to chronic insomnia.

Alcohol’s negative effects on sleep extend beyond a single night. A 2022 study in Sleep Advances explored the impact of heavy drinking on sleep quality over 36 years. It found that persistent alcohol use increases sleep disturbances, underscoring how cumulative effects impair longterm health.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a medical condition characterized by impaired con-

Recognizing and addressing AUD is critical for breaking cycles of dependency and poor sleep. It can repair and normalize itself if you abstain from alcohol, but it takes time for a full recovery due to cell receptor damage.

If you rely on alcohol to sleep, consider moderating consumption, especially near bedtime. Good sleep hygiene, like a consistent schedule and a restful environment, can also help.

For persistent insomnia, consult a healthcare practitioner. Talk to your pharmacist about your medications, specifically timing. The time of administration matters, and making one simple adjustment could help you sleep. Alcohol might seem like a quick fix for sleep troubles, but it compromises sleep quality.

If you’re interested in a deeper dive into this topic, see my website at suzycohen.com. This information is opinion only. It is not intended to treat, cure or diagnose your condition. Consult with your doctor before using any new drug or supplement.

Suzy Cohen is a registered pharmacist and author of The 24-Hour Pharmacist and Real Solutions from Head to Toe

Cooking at home usually means healthier diet

By Lauren Wicks

You may be one of the 90% of Americans who don’t like to cook — but you probably know that you should cook more. Because while eating out or ordering takeout saves time, it depletes your bank accounts and your health.

The health benefits of a home-cooked meal outweigh almost any other method of eating, no matter the recipe. Here’s why: You’re in control of the ingredients.

Lisa Valente, M.S., R.D., former nutrition editor for EatingWell and Cooking Light,

GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP

says one of the best parts about cooking at home is controlling the ingredients, so you know exactly what you’re eating.

This is important not only for people with dietary restrictions — as it can be frustrating figuring out which items at a restaurant are safe to eat — but for anyone trying to eat healthier. You control the amount of salt, sugar and spice going into your food when you’re in charge — and can adjust it to your tastes.

You can better manage your weight. A 2014 study from Johns Hopkins University

GriefShare is a nondenominational support group for those grieving the loss of a loved one. The meetings take place every Tuesday from March 4 to June 3 from noon to 2 p.m., at Valley Presbyterian Church, 2200 W. Joppa Rd., Lutherville. There are different weekly topics, so you can join at any time. For more information, call (410) 828-6234, email church.office@valleypca.org or visit griefshare.org and enter code 21093.

FREE MEMORY CAFÉ

Jewish Community Services invites individuals with memory changes and their care partners to Memory Café, a welcoming, relaxed place to meet, socialize and enjoy refreshments and activities. This free meeting takes place on the third Tuesday of each month from 2 to 3 p.m., at the Edward A. Myerberg Center, 3101 Fallstaff Rd., Baltimore. Pre-registration is required at bit.ly/JCSMemoryCafe.

Senior Apartments Age 55 or Better LIVE WELL FOR LESS Roland View Towers

• One- and Two-Bedroom as well as Efficiencies

• Rents from $820 for efficiency, $1,015 for 1-bedroom, and $1,285 for 2-bedroom Utilities Included!

• 24/7 on-site Maintenance and Reception Desk

• Beauty/Barber Shop on premises

• Only 2 blocks from Hampden’s ‘The Avenue’

To schedule a personal tour call

found that those who cooked at home frequently consumed fewer calories as well as less sugar and carbohydrates than those who made a home-cooked meal only once a week — whether they were trying to lose weight or not.

Even the “best” option on a restaurant menu can still pack a shocking amount of calories, sodium, fat and sugar that you likely wouldn’t have included if you were making the meal yourself.

Our taste buds adapt based on what we are eating. If you dine out, order takeout or microwave a frozen meal for dinner most nights, your taste buds become accustomed to the heavier amounts of salt and sugar.

Luckily, that’s reversible: Cooking at home helps you readjust your taste buds to get more flavor from dishes without relying so heavily on salt, sugar and butter.

You’ll eat more variety. Even if you just have a kitchen full of veggies, whole grains and healthy proteins, that is still better than having dozens of restaurants at your fingertips.

People were more likely to adhere to DASH or Mediterranean Diet eating patterns and consume more fruits and vegetables if they cooked at home five nights a week compared to those who only cooked

MEDITATION CLASS

three nights a week or less.

Cooking makes it easier to practice portion control. The average restaurant meal contains a whopping 1,200 calories. Cooking your own meals can help you stock up on multiple servings for the next day’s lunch or another night’s dinner. And if you are only cooking a healthy portion, it can also keep you from being tempted to eat too much food.

The National Institutes of Health reports that restaurants’ super-sized portions distort our idea of what a healthy serving of food should look like, which can affect how much we eat at home. The more you cook, the more you can resolve that portion distortion.

Cooking brings pleasure. Cooking is associated with stress relief, encouraging creativity and feelings of positivity. It can connect us with others.

Getting into the kitchen more frequently also can build confidence, and learning (or teaching someone) to cook can bring a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

EatingWell is a magazine and website devoted to healthy eating as a way of life. Online at eatingwell.com.

© 2024 Dotdash Meredith. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Visit Kadampa Meditation Center of Maryland on Wed., March 5 from 6 to 7 p.m. to participate in a meditation class with prayers for world peace. This class is designed to help bring more positivity and peace into your daily life and overcome negativity and painful ways of thinking. Suggested donation is $5. The address is 900 E. Northern Pkwy., Baltimore. For more information, email peace@meditationmd.org or call (410) 243-3837.

Peace of Mind is Priceless

Pre-planning a funeral is a great gift, to your family and to you: It relieves the pressure on them to imagine what you might have wanted while they deal with grief and loss.

Your funeral service will be exactly as you wish.

Your family can enjoy peace of mind knowing everything has been arranged. If you choose to pre-fund, the cost is fixed and protected from later price change or inflation.

Call us to learn more.

Ask about our price-match guarantee!

Ask for Jim Schwartz or Chris Boggs: 410-747-4770

Health Studies INFORMATION ON AREA CLINICAL TRIALS

You may be paid to monitor your mobility

By Margaret Foster

Last year a local man had a stroke and had to re-learn to walk. His doctors wanted to monitor his recovery, so they outfitted his home with three sensors and gave him a fourth sensor to wear on his belt.

“He had been treated for foot drop, so we wanted to see how active he was, how much walking he did in his apartment, and also how he interacted with his wife, who was quite healthy,” explained Dr. Gil Blankenship, technical principal investigator of a new study funded by the National Institute on Aging.

“We got an excellent idea of how well the stroke survivor was,” Blankenship reported. “He was moving around; he was making his own breakfast. He seemed to be in pretty good shape.”

Like stroke survivors, people with cognitive decline also tend to have limited mobility around the house.

Study is done at home

Now researchers at the University of Maryland Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center want to try the same monitoring system with older couples, ages 50 to 80, one of whom is cognitively impaired. The study can be done entirely from home.

“We’re trying to monitor people at home

BEACON BITS

to see how they’re doing,” Blankenship said. “Are they active? Have they fallen? We’re looking for any kind of challenges that they may be facing, together with their caregivers.”

Compensation is available for the athome study, which lasts five days.

“You don’t have to go anywhere; we come to you,” Blankenship said.

Participants will take some brief tests during an at-home visit, including balance tests, short walks, sitting, standing and marching in place. They’ll also complete questionnaires and give feedback about their experience.

Anonymous data

This pilot study is a non-randomized, non-controlled proof-of-concept trial to test these monitoring devices with people who are cognitively impaired.

It takes about an hour for Blankenship’s team to install and set up the plastic sensors, Blankenship said.

“Think of three little gizmos about the size of pagers. We attach them to the wall, and you wear the fourth one,” he said. “After a while, you’ll forget you’re wearing it.”

Although researchers collect data on your movements, they don’t capture your name or other identifying information, Blankenship said.

WIZARD OF OZ LECTURE (VIRTUAL)

This lecture examines the themes of women’s suffrage and homesteading in Frank L. Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Incorporating brief vocal music elements, the program showcases diverse interpretations of this American fairytale, including songs from the 1939 Judy Garland film Wizard of Oz It takes place on Wed., March 5 from 11 a.m. to noon online and is free for Baltimore County’s OPAL Center members (membership is open to those 50 years and older). Register on MyActiveCenter.com with your BC-PASS card number or go to baltimorecountymd.gov/departments/aging/centers/opal to submit your registration information.

“The data is private. All we have is your location and your activity measured by a device,” he said.

“It may seem intrusive, but we’re trying to

We are looking for older adults (65+) to participate in a research study on personalized exercise. Learn how a tailored exercise program can help you feel stronger and improve your health and well-being. You will be compensated for your time and participation upon successful completion of the study.

For more information, please scan the QR code, call 443-692-7169 or email mpathstudy@jh.edu

learn behavior patterns to see if your pattern is a healthy one and if it’s getting better.” For details about the Mobility Tracking study, call (443) 226-1478.

Paid Volunteers Needed!

This study aims to better understand the role of primary care visits in detecting hearing issues and service use among individuals with cognitive or memory concerns. Who?

• Older Adults with hearing difficulty and memory concerns

• Care Partners who assist the above older adults

What? Participate in a ~30 minute virtual interview Compensation? $25 per person Interested? Contact us at 301-405-7539 or hearingandhealth@umd.edu

Cognition And Metabolism in Prediabetes (CAMPS) Study

Are you 50 years or older? Are you relatively healthy, without a diabetes diagnosis?

If so, you may be eligible for a new research study in which you learn about your daily blood sugar fluctuations and cognitive abilities.

Receive $100 for participating. For information call 410-605-7179. Mention “CAMPS”

SEEKING ADULTS FOR HOME MOBILITY TRACKING STUDY

Participants are needed to better understand movement in the home space in persons with cognitive impairment and their caregivers.

YOU MAY QUALIFY IF YOU ARE:

• 50-80 years of age

• Have mild cognitive impairment

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please call: 443-226-1478

Mention Code: MOBILITY TRACKING

This study is supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging.

Mar. 5

Find comfort in a one-pot shepherd’s pie

By Family Features

That first day of chilly weather always feels the coldest before you’re accustomed to it, and an easy, warm, filling meal can help hit the spot.

Better yet, this rendition of shepherd’s pie is made with just one pot, so cleanup can be a snap.

The term shepherd’s pie refers to a dish with minced lamb, while one made with beef is a cottage pie. Shepherd’s pie,

topped with mashed potatoes, was likely invented in England and Scotland during the 18th century.

Shepherd’s Pie

Recipe courtesy of Cookin’ Savvy Serves 8-12

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef or turkey

6 medium potatoes, peeled

2 teaspoons thyme, divided

Learn more about Mary Pickersgill, who crafted the Star-Spangled Banner and was one of Baltimore’s most influential women of the early 19th century. This free lecture, facilitated by Chris Sniezek from The Flag House museum, takes place on Wed., March 12 from 2 to 3 p.m. at Keswick, 700 W. 40th St., Baltimore, and online. To RSVP, call (410) 662-4363 weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

½ cup beef broth

1 tablespoon garlic powder

¼ cup heavy cream

1 bag (12 ounces) frozen mixed vegetables

Directions:

Heat oven to 350° F.

In Dutch oven, brown ground beef or ground turkey and drain fat. [Ed. Note: For a vegetarian version, use plant-based crum-

bles found in the freezer section.]

Boil potatoes until fork tender and mash them. Add 1 teaspoon thyme, then salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.

Add onion powder, tomato paste, beef broth, garlic powder, cream and remaining thyme to the ground beef. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in frozen veggies.

Cover meat mixture with potatoes and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Visit Culinary.net for more one-dish meal ideas that bring comfort to cool days.

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A place of independence

Pickersgill assisted living residents are rarely in l their rooms! Instead, , theyy’re out and about— participating in a community activity or event or dining with friends.

A place of beauty

Living in n this community—ttucked d into a beautiful West Towson neighborhood —you or your loved one beau njoy a warm welcome and daily activities, and they’ll appreciate the will enj paths, beautifully landscaped grounds, lovely gardens and more. walking path

A place of caring

Each assisted liv g resident enjoys three chef-prepared meals per day, ing re y services, medication administration, help with daily housekeeping and laundry se quest, and all included in a reasonable monthly tasks and more—always by reques o all of the fee. Each h resi s dent also has access to all Pickersgill ameni l ties.

private, full bath, and residents are Our assisted living g residences include a priv wish. This is a lifestyle dedicated to encouraged to decorate their homes as they al staff. independence and assured by a caring, professionalfessionalstasttaff.

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Shepherd’s pie can be made with ground beef, ground turkey or plant-based crumbles.

MoneyMoney Law &

What to do when your phone is lost or stolen

By Kelvin Chan

Phones hold so much of our digital lives — emails, social media and bank accounts, photos, chat messages and more — that if they ever get stolen or go missing, it can cause major disruption beyond just the loss of a device.

In some places, phone thefts are an everyday problem, with thieves on electric bikes snatching them out of pedestrians’ hands, swiping them off restaurant tables or pickpocketing them on the subway.

Here are steps you can take before and after your phone goes missing:

Basic protections

There are things you can do to make it less painful if your phone is stolen. Because some of these features are more technical in nature, people often overlook them.

Lock down as much as you can. At a minimum, require a password or biometric scan to unlock the device. You can also add similar requirements to important individual apps — like your banking account, WhatsApp or Signal — to protect your finances or chats from thieves.

Also, activate the “find my device” feature, which is available for both iOS and Android. Samsung also offers its own service called SmartThings Find.

You’ll probably have lots of precious photos saved on your camera roll. It’s a good idea to back them up, along with contacts, calendar items and other files. Google and Apple offer cloud-based backup services, although the free versions

have limited storage space. You can also back up your files to an external hard drive, memory card or laptop.

Some police forces and phone companies advise turning off message previews, which prevents thieves trying to break into your accounts from seeing reset or login codes when the phone is locked. To do this on an iPhone, for example, go to the Notifications section of your settings menu and tap Show Previews. You can also scroll down the app list to turn previews off for individual apps but leave them on for less risky ones like news or weather.

Turn

on newer features

Recent iOS and Android updates include a number of new functions designed to make thefts less attractive.

IPhone users can turn on Stolen Device Protection, which makes it a lot harder for phone thieves to access key functions and settings. Many thieves will want to wipe the data off and reset so they can resell it, but with this feature on, they’ll need a face or fingerprint scan to do so. Apple also recently updated its “activation lock” feature to make it harder for thieves to sell parts from stolen phones.

Android phones, meanwhile, can now use artificial intelligence to detect motion indicating someone snatched it out of your hand and is racing away on foot or a bike, and then lock the screen immediately. And there’s a feature called Private Spaces that lets you hide sensitive files on your phone.

Jot down your device number

Take note of your phone’s serial number, also known as an IMEI number. It can link you to the phone if it does eventually get recovered. Call it up by typing *#06# on your phone’s keypad. If you’ve already lost your phone, you can also find it in other places, like the box it came in.

If it’s stolen

If you’re unlucky enough to have your phone stolen, notify the police. Call your insurance company if you have a policy that covers the device. Inform your phone company so they can freeze your number and issue a replacement SIM card or eSIM. Notify your bank so they can watch out for suspicious transactions.

Next, try to locate your phone with the “find my device” feature. For iPhones, go to iCloud.com/find from a web browser, while Android users should head to google.com/android/find. Samsung also has its own service for Galaxy phones.

These services will show your phone’s current or last known location on a map, which is also handy if you’ve just lost track of it somewhere in the house.

Apple says even if a phone can’t connect to the internet or has been turned off, it can use Bluetooth to ping any nearby Apple devices using the same network behind its AirTag tracking devices. Google says newer Pixel phones can be located “for several hours” after they’ve been turned off using similar technology.

That way you can get the phone to play a

sound, even if it’s on silent. You can also put the phone in “lost mode,” which locks it and displays a message and contact details on the screen for anyone who finds it. Lost mode on iOS also suspends any Apple Pay cards and passes.

If the device shows up in an unfamiliar location on the map, and you suspect it has been stolen, experts say it’s better to notify the police rather than try to get it back yourself.

Cybersecurity company Norton says, “Confronting a thief yourself is not recommended.”

Final steps

If you can’t find your phone, there are some final steps to take.

Log yourself out of all your accounts that might be accessible on the phone, and then remove it from your list of trusted devices that you use to get authentication codes — but make sure you can get those codes somewhere else, such as email.

As a last resort, you can erase the phone remotely so there’s no chance of any data falling into the wrong hands. However, take note: Apple says that if the iPhone is offline, the remote erase will only happen the next time it comes back online. But if you find the phone before it gets erased, you can cancel the request.

Google warns that SD memory cards plugged into Android phones might not be remotely erased. And after the phone has been wiped, it won’t show up with find my device.

Scammers are getting away with theft

By Michael Rubinkam

The scammers are winning.

Sophisticated overseas criminals are stealing tens of billions of dollars from Americans every year, a crime wave projected to get worse as the U.S. population ages and technology like AI makes it easier than ever to perpetrate fraud and get away with it.

Internet and telephone scams have grown “exponentially,” overwhelming police and prosecutors who catch and convict relatively few of the perpetrators, said Kathy Stokes, director of fraud prevention at AARP’s Fraud Watch Network. Victims rarely get their money back, including older people who have lost life sav-

ings to romance scams, grandparent scams, technical support fraud and other common grifts.

“We are at a crisis level in fraud in society,” Stokes said. “So many people have joined the fray because it is pretty easy to be a criminal. They don’t have to follow any rules. And you can make a lot of money, and then there’s very little chance that you’re going to get caught.”

Advantage scammers

Online and telephone rackets have become so commonplace that law enforcement agencies and adult protective services don’t have the resources to keep up.

“It’s a little bit like drinking from a fire hose,” said Brady Finta, a former FBI agent who supervised elder fraud investigations. “There’s just so much of it, logistically and reasonably, it’s almost impossible to overcome right now.”

Grifts also can be difficult to investigate, particularly ones that originate overseas, with stolen funds quickly converted into hard-to-track cryptocurrency or siphoned into foreign bank accounts.

Some police departments don’t take financial scams as seriously as other crime, and victims wind up discouraged and demoralized, according to Paul Greenwood, who spent 22 years prosecuting elder fi-

nancial abuse cases in San Diego.

“There’s a lot of law enforcement who think that because a victim sends money voluntarily through gift cards or through wire transfers, or for buying crypto, that they’re actually engaging in a consensual transaction,” said Greenwood, who travels the country teaching police how to spot fraud. “And that is a big mistake because it’s not. It’s not consensual. They’ve been defrauded.”

The Federal Trade Commission says the “vast majority” of frauds go unreported. Often, victims are reluctant to come forward.

Billions lost each year

Older people hold more wealth as a group and present a ripe target for scammers. The impact can be devastating since many of these victims are past their working years and don’t have much time to recoup losses.

Elder fraud complaints to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center rose by 14% last year, with losses increasing by 11% to $3.4 billion, according to a recent FBI report.

Other estimates put the annual loss much higher.

A 2023 AARP study calculated that Americans over 60 lose $28.3 billion each year to fraud. The Federal Trade Commission, seeking to account for unreported losses, estimated fraudsters stole a staggering $137 billion in 2022, including $48 billion from older adults. The authors of that study acknowledged a “considerable degree of uncertainty.”

In San Diego, 80-year-old William Bortz said criminals stole his family’s nest egg of almost $700,000 in an elaborate scheme involving a nonexistent Amazon order, a fake “refund processing center” in Hong Kong, doctored bank statements and an instruction that Bortz needed to “synchronize bank accounts” in order to get his money back.

Even though he was the victim of a crime, Bortz struggles with self-blame.

“I understand now why so much elder

abuse fraud is never reported. Because when you look back at it, you think, ‘How could I have been so stupid?’” said Bortz, who retired after a career in banking, financial services and real estate.

The Justice Department contends industry needs to do more, saying the U.S. can’t prosecute its way out the problem.

“Private industry — including the tech, retail, banking, fintech and telecommunications sectors — must make it harder for fraudsters to defraud victims and harder to launder victim proceeds,” the agency said in a statement to The Associated Press.

A way forward

Banking industry officials told a Senate subcommittee in May they are investing heavily in new technologies to stop fraud, “and some hold great promise.”

But industry officials said the banks cannot singlehandedly prevent fraud. They said the U.S. needs an overarching national strategy to combat scammers.

Law enforcement agencies and industry need to join forces, said Finta, the former FBI agent, who launched a nonprofit called the National Elder Fraud Coordination Center to cultivate cooperation between law enforcement and major corporations like Walmart, Amazon and Google.

“We do have the ability to make a greater impact and to help out our brothers and sisters in law enforcement that are struggling with this tsunami of fraud,” he said. AP

Documents to include in an estate plan

Many individuals, even those with significant assets, are negligent in establishing a comprehensive estate plan. A will, although necessary, is not sufficient.

In this column I will discuss wills and other documents that you should consider. Consult with your attorney about including the following documents in your estate plan.

Will: A will is the document that contains a written statement of your instructions regarding your estate. The individual(s) responsible for managing your estate is the administrator. He or she is responsible for following the instructions you specify in the will. Your instructions are not limited to property disbursement. If you die without a will, aka “intestate,”

state law determines how the estate assets are distributed. The court will then assign an executor. It is unlikely that this option will meet your best interests.

THE SAVINGS GAME

By Elliot Raphaelson

Probate is the process by which your will and estate are administered. The probate process is likely to be time-consuming and expensive. A properly designed estate plan can bypass probate, expedite the transfer of assets, and avoid unnecessary expenses.

Living trust: A living trust can be an important part of an effective estate plan. Among the possible advantages are:

• Assets owned by properly designed living trusts can avoid probate, save associated expenses and transfer assets to ben-

eficiaries quickly.

• The living trust protects the assets during your lifetime and ensures they are managed properly without your assistance.

• Privacy. A will is filed in a local courthouse, and is available to the general public. A living trust is not part of a public record unless there is litigation.

Power of attorney: Personal property and business property owned by you cannot be sold or managed by anyone but you. If you become incapacitated for any reason, and are unable to manage your finances, someone has to be able to pay bills and manage your assets.

Without a power of attorney, your family will have to go to court and obtain an order that you are incompetent to manage your property. This is a time consuming and expensive process, and the court may not assign the right party to manage the property.

ENTERPRISE RESIDENTIAL

MOST COMMUNITIES ARE 62 AND BETTER

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY

The Greens at Hammonds Lane: 410-636-1141

Park View at Furnace Branch: 410-761-4150

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BALTIMORE CITY

Ednor Apartments I: 410-243-0180

Ednor Apartments II: 410-243-4301

The Greens at Irvington Mews: 410-644-4487

Park Heights Place: 410-578-3445

Park View at Ashland Terrace: 410-276-6440

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BALTIMORE COUNTY

Cove Point Apartments I: 410-288-2344

Cove Point Apartments II: 410-288-1660

Evergreen Senior Apartments: 410-780-4888

The Greens at English Consul: 410-789-3000

The Greens at Liberty Road: 410-655-1100

The Greens at Logan Field: 410-288-2000

The Greens at Rolling Road: 410-744-9988

Park View at Catonsville: 410-719-9464

Park View at Dundalk: 410-288-5483 • 55 & Better

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BALTIMORE COUNTY (CONT.)

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HOWARD COUNTY

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A power of attorney provides an agent the legal right to manage the property. This right can be either general or limited, which would specify the asset included in the power of attorney.

The standard power of attorney expires when the individual who signed the document is incapacitated. That is why “durable power of attorney” was established, which continues in effect after incapacitation. This document is very important and is accepted in every state.

Advance medical directive : An AMD is a specialized power of attorney to appoint someone to make health decisions when you are not capable of doing so. Naturally, you would only appointment someone who knows you well, such as your spouse, to have this power.

Do-not-resuscitate order: Do-not-resuscitate (DNR) and do-not-hospitalize (DNH) orders are used by individuals, generally elderly, who are frail and do not wish to be subject to CPR or similar procedures. Make sure your medical providers have a copy of the order if you develop one.

HIPAA authorization : This document authorizes medical providers to release medical information to the persons you name without violating the privacy provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

Bypassing probate

Specifying only in your will how you want your assets allocated does not bypass probate. Here are some alternatives to avoid probate (these alternatives override provisions in your will):

• a living trust

• joint ownership with right of survivorship

• beneficiary designations such as transfer on death (TOD) and payable on death (POD)

TOD and POD can be used at your financial institutions and brokerage firms for your financial accounts. These options can also be used for real estate and automobiles, depending on state law.

I recommend that you provide your attorney with a comprehensive list of all your financial assets and liabilities and current registration to determine what actions you should take to bypass probate. Don’t procrastinate. If you haven’t developed a comprehensive estate plan, call your attorney for a meeting as soon as possible. © 2024 Elliot Raphaelson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Travel Leisure &

Explore Gulf Coast beaches, cities and parks

By Glenda C. Booth

Sugar-sand beaches, gentle breezes, warm winters, shrimp and grits and quirky fun — that’s what’s in store on a trip along the coastline from Pensacola, Florida, to Mobile, Alabama, known as “the Mediterranean of the Americas.”

Exploring this part of the Gulf Coast can be a one-or-more-week meander — a mix of relaxing on beaches, fishing for red snappers, paddling marshes and probing historic forts.

Start in Pensacola Pensacola, on the western end of the Florida panhandle, still has much of “old Florida,” vibe. It has a laid-back, small-town feel, with a huge Navy presence. Its walkable downtown has unique boutiques, fresh seafood restaurants and historic buildings.

At the Museum of History, visitors learn that the area is a tapestry of cultures. Europeans disembarked in 1559, six years before St. Augustine’s founding and 48 years before the English settled at Jamestown. Since then, Pensacola has been ruled by five flags: Spanish, French, English, Confederate and U.S.

In Historic Pensacola Village you’ll find a cluster of 18th- and 19th-century homes and museums, like the Lavallet Cottage.

Charles Lavallet, who owned a lumberyard, built Creole cottages — duplexes to house two families who shared an outdoor kitchen. Old Christ Church, built in 1832, was a Civil War Union hospital. The Julee Cottage is a saltbox-style home built around 1805 and home to Julee Panton, a free woman of color.

The 1826 naval yard has mushroomed into the Naval Air Station Pensacola, the “Cradle of Naval Aviation,” where 15,000 service members pass through every year.

One “bucket-list” destination is the National Museum of Naval Aviation, with more than 900 airplanes. The U.S. Navy has produced more astronauts than other branches of the military, so exhibits chronicle aviation history from seaplanes to propeller-driven airplanes to jet engines.

Why does the seagoing Navy need aviation? “The Air Force cannot land an airplane on an aircraft carrier,” explained guide Jacob Smither.

The museum also offers an education in aircraft carriers, vessels that came of age in World War II. An aircraft carrier is 4.5 acres of sovereign U.S. territory, anytime, anywhere. Today’s aircraft carrier is a city at sea, with up to 5,000 residents. A carrier’s nuclear power system can power a city of 100,000 people and can run for 20 years.

The Blue Angels’ shows should be at the top of every travel to-do list, in Pensacola from March to November, then around the country. These tough combat aviators perform breathtaking formations and maneuvers: turns, rolls, steep ascents and loops, some with 18 inches of separation at 700 miles per hour.

After gripping your seat watching these amazing aviators, if your stomach can take it, try the museum’s Cubi Officers Quarters café, a replica of a former Naval Air Station officers’ club in the Philippines.

Continue west, to Alabama

For the transition from Florida to Alabama, don’t miss a 60-year-old hangout on the state line, Flora-Bama, for music, oysters and boozy milkshakes. April brings a three-day beach party and the Interstate Mullet Toss, where people compete to hurl a dead mullet across the state line to see who can throw it the longest distance. Lucky alligators scarf up the mullets after the contest, while winners and losers sip their libations.

For a respite from roaring jets and raucous bars, the Alabama Gulf Coast towns of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores await.

“Life is better here,” brag Alabamians who live just west of the Florida panhan-

dle. Not generally known as a beachbunny destination, the state has 52 miles of beaches and coastline.

Gulf State Park is a 6,000-acre expanse of nine ecosystems, including sand dunes, pine and palmetto forests and uncrowded beaches — just you and the shorebirds. A 28-mile trail system winds through several different ecosystems. The 350-room ecoconscious Gulf State Park Lodge is actually a Hilton that replaced the original lodge lost to Hurricane Ivan in 2018.

On an excursion out to the Gulf Islands National Seashore’s 150 miles of barrier islands, you can spot dolphins, sea turtles, oystercatchers and alligators, plus get a history lesson about the defense fortifications at Fort Morgan, which protected Mobile Bay from 1834 to World War II.

The Tensaw Delta is called “America’s Amazon” because five rivers flow into Mobile Bay; it teems with 280 bird species, along with shrimp, anchovies, crayfish, mussels, turtles and alligators. Five Rivers Delta Resource Center runs pontoon tours through this watery wonderland.

Mobile, a ‘mini-New Orleans’ Mobile, a port city with cast-iron

The U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels fly in formation over Pensacola, Florida, home of a Naval Air Station and museum. Historic Pensacola makes a perfect starting point for a road trip along the 1,700-mile-long Gulf Coast.

The Baths in Virgin Gorda are a natural wonder in the British Virgin Islands. See story on page 16.

This blue house in Mobile, Alabama, was the home of Joe Cain, the “patron saint of Mardi Gras in Mobile,” who established its annual parades in 1867. America’s first Mardi Gras took place not in New Orleans but in Mobile in 1703.

PHOTO BY DAVEYNIN/FLICKR

Warm up in the British Virgin Islands

By Victor Block

When I last visited the British Virgin Islands 20 years ago, I checked out its inviting beaches, visited historic and natural sites, and oohed and aahed at the magnificent scenery.

During a return trip there last fall, I relived those experiences and discovered some new ones.

The British Virgin Islands, or BVI, transcend a typical sun, surf and sand vacation with opportunities to delve into intriguing touches of Caribbean culture. The BVI became a British colony in 1672, but today it’s considered a British overseas territory with its own government.

What’s missing in the BVI? High-rise hotels, gambling casinos, chain restaurants and the commercialism found at many Caribbean destinations.

About 60 islands and tiny cays make up the archipelago located east of Puerto Rico. The largest island, Tortola, is 20 square miles, and the smaller ones, at barely two acres, are no more than sandbars.

On Tortola’s almost-vertical hills, roads rise and fall, twist and turn. Because many stretches of road are more pothole than pavement, and vehicles drive on the British side, I recommend taking taxis and tour buses rather than renting a car.

The first place many Tortola visitors

head for are beaches, which come in many sizes with amenities to meet most tastes. Cane Garden Bay combines a swath of inviting sand with a wide choice of waterbased activities. Smuggler’s Cove, fringed by cactus and palm trees, offers good snorkeling close to shore.

For BVI history, head to the capital, Road Town. Its Virgin Islands Folk Museum brims with pre-Columbian artifacts from people who once inhabited the islands. The museum also tells stories of pirates and buccaneers who found a home base for seeking quick treasure and British colonists who came to stay, enslaving thousands of people.

The J.R. O’Neal Botanic Gardens is an oasis of tropical plants that represent the different habitats of the BVI. Given the lush foliage that proliferates the island, even such a magnificent garden seemed almost redundant to me.

One spot many visitors miss is the Jenesis Studio. It showcases paintings of BVI life, some of which also decorate a mural that stretches along a roadside wall nearby. Behind the building is a garden of tropical herbs and medicinal plants with signs indicating what ailments each has been used to treat.

Island hopping

I also took time to visit three other islands in the BVI. They’re relatively easy and inex-

pensive to reach by ferry, or you can pay more for a private flight or boat charter.

Virgin Gorda has remnants of early African, Spanish and Indian settlements, but it is best known for the Baths, a collection of enormous granite boulders and grottoes. Because of its coral and limestone topography, which contrasts with the vol-

canic origin of the others, Anegada is rimmed by the loveliest sparkling sand beaches. It’s also surrounded by colorful reefs and old shipwrecks, making it a popular dive and snorkeling destination.

Jost Van Dyke, said to be named for a

See VIRGIN ISLANDS , page 17

Cane Garden Bay, on the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, has plenty of beachfront dining. Each of the BVI’s 60 islands has its own secluded beaches, historic sites and fresh seafood restaurants.

Gulf Coast

From page 15

balconies and eclectic cuisine, feels like a “mini-New Orleans,” Alabamian Shane Riley said.

Mobilians claim that their town is the birthplace of the original Mardi Gras in 1703. Its Dauphin Street is a tamer Bourbon Street. Still, locals go all out each winter with a multi-week festival of bands, “krewe parties,” grand balls, debuts and parades, where revelers in colorful, spark-

Virgin Islands

From page 16

Dutch privateer, measures only about 3.5 square miles. It’s dotted by the ruins of early sugar mills and laced with early explorer footpaths. But the international reputation of this tiny enclave also rests upon the Soggy Dollar Bar, a nondescript but inviting beachfront watering hole that reputedly is the birthplace of the popular local beverage known as the Painkiller.

The name of the establishment came from the fact that before a road had been built, people docked their boats nearby, swam to shore and paid their bar bill with wet paper money.

The British Virgin Islands have long been a paradise for boaters. The first visitors came by sea, and since then, the con-

ly costumes throw moonpies off elaborately decorated floats.

The Carnival Museum, housed in a historic mansion, showcases these customs with lavish, glittery attire, royal regalia and other memorabilia.

At the History Museum of Mobile, docents cite Civil War claims to fame. The Civil War submarine, the Hunley, built in Mobile, was the first sub to sink a vessel. Another bragging point: The 1864 Battle of Mobile Bay “turned the Navy toward the Union’s favor.”

sistent trade winds, clear water and countless islands close enough to navigate by sight have made the archipelago known as the sailing capital of the Caribbean.

For many people, the larger islands serve as a stopover before they rent a catamaran or sailboat and head out to discover tucked-away coves, deserted beaches, caves and other attractions inaccessible to landlubbers.

Even so, I highly recommend spending time on the islands. Each has its own scenic appeal, activities and intriguing history — and plenty of peaceful beaches.

If you go

Round-trip flights to Tortola start at $439, with one stop in San Juan. You can also fly through St. Thomas.

The Wyndham Tortola BVI Lambert

Warren Place Senior Apartments in Cockeysville, Maryland, is a 62+ senior community in a convenient location just minutes away from shopping centers, banks, pharmacies and restaurants on York Road.

Steps away from Cockeysville Senior Center to fit with your active lifestyle. We are a pet friendly

Other city sites sing the praises of hometown greats, including musician Jimmy Buffet and baseball’s Hank Aaron. Dining means indulging in this town — on scrumptious dishes like shrimp over fried green tomatoes, spicy chicken and grits, black-eyed pea skillet dinners, sheepsheads, fried alligator, eggs cochon, shrimp Benedict, bacon praline French toast and banana pudding.

If you time your visit to Mobile for New Year’s Eve, you can toast the lowering of a 40-foot moonpie. Or you can throw moon-

Beach Resort fronts an outstanding beach and offers gourmet dining, an inviting pool, cabanas and low-rise accommodations set amid Caribbean foliage. Room rates begin at $220 a night.

A favorite restaurant find was the Co-

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

pies yourself during Mardi Gras in this vibrant city on the world’s largest gulf.

If you go

Fly into Pensacola or Mobile and rent a car to explore the coastal sites and towns. Roundtrip, nonstop flights start at $205 from BWI. Mobile’s Mardi Gras celebration takes place from mid-February to early March. Use caution during hurricane season.

For information on lodging, itineraries and events, go to visitpensacola.com, mobile.org or gulfshores.com.

conut Lounge in Road Town, which overlooks the harbor. My personal favorites were the coconut-crusted shrimp and seafood pasta.

For more information, contact wyndhamhotels.com and bvitourism.com.

HELP PREPARE MEALS FOR THE ILL

Moveable Feast, a nonprofit that delivers free meals to people living with illness, seeks volunteers to help prepare over 8,000 meals a week. Duties include prepping, packing and sorting meals. Shifts are Monday through Friday from 8 to 11:30 a.m. and Monday through Thursday from 12:15 to 2:30 p.m. at 901 N. Milton Ave., Baltimore. New volunteers attend a 30-minute Zoom orientation. For more information and to volunteer, call (410) 327-3420 or email info@mfeast.org.

Arts & Style

In friends we trust at Everyman Theatre

By Dan Collins

The new production at Everyman Theatre combines the small-town nostalgia, humor and life lessons of Andy Griffith’s Mayberry with the allegorical devices of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. The result is a thought-provoking, heartwarming and satisfying 90-minute play.

Primary Trust is the 2024 Pulitzer Prizewinning work by actor and playwright Eboni Booth. It runs through March 2 at the Everyman in downtown Baltimore.

RJ Brown portrays the play’s central figure, Kenneth, a 38-year-old man with an easy smile who is part protagonist and part narrator.

Like the stage manager in Our Town, Kenneth breaks the fourth wall to engage the audience with insights about himself and his hometown of Cranberry, a fictional, humble home to 15,000, just outside Rochester, New York.

Feeling alienated and alone

Kenneth, we learn, is a man who feels terribly out of place in his small town, despite having lived his entire life there. He is an outsider who would like to be let in,

but he’s comfortable only in his own company and prone to anxiety attacks whenever his security is threatened.

The first act of the play taps into the universal feeling of loneliness and isolation, setting the stage for Kenneth’s transformative journey.

That leads us to Kenneth’s one true friend, Bert. Played by Louis E. Davis, Bert is the definition of “true blue.”

He’s at Kenneth’s side every night at Wally’s Tiki Bar, downing a tsunami of Mai Tais, gently guiding a stressed-out Kenneth with breathing exercises, and offering support, sound advice and unconditional love 24/7. However, Bert doesn’t really exist.

This is no secret. Kenneth, when in narrator mode, reveals Bert’s imaginary status. But where did Bert come from? How was he formed in the inner recesses of Kenneth’s mind? And why?

Brown, who plays Kenneth, does a masterful job portraying a man who seems happy and easygoing while barely surviving. Like a child sprinkling breadcrumbs, he gives the audience informative tidbits that reveal his dark past. His mother died

when he was 10, and he spent time in an orphanage.

It takes the catalyst of a lost job for him to make a first step toward change.

New job, new friends Kenneth “keeps the books” at Yellowed

RJ Brown, Andreá Bellamore and Louis E. Davis star in Primary Trust, a play that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama last year. The feel-good production runs at the Everyman Theatre through March 2.

The Mullaney brothers’ Mount Vernon soup company churns out 10 soups a day. Our cover story continues on p. 20.

From page 1

Returning home

Despite their successful business, the Mullaneys pulled up stakes in 2006 and moved back to Maryland.

“We came here to take care of Mom. We couldn’t convince her to move out there. She’s a Baltimorean through and through,” Kevin said. (Case in point: Mary Jane Mullaney’s favorite soup is cream of crab.)

At first, they opened an eatery in Perry Hall. It wasn’t an ideal location, he said, “but it was a turnkey operation, meaning

the kitchen was already equipped.”

After a year, the Mullaneys left Perry Hall and opened Soup’s On in their current location — a rowhouse at 11 West Preston Street in Mount Vernon. The brothers moved in above OK Natural Food Store and began repainting the walls.

MICA students painted the tabletops, each one inspired by a different type of soup. The students got paid for their work and received class credit. One artist, Minku Kim, went on to become a successful painter.

Soup’s On’s main clientele are students from MICA and the University of Baltimore. “If they weren’t here, I wouldn’t be

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH RECEPTION

Visit the Hal Gomer Gallery at Chesapeake Arts Center from Wed., March 12 through Tue., April 14 to take in the fourth annual exhibition highlighting Women’s History Month. An opening reception with complementary drinks and light snacks takes place on Thu., March 20 from 6 to 8 p.m. Chesapeake Arts Center is located at 194 Hammonds Ln., Brooklyn Park. For more information and to RSVP, visit bit.ly/MovingTogetherExhibit or call (410) 636-6597.

BECOME A THEATER USHER

Onging

See performances for free! Chesapeake Shakespeare Company seeks volunteer ushers to welcome patrons to its theater at 7 S. Calvert St., Baltimore. Usher duties include scanning tickets, showing patrons to their seats, and handing out parking vouchers. Performances take place Thursday through Sunday. For more information, email volunteer@chesapeakeshakespeare.com or call (410) 244-8571.

here,” Kevin said.

“When we first opened up here 17 years ago, we were packed day and night, first with students, and at night, [patrons of] the Meyerhoff, the Lyric Opera House, the Theater Project and so forth. Unfortunately, over the last 10 years, that [theater] business has really declined.”

The brothers run the business together. Keith is in charge of soups, and Kevin oversees sandwiches, salads and frittatas.

“We’re actually running the whole show,” Kevin said, with only a MICA student helping out on Saturdays and one or two employees during the lunch rush.

Surprising retirement plans

Despite his love of soup, Kevin is looking forward to retiring in five or 10 years. Because he doesn’t have children and can’t convince any family members to take over the business, he has another idea for the future of Soup’s On.

“I’d like to give it away,” he said. “Just like Willy Wonka — do some kind of contest and maybe give the money to some kind of charity.”

“I’d like to find someone that would like it and just let them carry the torch.”

Visit Soup’s On at 11 W. Preston St., Baltimore or check the soups of the day by calling (410) 528-1003 or visiting soupsonbalto.com.

Classifieds cont. from p. 23

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Thanks for reading!

Pages, the town’s used bookstore. He isn’t fired — that would be too confrontational for the play’s tone.

The store simply closes because the owner, one of several roles played by the multi-talented Jefferson A. Russell, must sell due to health reasons and relocate with his wife to Arizona.

Now without a job, Kenneth escapes to the refuge of Wally’s and the restorative waters of the Mai Tais. At the bar, Andreá Bellamore deftly portrays the entire staff, but the role of the friendly, loquacious waitress Corina is key.

Corina’s appearance aptly reflects Cranberry’s town motto: “Welcome, friend; you’re right on time!” Her decision to engage with Kenneth that evening leads him to find employment at the bank that bears the same name as the play, Primary Trust.

Kudos again to Russell, whose portrayal of the bank manager, Clay, was a huge hit with the audience — reminiscing about his glory days on the gridiron, making “dad jokes,” and revealing sincere empathy, all with effusive energy.

With a talent for facial expressions on par with Jim Carrey’s, Russell crafts Clay

into any employee’s dream boss.

Not to be outdone, Bellamore exhibits more personalities than Sybil, portraying the cavalcade of bank customers Kenneth must face — from a child counting coins from her piggybank to a demanding older woman with multiple certificates of deposit.

Toss a dozen roses to set designer Paige Hathaway, whose set is a true work of art. Every actor performs in an oversized box resembling a bar, restaurant, bank or bookstore.

When “opened” (rotated on a swivel) to reveal its contents, each store is revealed to be much larger inside than it appears on the outside (reminiscent of the TARDIS spacecraft in the iconic British sci-fi TV series “Dr. Who”).

Will Kenneth create true human connections by play’s end? Will Bert fade from best friend, to coping mechanism, to mere memory? Will the darkness in Kenneth’s past be dispelled by a bright future? Trust that it will.

Primary Trust, directed by Reginald L. Douglas, continues its run at the Everyman Theatre, 315 W. Fayette Street in downtown Baltimore, through March 2.

Ticket prices range from $63 to $86, but the theatre also offers some “pay what you choose” seats for as little as $5. For tickets, visit everymantheatre.org or call the box office at (410) 752-2208.

Ongoing

TOP OF THE WORLD SOON CLOSES

For the best views of Baltimore, visit the 27th floor of the Baltimore World Trade Center and watch the sunset from the Top of the World Observation Level. The observation level is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (and Friday and Saturday from 7 to 8 p.m.). Tickets are $6 for those 60+ and can be purchased in the lobby of 401 E. Pratt St., Baltimore. For more information, call (410) 837-8439. The space closes permanently in May, so hurry!

Ongoing

DISCOUNTED TRANSPORTATION

Baltimore County residents ages 60+ qualify for discounted rides, from $3 to $12, through the CountyRide program. A small bus transports residents to medical appointments, stores and other destinations within the county, and to Baltimore City hospitals. To sign up for CountyRide, call (410) 887-2080 or fill out a registration form at any county senior center.

Love Learning?

Look no further than Osher at JHU—the adult education program of the Johns Hopkins University. Join us for top quality noncredit courses, passionate faculty, and a community that loves learning. Explore Art, Current Events, Film, History, Music, Science, and more! Classes meet in Baltimore, Columbia, Montgomery County, and online via Zoom.

To sign up for Osher classes during the Fall,

and

sessions, an Osher Membership is required. For details, visit

call the Osher staff cell phone at

or email osher@jhu.edu.

Crossword Puzzle

American Gumbo

By Stephen Sherr

Across 1. Weak, as an excuse

5. Sympathetic signature surface

9. Japanese wrestlers

14. Voracious

15. Words before date or snuff

16. Strict cashiers’ counts

17. Napa Valley sampler

18. Cafeteria carrier

19. Cliff diver’s starting point

20. Ingredient in American gumbo

23. Barclays Bank in the UK installed the first one in 1967

24. Hankering

25. Tattletale

29. Like a German noun that follows “das”

31. Architect in Training (in brief)

32. Regret

33. Another ingredient

37. Spreadsheet lines

39. Robin Williams’ Mork from ___

40. Healthful retreats

41. Another ingredient in the gumbo

46. Christmas drink

47. Initials of Dr. Jekyll’s creator

48. Gothic ones are pointed at the top

51. Top-grossing movie of 1978

53. Nocturne ___-sharp minor, by Chopin

54. Bauxite or bornite

55. Last of the ingredients; I gar-on-tee it!

59. ___ down memory lane

62. A dot surrounded by blue on a map

63. Best guesses on the B&O

64. Wynonna Judd’s mother

65. Hot, when playing hot and cold

66. Hateful start to -sting or -stable

67. Sleep disorder

68. Hydropower

3. Congress set it at $7.25 per hour in 2009

4. It could win a First Place trophy

5. Flatware

6. It might say “Kiss the cook!”

7. Cause a waterbed to leak

8. Yo-yos and Legos

9. Science has one, but magic does not

10. Women with hysterectomies no longer have them

11. Smaller than XL or L

12. “Oh my god,” in text-speak

13. Dir. from Vancouver to Seattle

21. Suspicious onlooker

22. Letters inside OUTSIDE

26. Olympic athlete with good eyesight

27. Largest Caribbean country

28. Oil company founded in 1919

30. Slang for mustache

31. Musician Paul, born three months before Simon and 11 months before McCartney

34. Water closets

35. Picasso product

36. Last portion of a PARSEC

37. ___ in the new year

38. Strong smell

42. Prints are available in color, black and white, ___ tone

43. Commoner

44. Oil carriers

45. Killer whale

49. List of corrections

50. Taste, and four others

52. Japanese cartoon art

53. Religion of most of Morocco

56. Where to put the price tag on a grapefruit

57. Between ports

58. Give up power

59. Start of -log or -lyst

60. Do you want bottled water or ___?

61. Weasley, of Gryffindor

CLASSIFIEDS

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CAVEAT EMPTOR!

The Beacon does not know ingly accept ob scene, of fensive, harmful, or fraudulent advertising. How ever, we do not investi gate any advertisers or their products and cannot accept responsibility for the integ rity of either. Respondents to classified ad vertising should always use caution and their best judgment.

EMPLOYMENT & REAL ESTATE ADS:

We will not knowingly or intentionally accept advertising in violation of federal, state, and local laws prohib iting discrim ination based on race, color, national origin, sex, famil ial status or handicap in connection with employment or the sale or rental of real estate.

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Deadlines and Payments: To appear in the next issue, your ad text and payment must be entered by the 5th of the preceding month (for Baltimore and Howard County editions); by the 20th (for Washington edition).

Cost will be based on the number of characters and spaces in your ad: • $25 for 1-250 • $35 for 251-500. • $50 for 501-750 (maximum length). The website will calculate this for you. Note: Maryland contractors must provide a valid MHIC number. Each real estate listing qualifies as one ad. All ads are subject to publisher’s discretion. Payment will be refunded if unacceptable for any reason.

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

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