May 2017 | Fifty Plus

Published by The Beacon Newspapers, Inc.

The annual Senior Idol competition sponsored by the Shepherd’s Center in Chesterfield draws performers from all over the region. Among the 12 finalists to perform on May 12 is the Retroactive trio, which consists of Diana Sage (left), Bob Phillips and Susan Gerber. See page 3 for more information about the competition and the contestants.

Photo by Diane York

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MAY 2017 • FREE

Dignity vs. quality of life I was struck by a thought the other day hold both these opinions at the same time. (happens now and then). I still haven’t de- Can we honestly say that we have a painless, cided exactly how I feel about easily administered means of it, but I’d like to explore it with death for those who wish to you. take their own lives, but not for More Americans appear to those who have taken the lives be moving to the view that capof others? ital punishment is not acceptIt seems to me that the able. Nearly half of all states “cruel and unusual” claim have abolished it or had their about lethal injection is a courts overturn it, and the smokescreen for what is really number continues to grow. going on here. The objection at Many arguments are made root, as some opponents admit, in support of this position, but FROM THE is against the death penalty itone of them is that we have no PUBLISHER self. means of actually taking the By Stuart P. Rosenthal As I said before, there are lives of those on death row — many reasons that people including the most popular, lethal injection — might oppose the death penalty, and it is not that doesn’t qualify as “cruel and unusual my purpose in this column to try to explain punishment,” which is forbidden by our Con- or address those. stitution.

Nor do I have space here to adequately disAt the same time, Americans seem to be cuss the arguments for and against assisted moving, perhaps more slowly, but moving suicide. These are both huge issues with still, toward a position in favor of assisted sui- tremendous ramifications, and I’m sure we cide. That is, they favor allowing certain indi- will be debating them as a society for years viduals — who are judged mentally fit but to come. terminally ill — to take their own lives But I am interested in raising some questhrough a fatal, doctor-prescribed dose of tions I think we should be asking as we grapbarbiturates that puts them into a coma ple with these life and death matters. within minutes and kills within half an hour.

First, I wanted to know how big a “probNow, I don’t know about you, but I have lem” we have, potentially at least, with the introuble understanding how our society can fliction of the death penalty. How many

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Editorial Mission: Fifty Plus is dedicated to providing readers with accurate information, professional guidance, and useful resources. Our publication is intended to both reflect and enhance fifty-plus lifestyles, and to encourage reader dialogue and input.

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Publisher/Editor: ........................Stuart Rosenthal Vice President of Operations:........Gordon Hasenei Sales Director: ..................................Alan Spiegel Managing Editor: ..........................Barbara Ruben Assistant Editor: ..........................Rebekah Alcalde Art Director: ....................................Kyle Gregor y Operations Manager:............................Roger King Advertising Representative: ................Wendy Bond

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M AY 2 0 1 7 — F I F T Y P L U S

people are we talking about?

So I went to look up some basic statistics.

Perhaps you will find them as surprising as I did.

Over the past couple of years, the estimated number of homicides committed in the United States ranged between 14,000 and 16,000 per year. I thought that sounded pretty ominous. For an unfair comparison, Great Britain, with one-fifth our population, reported one-thirtieth the number of homicides in 2014 (515 total).

So I was surprised to read that, according to FBI data as reported by FactCheck.org, “the murder and nonnegligent manslaughter rate nationwide (4.6 per 100,000 population) in 2014 was at its lowest point since at least the early 1960s.” (For reference, it was 10.2, more than twice as high, in 1980.)

And just as murder rates have been declining, so the number of criminals executed throughout the country has also been falling, from a high of 98 in 1999 to 39 in 2013 and 20 in 2016.

Then I turned to look at the numbers of Americans committing suicide and found more surprises, including a trend in the opposite direction.

A study from the CDC last year reported a 24 percent increase in the age-adjusted suicide rate in the United States from 1999 through 2014. It has grown to the point where, in recent years, the number of Americans committing suicide has exceeded 40,000 annually.

What does it say about our society that our attention to the unfairness of the death penalty increases even as our murder (and execution) rates precipitously decline; while we are tending to greater acceptance of helping people kill themselves even as our suicide rate explodes?

One thing it might say about us is that we have situational views about the quality of life, or even about the basic dignity of human life.

One of the chief arguments against capital punishment per se is that it undermines the inherent dignity of human life.

At the same time, a major argument made

in support of assisted suicide is that it is a legitimate quality-of-life decision that a terminally ill person should be allowed to make for him- or herself.

Doesn’t the life of a terminally ill person possess that same inherent dignity? Or does “poor quality of life” trump life itself?

I would also like to note that in much of Europe, physician-assisted suicide (termed “euthanasia”) has grown significantly in popularity in recent years. Even in countries like the Netherlands, where it is officially illegal, it is widely practiced because the government turns a blind eye.

And importantly, the original practice to limit it to the terminally ill has dropped by the wayside. In a 2015 cover story, Newsweek reported that “the Dutch don’t require proof of a terminal illness to allow doctors to ‘help’ patients die...The Dutch can now choose death if they’re tired of living.”

One last set of numbers: In 2013, 4,829 Dutch turned to a doctor to end their lives.

That constituted one in every 28 deaths that year. Were the United States to have had a similar proportion of voluntary deaths last year, the number would be 93,800 people.

I share these thoughts about capital punishment and assisted suicide to inspire you to think about these issues.

I make no pretense of adequately addressing either of them, much less squaring them with each other. I just want to raise some questions I think we need to start asking ourselves.

I would like to hear your thoughts on the matter. Please email us (info@fiftyplusrichmond.com) or mail us a letter to the editor.

We will print a representative sample of responses in future issues.

Thank you for reading Fifty Plus. We look forward to hearing from you.

Please note: The next edition of Fifty Plus will be distributed the week of June 12.

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

Feature Story Who will be the next Senior Idol?

Becoming an idol The Senior Idol Contest is a fundraiser for the Shepherd’s Center in Chesterfield — part of a nonprofit, national network of centers that support learning among older adults and provide a variety of services for them. Each year, anyone over 50 can audition for Senior Idol, no matter where they live in Virginia.

Musicians, singers, actors, comedians and performers of all kinds are welcome. On the night of the show — this year on May 12 — a dozen finalists will have the opportunity to impress the judges and audience by performing one song or act. The judges will then select the top three performers for prizes.

As a sample, this year’s auditions in April included such diverse music as the reggae/pop hit, “I’m Yours,” the soulful “Me and Mrs. Jones,” and the traditional hymn, “Calvary is the Reason Why.” Hendricks, last year’s winner, had shown

some reluctance to compete in prior years. “I had friends that had been in it, and each time, I missed the deadline. Finally, one of my friends called and said, ‘Get down there!’

— and I did.”

It didn’t hurt that Hendricks brought 20 friends to the competition to cheer her on.

Hendricks, 55, sings at private shows, and loves karaoke so much that she runs her own karaoke business at Kingpin Lanes in Midlothian on Friday nights and every other Saturday.

The Idol contest awards cash prizes of $300, $200 and $100 for first, second and third place, respectively. In addition, there are awards for the most tickets sold, and a people’s choice award that allows anyone to vote for contestants on the center’s web page the week before the contest.

In addition, the first-place winner has, in the past, represented the Shepherd’s Center in the Chesterfield County parade.

Hendricks said the other contestants were very talented, and “I was totally shocked when I won.”

Accomplished finalists One of this year’s finalists is a trio that performs under the name Retroactive. Vocalists Diana Sage and Susan Gerber are accompanied on piano by Bob Phillips.

Gerber, 69, went to New York at age 20, sang in light operas and did some theatre.

Along the way, she also went to law school and became a “Jeopardy!” champion. She came to Richmond with her husband and baby, and became a public defender here. But she never

How Shepherd’s Center serves seniors The Senior Idol show is just one of the many events, classes and services provided by the Shepherd’s Center. The center’s mission is to enrich lives of adults 50 and over by providing opportunities for interfaith community service, lifelong learning, and assistance in maintaining an independent lifestyle.

A wide variety of educational courses and lectures are presented at several church locations both north and south of the James River. Some of the topics are languages, religion, history, philosophy and writing. Instructors and lunch speakers are volunteers recruited from Rich-

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mond’s university and professional fields.

The center also provides volunteer services to older individuals who need help with transportation to medical appointments, groceries and some housingrelated projects, as well as group travel opportunities. There are Shepherd’s Center offices in Northside and at Lucy Corr Villages in Southside.

For more information about the services of the Shepherd’s Center, and/or how you can help (through volunteering or donations), visit www.shepcenter.org or call (804) 706-6689.

— Diane York

PHOTO BY DIANE YORK

By Diane York Sandy Hendricks has had a lot of experience singing in public — in her younger years, singing with bands, and now in her own karaoke business.

But when she went to audition for the Shepherd’s Center Senior Idol contest last year, she was shaking with nerves. “It doesn’t matter how many times I have sung in public, I still get so nervous until I get into my song,” she said.

Despite her nerves, she wowed the crowd of about 100 that night, winning first-place in the contest and a $300 cash prize.

Steve Harris and L.T. Holmes, known on stage as Motown Steve and L.T., perform around the area, specializing in rhythm and blues numbers. They are among the dozen finalists chosen from a wide variety of acts that tried out for this year's Senior Idol. As a teen, Harris sang with Paul Anka and Bruce Hornsby.

lost her love of music and the stage.

Gerber met Sage at Bifocal Theatre Productions in Richmond seven years ago. They found that they harmonized so well together, they began performing. Sage said that while they did not meet until they each moved to Richmond, both had careers as professional actors in musical comedies in New York.

Like Hendricks, Sage said she also still gets nervous, but “we are always prepared when we perform.” Both she and Gerber are also involved in the Chamberlayne Actors Theatre in Richmond.

Bob Phillips, 70, recently moved here from North Carolina, and became their accompanist. The trio performs for private parties and at many local retirement communities and senior centers. Gerber said, “my goal is to stay young forever.” Music, he says, is one way to do that!

You can hear Retroactive at the Crossings at Bon Air Center next month. In the Senior Idol contest, the trio will be singing an Irving Berlin medley consisting of “Play a Simple Melody” and “You’re Just in Love.”

Another team among the contest finalists this year is the duo of Steve Harris and L.T. Holmes, known simply as Motown Steve and L.T. Both men have years of experience singing in groups and bands.

In his early teens, Harris, with his two brothers, sang with Bruce Hornsby and Paul Anka. Now 64, Harris retired from teaching art seven years ago, but said he will never retire from singing.

Holmes, 65, is still working at a govern-

ment agency. He met Harris eight years ago, and they have been singing together since then. Holmes began singing at age 10 in gospel groups with his siblings. They performed professionally as the Five Echos. He also plays bass guitar.

Steve and L.T. focus mostly on rhythm and blues, and sing locally at private gigs and weddings.

Hendricks said of competing last year, “It was a wonderful experience. A very friendly competition — everyone was nice.”

She encourages everyone to “come try out for this!” She adds that the event helps the Shepherd’s Center provide meals, rides to medical appointments, and other types of support for the center’s users.

Cheer on your favorites The 2017 Senior Idol Show will take place on Friday, May 12 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the Victory Tabernacle Church of God, 11700 Genito Rd., Midlothian.

Tickets are $10, and may be purchased at the church, at the Shepherd’s Center office at 6800 Lucy Corr Boulevard in Chesterfield, by visiting the center’s website at www.shepcenter.org/index.php/senior-idol, or by calling (804) 706-9198. Tickets will also be available at the door on the night of the event.

Brandi Pope, Mrs. Virginia America 2012 and the executive director and producer of the Mrs. Virginia America Pageant, will emcee the show.

For more information about the show or Shepherd’s Center, call (804) 706-9198.

F I F T Y P L U S — M AY 2 0 1 7

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Health Fitness &

LESS STRESS Meditation can reduce pain and the need for addictive narcotic medication RECENT DRUG APROVALS New drugs help with Parkinson’s, cholesterol and nighttime bathroom trips NO MORE BAD HAIR DAYS Try such natural treatments as avocado, olive oil and beer for better tresses A GIFT OF LIFE Volunteers up to age 60 may donate stem cell-rich bone marrow to save lives

Ten tips that can help fight osteoporosis

By Carrie Dennett, R.D.N. Because 70 percent of our bone destiny is due to heredity, you’re at greater risk for osteoporosis if you have a family history of the disease. But that doesn’t mean you can’t help shape the health of your bones.

We actively build bone until our mid-20s, then we start to slowly lose bone mass. After the age of 50, one in two women, and one in four men, will break a bone due to osteoporosis. Until they break that wrist, hip or vertebrae in the spine, odds are they will have no idea they have osteoporosis.

In women, that risk of bone loss temporarily speeds up for about five years post-menopause.

While it’s best to develop bone-healthy habits in childhood, you can take action at any age to improve both bone and muscle health, even if your genes may be working against you.

Why is muscle important? Maintaining muscle as you age makes it more likely that you can stop a fall — and prevent a fracture — if you lose your balance.

1. Don’t fear calcium You know that calcium is important for

strong bones — but you may also be concerned that calcium supplements increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Andrea Singer, National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) trustee and clinical director, said that calcium intake from food and supplements that doesn’t exceed 2,000-2,500 milligrams (mg.) per day should be considered safe from a cardiovascular standpoint, based on a recent rigorous review of the evidence by the NOF and the American Society of Preventative Cardiology.

2. Supplement calcium smartly The NOF recommends that women under age 50 get 1,000 mg. of calcium per day and women 50 and older get 1,200 mg. Men age 70 and younger need 1,000 mg. per day, those 71 and older need 1,200 mg.

“Obtaining calcium from food sources is preferred,” Singer said. “Supplemental calcium can be safely used to make up any shortfalls in your diet.”

3. Look beyond the obvious Calcium-rich foods beyond dairy products include canned sardines and salmon that still have

their bones, tofu made with calcium, tempeh, calcium-fortified soymilk, and some dark leafy vegetables. Collard greens, broccoli rabe, turnip greens and kale are the best of the bunch.

4. Don’t block calcium Spinach and beet greens contain oxalic acid, which makes their calcium unavailable to us. Cooking greatly reduces oxalic acid, and eating a food with oxalic acid does not affect absorption of calcium from other foods you eat during the same meal.

One food that will block calcium absorption is wheat bran — if you eat wheat bran cereal with milk, you will only absorb some of the milk’s calcium.

5. Load up on produce A diet rich in fruits and vegetables creates an environment in the body that prevents bone and muscle breakdown. Antioxidants and other nutrients, like potassium, in produce help prevent calcium loss.

Produce and plant foods include still more nutrients that Singer said are good for bone health, including magnesium and vitamins K and C.

6. Stock up on vitamin D Vitamin D is essential for absorbing calcium, but it also helps build muscle.

When exposed to the sun, your skin produces vitamin D. However, most of us protect our skin from the sun. Food sources include fatty fish and fortified foods such as milk and most soymilks. Mushrooms contain variable amounts.

Taking 800-1,000 IUs of supplemental vitamin D with food is recommended for osteoporosis prevention if you don’t get enough through diet, especially if you live in northern states where vitamin D production from sunshine exposure may be limited.

7. Power up with protein Adequate — but not excessive — protein is good for both muscle and bone. Divide your weight in pounds in half to estimate your protein goal in grams. So, if you weigh 150 pounds, aim for about 75 grams of protein per day.

8. Calm inflammation Omega-3 fatty acids — both EPA and DHA See OSTEOPOROSIS, page 5

Optimism and satisfaction grow with age

By Matt Sedensky Feel down about getting older? Wish your life was better? Worried about all the problems that come with age?

A new survey suggests you need only wait: Many pessimistic feelings held by people earlier in life take an optimistic turn as they move toward old age. Even hallmark concerns of old age — about declining health, lack of independence and memory loss — lessen as Americans age.

“The younger generation is less optimistic,” said Dr. Zia Agha, chief medical officer at West Health, a nonprofit focused on aging issues whose related research institute released the poll with the independent research organization NORC at the University of Chicago. “Perhaps as they age they will build resilience, and they build the capacity that will help them cope better.”

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M AY 2 0 1 7 — F I F T Y P L U S

Positivity grows each decade Generally speaking, optimism about growing older increased steadily with age, the poll found.

Among people in their 30s, 46 percent described themselves as mostly or somewhat optimistic about aging, compared with 66 percent of people 70 and older. Likewise, respondents showed a decade-by-decade increase in feeling confident, not helpless, about aging, and in assessing their household finances positively.

When asked to rate their quality of life, people noted an improvement as they moved from their 50s to their 60s and beyond.

Among respondents 70 and older, two-thirds rated their life excellent or very good, compared to about half of 30-somethings.

Among some metrics, pessimism appears to grow as people move out of their 30s into

middle age, before falling later in life. Those 70 and older were least likely to express worry about age bringing poor health, a move into a nursing home or memory loss.

They also were least likely to fear old age could prompt them to be disrespected or become a burden on their families. People in their 60s and beyond had the lowest fear of losing their independence.

Other research has pointed to greater satisfaction, happiness and optimism among older people.

Focus on spirituality, relationships Agha said the latest survey reflects the idea that people often find in their later years a growing appreciation for facets of life they may have focused on less when they were younger, including spirituality and personal relationships. Fulfillment from those things

can helps bolster overall happiness, even in the face of potential physical decline.

The NORC-West Health poll also found those 70 and older were less likely than younger people to feel that seniors are forgotten in America today or that they receive too little respect.

Not surprisingly, older people were less likely to see the age of 65 as a marker of old age. About four in 10 people in their 30s regarded that number as symbolic of reaching old age — twice as large a share as those in their 70s or beyond.

The poll was based on online and telephone interviews of 3,026 adults age 30 and older who are members of NORC’s nationally representative AmeriSpeak panel. It has a margin of sampling error for all respondents of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.

— AP www.FiftyPlusRichmond.com

Combine good foods to get more benefit

By Matthew Kady, R.D. Some foods play really well together. Food synergy occurs when components of different foods work together to maximize benefits. Think of it as 1 plus 1 equals 4 instead of 2; the total result is greater than the sum of the individual parts.

Try these good-chemistry eats to watch your health grow exponentially.

Garlic and lemon Perhaps Italians were onto something by frequently pairing these two items. A 2016 study in the International Journal of Preventive Medicine found that combining garlic and lemon juice can bring about a greater reduction in cholesterol and blood pressure compared to consuming either alone. It might be that compounds in lemon, such as citric acid, improve the ability of garlic to fortify heart health.

How to combine: Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, Dijon mustard

Osteoporosis From page 4 from fatty fish and ALA from walnuts and flax seed — can help reduce inflammation in the body. This is important because inflammation

and a pinch of salt and pepper as your daily vinaigrette.

Avocado and carrots It’s a good idea to fatten up your salads. A 2014 study in the Journal of Nutrition found that people who consumed carrots with avocado absorbed 6.6 times more beta-carotene from the carrots than when no fat was consumed. The avocado also greatly increased the conversion of beta-carotene in the body to vitamin A. How to combine: Top a spinach salad with shaved carrots, cubed avocado, and a splash of red wine vinegar.

Yogurt and salmon Calcium plays a role in strengthening bones, but it needs vitamin D for a helping hand. Vitamin D improves calcium absorption from the gut.

Besides through sunshine and supplementation, you can add vitamin D to your diet can accelerate bone loss.

9. Get — and stay — active Weight-bearing exercise, such as walking, running and strength training, stimulates bone-building activity and builds and maintains muscles. Exercises that help improve

with fatty fish, including wild salmon and sardines, UV-exposed mushrooms, eggs, and fortified foods like milk and orange juice.

How to combine: Stir together plain yogurt with curry powder and lime juice for a quick sauce to serve with salmon.

Broccoli and radish The next time you’re serving a side of broccoli, don’t forget to add a fiery kick. Scientists at the University of Illinois showed that pairing broccoli with a spicy food that contains the enzyme myrosinase (found in radishes, mustard greens, horseradish, wasabi, cabbage and broccoli sprouts) improves the absorption of sulforaphane, the anti-cancer compound present in broccoli.

How to combine: Steam broccoli florets and toss them with red radish or a handful of radish microgreens.

Kiwi and cereal

be sure to reach for the fuzzy fruit. A report in the British Journal of Nutrition showed that women who consumed an iron-fortified cereal with kiwi raised their iron levels more than those who paired the cereal with banana. Why? Kiwi is rich in vitamin C, which helps convert the plant form of iron into a more easily absorbed form.

The same rule applies to other iron-containing plant foods, like beans, spinach and oatmeal. Pairing them with vegetables and fruits — including red peppers, citrus and berries — boosts iron absorption.

How to combine: Top a bowl of wholegrain iron enhanced cereal with slices of kiwi and chopped almonds.

Reprinted with permission from Environmental Nutrition, a monthly publication of Belvoir Media Group, LLC. 1-800-829-5384. www.EnvironmentalNutrition.com. © 2017 Belvoir Media Group. Distributed

by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

If cereal is part of your morning routine, balance can also help avoid falls.

10. Avoid “bad to the bone” behaviors These include smoking, and the excessive intake of alcohol, caffeine and sodium, all of which can increase calcium loss. Yo-yo dieting has also been shown to reduce bone density.

Reprinted with permission from Environmental Nutrition, a monthly publication of Belvoir Media Group, LLC. 800-829-5384. www.EnvironmentalNutrition.com. © 2017 Belvoir Media Group. Distributed

by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

MEMORY ENHANCEMENT CLASS Tuesday, May 9 • 10 am - 12:30 pm at St. Mary Catholic Church, 9605 Gayton Rd. Presented by Tina Thomas, Director of Programs and Services for the Greater Richmond Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.

"Boot Camp for the Brain" is for those who wish to: • Learn basic techniques for handling everyday memory challenges • Get guidelines for healthy heart and brain diets • Take home strategies and exercises to continue improving memory This event is free but reservations are required.

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F I F T Y P L U S — M AY 2 0 1 7

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Meditation can reduce pain, replace pills

By Dr. Howard LeWine Q: For years, I have needed narcotic medications to control my chronic pain.

My doctor is tr ying to reduce my dose by asking me to practice meditation. Can this really help reduce my pain?

A: Yes, meditation and other avenues to mindfulness can help decrease your use of pain medication. And you may eventually be able to stop narcotics completely.

Mindfulness is an ancient practice, but it has taken modern imaging technology to demonstrate how it may work. An imaging test called functional MRI [fMRI] shows the brain as it is working. It has allowed us to see

things in humans we couldn’t before.

What’s most interesting is that people with chronic pain still show significant activity in pain centers while practicing mindfulness meditation. But despite the brain’s pain centers firing on fMRI, the meditators report feeling less pain compared to non-meditators.

The likely reason: The mindfulness practitioners have less activity in regions involved in emotion and memory.

Such images indicate that mindfulness practitioners may still feel the pain but not the unpleasantness of the sensation. Instead of blocking the sensation itself, they avoid making associations that identified it as “painful.”

M ARK YO UR CALE NDAR

May 12+

CHESTERFIELD GOVERNMENT ACADEMY Chesterfield County is offering a hands-on approach for citizens to

learn about local government and tour county facilities. Registration is open for the new Government Citizens Academy’s spring session, which begins Tuesday, May 16 and ends Wednesday, June 28. Participants must register by Friday, May 12. The Government Citizens Academy, which is free to participants, offers a chance for the public to learn about the county, meet local government leaders, and offer feedback about how the county is serving them. For more information, visit www.chesterfield.gov/govacademy.

How to start meditating Mindfulness involves focusing your mind on the present and letting go of concerns about the past and the future.

Here are the basics of a mindfulness meditation practice: In a quiet and comfortable place, sit on a cushion on the floor with your legs crossed, or sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor.

Sit up straight but not stiff. Let your hands rest on the tops of your thighs.

Start by bringing your attention to the sensations of your body (sight, sound, taste, touch, scent).

Next, bring your awareness to your breathing as you inhale and exhale. Pay particular attention to breathing out.

When you become distracted by thoughts

and feelings — for example, an appointment you must keep, or anger at someone — silently and gently label these as thoughts, let them go, and return your focus to your breath.

If you’d like to practice mindfulness meditation, start by setting aside some time each day and begin gradually — meditating for five to 10 minutes once or twice a day. You can gradually build up to 20 minutes or even an hour.

Howard LeWine, M.D. is an internist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.

For additional consumer health information, visit www.health.harvard.edu. © 2017 President and Fellows of Harvard College. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

M A R K YO U R C ALE NDAR

May 18

WELLNESS FAIR

Henrico Division of Recreation and Parks and Senior Connections presents Senior Party in the Park Wellness Fair on Thursday, May 18 from 10 a.m. to 1 pm. This free event is intended for adults over 50, and features health screenings, vendors, carnival games, entertainment and music. The fair will take place at Eastern Henrico Recreation Center, 1440 N. Laburnum Ave., in Henrico. For more information, call (804) 652-1408.

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Stopping prediabetes from progressing Q: I recently went to the doctor for a participants’ health by decreasing their risk physical and was told that my blood for diabetes. sugar levels showed that I The most successful treatmight be prediabetic. Is ment group helped participants there anything I can do to make intense lifestyle changes delay or prevent my progreswith physical exercise and a sion into type 2 diabetes? healthier diet, which reduced A: Prediabetes is a condition their risk of developing diabetes where your blood glucose, comby 58 percent. The goals for monly called blood sugar, is adults in this treatment group higher than normal but not included participating in physihigh enough to receive a diagcal activity for 150 minutes a nosis of diabetes. You are at week while decreasing the risk for prediabetes if you are DR. RX amount of calories and fat in older than 45. In fact, this con- By Archana Raghavan their diets. dition affects nearly 50 percent The results showed that losof adults older than 65. ing weight through consistent physical exerPrediabetes must be controlled because cise, and maintaining a low-fat, low-calorie your chances of progressing to type 2 dia- diet, helped the body recover its ability to betes are high. If you have prediabetes, you process glucose, thereby reducing its blood also might have an increased risk for cardio- glucose levels. vascular disease.

From this trial, we can see that physical acResearchers have thoroughly studied the tivity, along with a healthy diet, can help preprevention of type 2 diabetes. One important vent the progression of prediabetes into a study, the Diabetes Prevention Program diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. But it might be (DPP) trial, looked at obese adults who had difficult to start exercising immediately if you elevated blood glucose but were not consid- have not taken part in physical activity in a ered diabetic. Three treatment procedures long time. were compared to understand which one Start exercising gradually if you are just would be the most beneficial in improving beginning to increase your activity level. Try

low-impact exercises such as walking every day, taking part in tai chi, or using small weights to build strength. Performing household chores or yard work and gardening can also be considered physical activity.

It should be noted that you should consult your physician before participating in strenuous activities to ensure you do not have risk factors for heart complications.

Gradually building up speed or resistance and frequency in exercises is beneficial. As noted, the best results in the DPP trial were seen with 150 minutes of activity per week along with a low-fat, low-calorie diet.

If lifestyle changes are not enough to lower your risks for developing type 2 diabetes, it is important that you consult your physician to decide if a medication such as metformin would be beneficial. While metformin was found to reduce risk of diabetes in another DPP treatment group, results were less effective than changes in lifestyle.

Archana Raghavan is a third-year Pharm.D. student at VCU School of Pharmacy. She studied molecular and cellular biology at the University of Arizona. Her main interest is geriatric pharmacy, and she hopes to pursue a career working with older adults in a clinical setting.

M A R K YO U R CAL EN DA R

Ongoing

GARDEN TRAIL

Enjoy a variety of greenery by exploring the Richmond Garden Trail, an itinerary of eight garden sites within 10 miles of each other in the Richmond area. Some of the gardens include the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, at 1800 Lakeside, Ave. in Henrico; Agecroft Hall at 4305 Sulgrave Rd. in Richmond; and the John Marshall House and Garden at 818 E. Marshall St. in Richmond. For more information and a complete list of sites, visit http://bit.ly/RichmondGardenTrail.

Ongoing

FREE COMPUTER CLASSES The Richmond Senior Connections, the Capital Area Agency on Aging, offers free computer classes for older adults. For more information or class schedules, call (804) 672-4481.

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F I F T Y P L U S — M AY 2 0 1 7

7

Health Shorts Fewer nighttime bathroom trips U.S. regulators recently approved the first drug to reduce the number of times people wake to use the bathroom. The treatment is a nasal spray intended for adults who wake up at least twice a night to urinate.

The Food and Drug Administration said the spray, called Noctiva, is not approved to treat all causes of frequent nighttime urination, so doctors must determine the cause and best treatment for each person. Noctiva is approved specifically for a common condition caused by such things as chronic heart failure, poorly controlled diabetes, and bladder and prostate problems, as well as some medications.

The nasal spray is used daily about 30 minutes before bedtime. It works by making the kidneys absorb more water, which reduces the amount of urine.

Noctiva carries the FDA’s strongest warning — a so-called black box — because the drug can cause dangerously low levels of sodium in the blood. Other side effects include colds, bronchitis, increased blood pressure, dizziness, back pain and nose bleeds.

Before using the spray, patients must undergo testing to confirm they produce excess urine at night.

The treatment was tested for three months in about 1,000 people 50 and older with the condition, called nocturnal polyuria. The half who used Noctiva had more nights with one or no trips to the bathroom, compared to the group that got a dummy nasal spray, according to the FDA. The active ingredient in Noctiva, desmopressin acetate, is included in some other drugs, including an injected version for bleeding disorders.

Pricey cholesterol drug reduces heart risks A long-acting cholesterol medicine cut the risk of having a heart attack or some other serious problems by 15 to 20 percent in a big study that’s likely to spur fresh debate about what drugs should cost.

Statins such as Lipitor and Crestor are cheap, and lower LDL or bad cholesterol. But some people can’t tolerate or get enough help from them.

The new drug, Amgen’s Repatha, is given as a shot once or twice a month and is part of a novel class of medicines that drop LDL to

unprecedented levels.

It costs more than $14,000 a year, and insurers have balked at paying without proof that it lowers heart risks, not just the cholesterol number. The new study gives that evidence, but the benefit is not as great as some doctors had hoped.

For every 200 people treated with Repatha for roughly two years, three fewer people would suffer a heart attack, stroke or heartrelated death. But looked at by themselves, deaths were not reduced by the drug.

“That’s a big benefit,” said Dr. Marc Sabatine, the study leader, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. For millions of people with heart disease or high risk for it like those in the study, “it’s worth it to be on this medicine.”

But Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones, preventive medicine chief at Northwestern University and an American Heart Association spokesman, called the results modest and “not quite what we hoped or expected.”

Dr. Mark Hlatky, a Stanford University cardiologist and cost effectiveness researcher, said, “people were hoping for a breakthrough, a lot bigger result than 20 percent.”

Repatha and a similar drug, Praluent, called PCSK9 inhibitors, were approved in 2015 for people with inherited risk for high cholesterol, or heart disease that had already caused a problem such as a heart attack. The

study tested Repatha in more than 27,500 people like this who had LDL above 70 (the recommended upper limit for such patients) despite maximum statin use.

After about two years, Repatha, used along with statins, reduced LDL from a median of 92 to 30. It also proved safe — side effects were similar to those from a dummy drug.

Repatha cut by 20 percent the combined risk of having either a heart attack, stroke or a heart-related death. That happened to nearly 6 percent of people on Repatha versus more than 7 percent on the dummy drug.

The benefit grew with longer use, and was 25 percent the second year, said Sabatine, who consults for Amgen and other drugmakers.

The drug cut by 15 percent a broader set of problems — the ones above, plus hospitalization for chest pain or an artery-opening procedure. Nearly 10 percent of folks on Repatha had one versus more than 11 percent on the dummy drug.

This last result is something insurers care about — preventing costly healthcare.

“That’s the biggest issue — whether they’re worth all the money,” Hlatky said of the drugs. If they cost 50 times as much as statins, “are they 50 times better? I don’t think so.”

For now, “we should still probably reserve these for the highest risk patients where statins are not doing a good enough job — at least at the price they are currently offered,” said Lloyd-Jones.

Amgen said the drug’s value justifies its cost, and offered more deals for insurers — including refunds for people who have a heart attack or stroke after using Repatha for at least six months.

New drug approved for Parkinson’s The FDA has approved the first new drug in a decade for Parkinson’s disease, a chronic neurological disorder that causes tremors and movement difficulties. The medication, called Xadago, is for use when a patient’s regular medicines aren’t working well.

The pill was tested in two six-month studies that included about 1,200 patients taking a standard treatment — levodopa.

According to the FDA, adding Xadago to levodopa decreased periods with troubling symptoms such as involuntary muscle movement. Patients who took Xadago also had better control of movement compared to groups that got levodopa and dummy pills.

Roughly 1 million Americans and up to 10 million people worldwide have Parkinson’s.

It generally strikes older adults, affecting 1 to See HEALTH SHORTS, page 9

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M AY 2 0 1 7 — F I F T Y P L U S

www.FiftyPlusRichmond.com

DIY treatments for frizzy, dry or oily hair I lived in the bitter cold of Queens, New York and Somerset Massachusetts until I was 11 years old, then in hot and humid Ocala and Gainesville, Florida for 35 more. For the past six, I’ve been in the dry climate of Denver, Colorado.

My hair’s seen a lot. Yet, at 52, my hair is still thick and healthy. So I’ll share my DIY tips with you today.

For oily or flat hair

Apple cider vinegar Ok, it doesn’t smell great.

But apple cider vinegar clears away excess oil and may help dandruff.

Put two tablespoons in a spray bottle with 4 ounces of water, and spray onto your hair until damp. Shampoo (and/or condition) your hair like normal.

For dry or frizzy hair Corn starch DEAR Avocado This fine white powder is a Use half of a ripe, buttery av- PHARMACIST DIY dry shampoo. Sprinkle a taocado. For best results, blend it By Suzy Cohen blespoon or two onto your hair, in a blender or mash it really mix through, and let sit for 10 well, so it is super creamy and smooth (trust minutes. Then brush it out. me, you don’t want to be picking out chunks The cornstarch will absorb excess oil and of avocado from your hair). give you that instant shampooed look. This is The natural fat in avocado will help smooth nice if you’re tired, have had recent surgery, your hair strands and make them shine. You or you’re disabled. can thin the mashed avocado with a little water You can buy commercial brands of “dry and work into hair. Then shampoo it out. shampoo,” but they sometimes contain weird Olive oil chemicals.

The fats in olive oil can really luxe-up your locks. Have you ever given olive oil to a dog For balanced normal hair D to soften up his fur? Well, it works for you, Eggs too!

I prefer my eggs scrambled or as egg salad Use about one-quarter of a cup on its own, to be honest, but if you can get past the ick or mixed with other ingredients, for a beautiful sheen. It’s so softening that this tip will make people want to scratch behind your ears (kidding!). Work into hair then shampoo it out.

Health shorts

hair, meaning it’s a DIY hair volumizer.

Closing confession: I’m a little too attached to my bottle of “It’s a 10 Miracle” conditioner and a flat iron straightener.

For a much longer version of this article, visit my website.

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 the author of The 24-Hour Pharmacist and Real Solutions from Head to Toe. To contact her, visit www.SuzyCohen.com.

M A R K YO U R CAL EN DA R

May 11+

CHAIR EXERCISE

The Senior Center of Greater Richmond offers chair and floor exercise for its members on Thursday, May 11, 18 and 25 at 11 a.m.

The program is free, but participants must be registered with the center, which costs $85 annually or $10 per month. The classes take place at SwimRVA, located at 5050 Ridgedale Pkwy. For more information, visit http://seniorcenterofgreaterrichmond.org or call (804) 353-3171.

Ongiong

ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT GROUPS

The Alzheimer’s Association Greater Richmond Chapter offers a support group for younger onset and newly diagnosed individuals with Alzheimer’s and their care partner. For more information on locations and meeting dates, call (804) 967-2580.

Greenfield Residences at Monument Avenue

From page 8 2 percent of those over age 65.

Parkinson’s is a progressive disease whose symptoms worsen over time. Levodopa, which most patients take, can become less effective as the disease progresses. So, additional medicines are then needed.

Milan, Italy-based Newron Pharmaceuticals, which has a U.S. subsidiary in Morristown, New Jersey, developed Xadago, known chemically as safinamide. It was approved in the European Union in 2015.

Newron’s partner, US Worldwide Meds LLC of Louisville, Kentucky, will market Xadago in the U.S. That company said the drug’s list price without insurance will be $670 for a 30-day supply of either the 50- or 100-milligram dose.

Possible side effects can include involuntary movement, nausea and insomnia. The FDA said Xadago should not be taken by people with severe liver problems, or by those taking opioid painkillers and certain antidepressants.

— AP www.FiftyPlusRichmond.com

factor, the rich, fatty egg yolks moisturize and lend natural protein to your hair.

Apply one or two lightly beaten eggs to your hair. You can also try just the yolks, or just whites if you want to experiment. Then shampoo as normal.

Beer Yes, beer! Before using, you want to let it sit out in an open glass for an hour or so to eliminate the bubbles, so it doesn’t foam all over the place. (Hide it so your hubby doesn’t walk by and have himself a Bud. I don’t have to worry about that because my husband hates beer.)

The protein in beer adds structure to your

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How to get concerned family to back off Dear Solutions: Speak about you, not about him. Say what I’m a very active senior and, luckily, you feel and how things affect you, without fairly healthy. Recently, I had excusing or accusing. Your a bad fall. But I’m okay now. husband will have to listen However, since then, my son harder — and so will your has started to treat me like I’m neighbor! an invalid. He’s constantly Dear Solutions: warning me that I should cut I’m embarrassed and don’t down on my activities because know what to tell relatives I’m growing old. I don’t intend and friends. My grandson, to do any such thing, but I don’t who’s only 26, got married in want to alienate him by arguing a big wedding six months ago either. because the bride wanted a He says this advice is for SOLUTIONS big affair. my sake, but also I should By Helen Oxenberg, Nobody knew the bride consider him because if any- MSW, ACSW was pregnant. Now the baby thing serious happens to me, was just born, and some he’ll have to take care of me. Thus, I people are asking if the baby came early. should just do things slowly.

What do I say?

How do I get him to stop bugging me — Grandma without making him angry?

Dear Grandma: —A Just smile and say the baby didn’t come Dear A: early, the wedding came late! Be happy that Tell him you’re taking his advice, so the at least there was a wedding. most important thing you’re going to do You’re probably a young grandma. Celeslowly is to grow old! brate. Congratulations for a healthy grandAdd that you hope he’ll understand that baby. Concentrate on that. slow-to-move is fast-to-age! Suggest that he Dear Solutions: read literature on aging that emphasizes I’ve been married for six months now, aging well requires physical activity and well and there’s something that annoys me, as a good attitude. even though it might sound petty.

Finally, express your appreciation for his We’ve both been widowed, but I didn’t caring, and say that when “old” arrives for bring much of anything from my former you, you hope he’ll still be there with his con- marriage. I gave most of everything to my cern and his help. daughters.

OK — now get up and go!

My wife, though, has what she calls Dear Solutions: “very expensive, lovely” towels from her When my husband gets angr y about other marriage. They had never even something, he starts shouting. Then, if I been used, but they’re all initialed with want him to hear what I have to say, I her former married initials. start to shout as well.

They’re now hanging on the bars in our The other day we went through this and bathroom, and I feel uncomfortable with then, when I went outside, my neighbor them there. She says it’s silly of me, and looked at me strangely. Of course, she it’s just a waste of money not to use them. could hear every word. I’m embarrassed.

Am I being petty?

My husband and I are a good match — Tom in other ways except the arguing depart- Dear Tom: ment. How can we do this better?

Those towels are hanging out at the wrong — Embarrassed bars. Round them up and kick them out.

Dear Embarrassed: First, though, go out and buy replaceYou’re a good match in the arguing depart- ments. Get the same quality and same color ment also — you’re a shouting match! “lovely” towels and have them initialed with Do just the opposite. Instead of shouting your and your wife’s initials. louder, talk softer and softer. He’ll have to be After that, you can stop discussing it, and quiet to hear you, and he’ll probably start wipe your hands of the whole problem. talking more quietly himself. © Helen Oxenberg, 2017. To inquire about When arguing, talk only in the first person. reprint rights, call (609) 655-3684. www.FiftyPlusRichmond.com

Simple salad with black beans and mango

By Melissa D’Arabian Canned beans are fantastic convenience food. For a little over a buck, you can stock your pantry with a shelf-stable protein source that works in main dishes or in side dishes.

You can even use cooked canned beans as an inexpensive way to stretch pricier proteins: Serve seared salmon on a bed of sauteed creamy white beans, and you’ll only need a few ounces of fish to make the meal feel hearty.

Boost the filling factor in pasta dishes by adding a cup of rinsed canned beans to your family’s recipes.

Or, let beans turn a ho-hum salad into a filling comfort dish. In this recipe, I pair black beans with fresh mango, and the result is spectacular, especially given how quickly this recipe comes together.

The hardest part about this salad is cutting the mango, navigating around its long, flat seed. You can easily purchase mango already cut in the packaged produce section, but you can save several dollars for about three minutes of work if you are willing.

To slice or cube a mango, first cut it lengthwise just a little off-center, parallel to the seed, removing two large “cheeks.” Score (or slice) the mango flesh right in the cheek, leaving the skin intact, and then scoop out

the recipe-ready cubes or slices with a spoon, scraping against the skin. Slice the remaining mango flesh from the edges of the seed, and either cube or just eat them. (Because you deserve a little treat after all that slicing, right?)

Mango is an excellent source of vitamin C and vitamin A, and it makes the salad feel bright and tropical. I add yellow pepper and corn (straight from the freezer; it thaws quickly) to make it pretty.

Texture (and niacin!) comes from a light sprinkle of cashews and just a few smashed corn tortilla chips, which you can buy or make by roasting corn tortillas in the oven until crisp, about 15 minutes at 350 F. The tasty dressing is a result of a simple weeknight dressing hack: I add fresh lime juice and a little olive oil to prepared salsa.

I use shredded kale for this salad, but use any hearty dark green — you get more vitamins with the darker greens, and the bold flavors and textures in this salad need a green that can stand up to them.

Feel free to swap out the fruit or other ingredients to match what’s in your pantry — as long as you have some kind of canned beans in the cupboard, you can make some version of this hearty and versatile salad work.

Black bean and mango salad Start to finish: 15 minutes Servings: 4

For the salad: 6 cups shredded kale, or other dark leafy greens 1 cup cooked black beans, rinsed and drained if canned 1 1/2 cup cubed fresh mango, about 1 large mango 1 cup frozen corn, thawed 1 cup chopped tomato, about 2 roma tomatoes 1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped 1/2 large avocado, cubed 2 green onions, chopped 1/4 cup cashews, chopped 8 baked corn chips, lightly crushed chopped cilantro or parsley, for garnish

For the dressing: 1/4 cup prepared tomato (or tomatillo) salsa 3 tablespoons lime juice 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper Lay the greens on a platter or individual plates. Place on top of the greens: beans, mango, corn, tomato, bell pepper and avocado. Sprinkle on the green onions, cashews, crushed corn chips and cilantro. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour on the salad. Serve.

Nutrition information per serving: 296 calories; 114 calories from fat; 13 g. fat (2 g. saturated; 0 g. trans fats); 0 mg. cholesterol; 393 mg. sodium; 42 g. carbohydrate; 11 g. fiber; 13 g. sugar; 9 g. protein.

M A R K YO U R CAL EN DA R

May 18

FAMILY CAREGIVING SEMINAR The Alzheimer’s Association presents “Living with Alzheimer’s, Series for Caregivers: Early Stage” on Thursday, May 18 from 10 to

11:30 a.m. at First Baptist Church, 2709 Monument Ave. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/RichmondAlzTalk or call (804) 967-2580.

ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS Beth Sholom Woods is an equal housing opportunity facility designed to provide housing to extremely low, very low and low-income elderly age 62 and over. Ten percent of its 111 apartments have been altered for accessibility. Applicants age 18 or more who have mobility/physical disability and need the features of our barrier-free/handicapped units may apply for one of these eleven accessible units.

Beth Sholom Woods is a Section 202/8-Section 223 (f) U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) project. Qualified applicants pay 30% of his or her monthly income towards rent and utilities. An Outpatient Rehabilitation Clinic with a therapeutic pool is located on site. Beth Sholom Woods is part of the Beth Sholom Lifecare Community in the Far West End of Richmond. For more information or an application, please call (804) 741-4691, Monday-Friday, 9am-4:30pm.

Telephone: (804) 741-4691 TTY Users Dial 711• Fax: (804) 741-9813 Email: sberinato@bslcc.org • Website: www.bethsholom-lifecare.org Beth Sholom Woods Beth Sholom Lifecare Community 2027 Lauderdale Drive Richmond, VA 23233 www.FiftyPlusRichmond.com

F I F T Y P L U S — M AY 2 0 1 7

11

Bone marrow donations help save lives Dear Mayo Clinic: Years ago, after going through infertility testing, my doctor told me someone would love a bone marrow transplant from me because I have an overactive immune system.

Why does that make someone a good candidate? I am now 53, and am wondering if Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m too old to donate bone marrow. If not, how do I find out where I can go in my area to become a donor?

Answer: Thank you for your interest in becoming a bone marrow donor. Bone marrow donation can save lives, and thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always a need for people willing to donate. Although age is sometimes a factor, the most important criteria for being a donor is to have stem cells in your bone marrow that match those of the recipient.

To be considered as a donor, you can join the registry of potential bone marrow donors thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maintained by the National Marrow Donor Program.

People who need a bone marrow transplant often have blood disorders or diseases that affect the immune system, such as leukemia, lymphoma or severe anemia.

A transplant may be necessary for people with these conditions because their bone marrow may not be able to make enough healthy stem cells, or because bone marrow may not be able to regrow sufficiently following chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

A bone marrow transplant can help make the blood cells the body needs, lowering the risk of life-threatening infections, anemia and bleeding.

Stem cells are transplanted Although the procedure is called a bone marrow transplant, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actually the bloodforming stem cells within bone marrow that benefit the transplant recipient.

Bone marrow stem cells can develop into red blood cells that carry oxygen to the body, platelets that help blood clot, or white blood cells that help fight infection.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s often best for people in need of bone marrow transplants to receive their own stem cells, if possible. This process usually is safer for the recipient.

But in some cases, a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bone marrow may be too diseased to be used for a

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transplant. In those situations, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s necessary to use stem cells from a donor instead.

Donate up to age 60 Current research shows that bone marrow donations from people between the ages of 18 and 44 lead to more successful transplants.

Because of that, most physicians will select a donor under the age of 45, when possible.

However, people are allowed to be donors until the age of 60, and there is particular need for donors from minority populations and those from multiple ethnic or racial backgrounds.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not aware of data supporting the theory that having a history of infertility means you have a stronger immune system and, as a result, would be a better bone marrow donor.

But there are grounds for thinking donors who have not had children would be better donors. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because medical research has shown bone marrow transplant recipients whose donors have had children are at higher risk for a transplant complication called chronic graft versus host disease.

To be considered as a bone marrow donor, visit the National Marrow Donor Programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website, bethematch.org. There you can learn more and join the bone marrow donor registry. You should note that potential

donors between the ages of 45 and 60 are asked to pay $100 to cover the cost to join the registry.

By the way, a donorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own stem cells typically repopulate well, so, theoretically, a person could donate more than once. There can be pain after bone marrow donation, but it usually does not interfere with work or daily activities.

Peripheral blood donation (blood stem cells collected directly from the blood) requires receiving growth factor drugs and collection on an apheresis machine.

Joining the registry to become a potential bone marrow donor is commendable. As a donor, you have the opportunity to save a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life. Although your chances of being chosen may be lower due to the reasons outlined above, if you are chosen as a bone marrow donor, you will potentially be someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cure. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Dennis Gastineau, M.D., Hematology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

Mayo Clinic Q & A is an educational resource and doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t replace regular medical care. E-mail a question to MayoClinicQ&A @mayo.edu. For more information, visit www.mayoclinic.org. Š 2017 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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M AY 2 0 1 7 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; F I F T Y P L U S

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Money Law &

SCORE A PAYOUT Many who paid to get their credit scores can cash in on a lawsuit settlement HELP ELDERS AVOID SCAMS How you can help protect loved ones from fraud and bad money decisions RETIREMENT AUTOPILOT Online advisory services can help with retirement spend-down plans ADVICE FOR COUPLES Social Security, pension and investment decisions affect surviving spouses

Why pay retail? Bills you can negotiate

By Liz Weston The word “bills” used to be synonymous with “fixed expenses.” But there’s nothing fixed about many of the bills a typical household pays today.

Some bills have introductory rates that expire, shooting monthly costs skyward. Others offer secret discounts or upgrades to those in the know.

Providers constantly tweak their plans and pricing, which means long-term customers can overpay by hundreds of dollars a year.

“It’s like airline seating pricing,” said Steven McKean, founder and CEO of BillShark, a bill negotiating service based in Boston. “I wouldn’t say (people) are overcharged, but I would just say that the pricing is very opaque.”

BillShark calculates Americans could save $50 billion a year by haggling over their bills for cell phone service, home security, internet and pay television.

BillShark, like its competitors BillFixers of

Nashville, Tennessee, and BillCutterz of Corpus Christi, Texas, offers to negotiate for consumers in exchange for 40 to 50 percent of the savings.

The savings can total hundreds or even thousands of dollars. McKean said his negotiators cut bills by an average of $320 each — with annual savings ranging from $250 for home security, to $300 for TV, phone and Internet bundles, to $360 for cell phone bills.

Check for better phone plans Some of the biggest savings right now can be found in cell phone plans as a price war roils the industry, said BillFixers founder Ben Kurland.

“A lot of the cell phone providers have introduced multiple plans just this year,” he said. “If you have a cell plan that’s more than six months old, you may not be on the most efficient plan for you anymore.”

In addition to cell phone plans, bill negotiators say the following services often have

plenty of room for negotiation: • Pay television (cable or satellite) • Landline phones • Internet • Alarm systems • Storage units • Satellite radio • Bottled water delivery • Gym memberships What these bills have in common is competition: In most areas, there’s another provider that you can hire. You also can opt out, at least theoretically. (It’s typically much harder to tell your electric company that you can do without lights.)

Most BillShark customers would rather stick with the service they have than deal with the sometimes considerable hassles of changing providers, McKean said.

“They don’t want to rip out their DVR, and they don’t want new equipment, and they don’t want to sit around (waiting to) set up all this stuff,” he said. “They just want a lower

price.”

Sometimes a competitor’s deals are so much better that it’s worth the switch, he said. That’s particularly true for cell phone providers, who are paying customers’ early termination fees and offering other bounties to switch.

“They’re all desperate to steal each other’s clients,” Kurland said. “Switching providers a lot of times just comes with an instant payoff, and then over the long term, as long as you switch smart, you’ll find that you can save money month after month.”

Steps to getting lower bills Knowing you have that kind of leverage can help you negotiate better deals. Here are the steps: • Gather competitors’ offers. These may be touted on the providers’ websites, or you may have to call and ask what the best deals are for new customers. Make sure you See NEGOTIATE, page 14

How to find financial advice you can trust

By Anya Kamenetz The Department of Labor recently announced it will postpone putting the “fiduciary rule” into effect. And the Trump administration has signaled it wants to get rid of it altogether.

The fiduciary rule stipulates that financial professionals who advise you on your retirement accounts must put your financial interests ahead of their own. Without the rule — and as things currently stand — they could push certain products ahead of others (whether or not they are the best fit for you) because they earn a higher commission, for example.

Of course, even without the rule in place, it’s still possible to get good, unbiased and customized financial advice. But in most cases you’re going to have to pay for it.

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One option: Do it yourself Don’t overlook the possibility of managing your own affairs. The happy truth is that some of the simplest and cheapest approaches to investing tend to have the best performance over time. I’m talking about buying low-cost index funds, keeping a regular savings habit, paying down debt, and avoiding lots of transactions.

You don’t need complicated investment vehicles or hot stock tips to do well in retirement. The big advantage to managing your own money is that you will have a better idea of what’s going on. And, in the end, no one has your interests closer to heart than you do.

Another: a fee-only adviser But everyone runs into occasional situations where they need more detailed help

from a human being. Especially with the complicated financial lives people are leading today. In those cases, a fee-only financial planner or adviser is what you are looking for.

“Fee-only” is different from “fee-based.”

[Fee-based advisors may charge some direct fees, perhaps a fixed percentage of the assets they manage, but are also compensated through commissions they earn on purchases and sales they make on their clients’ behalf. To the extent fees are based on commissions, this could lead some advisors to buy and sell more frequently, or to select certain high-commission products, in order to earn more money.]

In contrast, fee-only advisers earn their income solely by charging their clients, and pledge voluntarily to follow a version of the fiduciary rule and always to act in their clients’ best interests. This is exactly the rule

that the Department of Labor is seeking to throw out.

Fee-only planners don’t have to be expensive. Some advisers will accept a small monthly or annual retainer. It could be as low as $100 a month.

Others work on an hourly or project basis.

This might make sense if you are facing a life transition. Say one partner in a couple wants to start staying home with the kids. Or there is a divorce or retirement on the horizon.

You want someone — ideally, a certified financial planner or CFP — with many good references from satisfied customers. You can see if anyone has an official complaint filed against them by looking on the Securities and Exchange Commission website at https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/ IAPD/Default.aspx.

See FINANCIAL ADVICE, page 14 F I F T Y P L U S — M AY 2 0 1 7

13

A payout for credit score customers

By Lisa Gerstner If you purchased a credit score from credit agencies Equifax or TransUnion, you may have a check coming your way.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently took aim at the companies for misrepresenting the scores they sold to customers as the same scores that lenders typically use to judge credit applicants.

The CFPB also charged the agencies with falsely advertising that customers could get scores and other credit-related products free

or for $1. Customers were actually enrolling in subscription programs that charged $16 or more a month after the trial period.

Affected customers will be notified by mail with instructions on how to claim their share of the settlement. TransUnion must pay more than $13.9 million to about 700,000 customers, and Equifax is paying out almost $3.8 million to its eligible customers.

Truly free services exist Credit scores come in a multitude of mod-

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MARK YOUR CALENDAR Learn more about identity theft and how to report it by calling the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Hotline at 1-877-438-4338 or at the website www.identitytheft.gov.

INSURANCE COUNSELING

Senior Connections, the Capital Area Agency on Aging, sponsors the Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program (VICAP) to help seniors with Medicare and other health insurance benefits.

VICAP counselors are trained volunteers, are not affiliated with any insurance company, and offer help with Medicare, Medicare supplemental insurance, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D (prescription drug coverage), long-term care insurance and more. For more information, call (804) 343-3014 and leave a message. A counselor will contact you in the order of calls received.

els, and you’d be hard-pressed to pin down which version a potential lender might use before you apply for a loan.

But you don’t need to know the exact number a creditor will see to get an idea of where your credit stands. At CreditKarma.com, you can get free VantageScore credit scores from Equifax and TransUnion, and sign up for free alerts of significant changes to your TransUnion credit report.

At CreditScorecard.com or Freecreditscore.com, you can see a free FICO score

based on data from credit agency Experian.

Your bank or credit card issuer may provide free credit scores to customers, too.

To avoid getting roped into a pricey subscription plan, be wary of submitting your credit card information in exchange for a free or low-priced product. You may be charged a higher recurring fee if you don’t cancel before the trial expires. © 2017 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

Negotiate

even lower than that. Why don’t we strike a deal?’, then you’re talking their language,” Kurland said.

• Don’t accept the first offer. If “Can’t you do any better than that?” doesn’t produce a deeper discount, tell them you’ll sleep on it.

That may produce another price break, or you may get a different agent the next day who’s more eager to deal.

• Get clear on expiration dates. Any discounts you negotiate may expire in a few months. To help you keep getting the best deals, enter the expiration dates on your calendar with a reminder to restart negotiations before your bill jumps up again.

• Think bigger. Monthly bills such as mortgages and car insurance aren’t negotiable in the same way, but you can and should revisit those rates at least annually.

The savings could be bigger than all your smaller bills put together.

— Nerdwallet via AP

From page 13 nail down the details — such as the speed of the internet service and which television channels are included, for example.

• Call your provider. Let the telephone representative know, right away, that you’re thinking of switching to a competitor or canceling the service if you can’t get a better deal. That typically means you’ll be transferred to the customer retention department, which often has more leeway to adjust your bill. Keep an open mind as you talk; there are many ways to cut the cost of cable, for example, not just negotiating the price.

• Tell them what you know. Companies have caught on to empty threats to cancel, Kurland said. “But if you call up and you say, ‘Hey, this is the other provider on my street, and this is the new price that they’re offering.

I know that your new customer pricing is

Financial advice From page 13 There are several networks of fee-only advisers, such as the Garrett Planning Network, the XY Planning Network (which lists advisers who specialize in younger clients), the Alliance of Comprehensive Planners, and the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.

Consider a “robot” You might want to look into a hybrid of the going it alone and hiring an adviser. Services like Wealthfront and Betterment are known as “robo advisers,” and they’re getting more and more popular. They use software to accomplish some of the basics of low-cost retirement portfolio management.

This includes tax loss harvesting (selling

securities that have gone down in price, to offset taxable capital gains earned elsewhere in the portfolio) and rebalancing (noticing when one category in your portfolio, such as international stocks, has changed in value, and automatically reallocating your money elsewhere to maintain your desired diversification). They charge a small fee to do this stuff automatically.

For a larger but still modest fee, services including Betterment and Personal Capital offer access to a financial adviser as well, usually over email and video chat. These are money managers, so they’re not pushing particular products.

Anya Kamenetz welcomes your questions at diyubook@gmail.com. © 2017 Anya Kamenetz Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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M AY 2 0 1 7 — F I F T Y P L U S

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When an elder needs financial oversight can defend their money against bad decisions and bad guys.

What you can do together • Draft powers of attorney. Two documents everyone needs, regardless of age: a power of attorney for health care decisions, and a power of attorney for financial decisions. This paperwork names the people we want to speak for us in case we become incapacitated. We should be having discussions with whomever we name about our wishes and our financial situation, Doll said.

“Talking about it is opening the door to making this less of a taboo discussion,” Doll said.

• Consolidate and simplify. One bank.

One brokerage firm. Two credit cards, one for daily purchases, and one for automatic bill payment. That’s the prescription for simplified, consolidated finances that will be easier to track as we age, said financial planner Carolyn McClanahan, a physician and director of financial planning at Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, Florida.

McClanahan also recommends replacing individual stocks and bonds, which require constant monitoring, with a small number of mutual funds or exchange-traded funds. Having fewer accounts helps the fraud-sniffing

software that banks and brokerages use to detect suspicious transactions, Doll said.

“If the assets are all over the place, it’s hard to establish a baseline so they can notice if something’s amiss,” she said.

What adult children can do • Stay in touch. Isolation is the fraudster’s best friend. Scam artists don’t want their victims to have a close circle of family and friends looking for signs of exploitation, said Sally Hurme, an elder-law attorney with AARP in Washington, D.C. Weekly calls to catch up, and regular visits can help loved ones spot red flags — like a pile of sweepstakes offers, or the investment salesman who’s getting too friendly.

• Keep up to date on the latest scams.

Criminals are endlessly creative. Some places to learn about their ever-evolving schemes include StopFraud.gov, AARP’s Fraud Watch Network, and the IRS, which offers consumers alerts and an annual list of the “Dirty Dozen” top tax-related scams.

Discussing news reports about frauds, such as telephone imposters pretending to be IRS agents or Microsoft tech support, can help you keep relatives informed.

What parents can do • Get more eyes on your money. Finan-

cial institutions likely offer text or email alerts to notify you of unusual activity, and so do sites that provide regular looks at free credit reports.

Once you’re over 65, consider setting these up so that your “wingman” — the person you want to make financial decisions for you — gets them as well. It may also be smart to run any investment you’re considering past your appointed person, said elderlaw attorney Carolyn Rosenblatt, author of The Family Guide to Aging Parents: Answers to Your Legal, Financial, and Healthcare Questions.

Give your doctors and any financial professionals, such as your adviser or accountant, permission to contact your wingman if they suspect you’re suffering serious cognitive decline.

Finally, plan with your family about what to do if you show signs of diminished capacity but you don’t know you are impaired, Rosenblatt said.

“Set the ‘trigger points’ for having your successor take over your finances, and what they can do if you resist because you think you’re fine, but no one else does,” Rosenblatt said. “People who don’t know they are impaired resist giving up financial control, and this is very dangerous.”

— Nerdwallet via AP

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By Liz Weston Our financial decision-making abilities peak in our 50s and can decline pretty rapidly after age 70, researchers tell us. That’s how otherwise smart older people fall for sweepstakes frauds, Nigerian investment schemes and the grandparent scam — where con artists pretend to be grandchildren in a financial jam.

But few people want to hear that they’re not as sharp as they used to be. Many won’t recognize the rising risk of losing hardearned life savings as they age, said financial literacy expert Lewis Mandell, author of What to Do When I Get Stupid: A Radically Safe Approach to a Difficult Financial Era. “As our ability to make sound financial decisions decreases with age, our self-confidence in this area actually increases,” Mandell warned.

Adult children who want to protect their parents from fraud and bad financial decisions have to tread carefully, said Jessie Doll, wealth management adviser with TIAA in Fairfax, Va. Money may be a difficult subject, and parents may resent the interference or fear losing their independence.

It may help to frame the issue as one all of us will face if we live long enough. Talking about your own efforts to “future-proof” your finances can start the discussion of how they

15

Retirees, automate your spend-down plan

By Eleanor Laise Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of the thorniest questions retirees face: How much can you safely spend each year? And once youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve figured that out, which accounts should you tap first, how do you minimize taxes, and how do you keep your remaining portfolio in balance?

A new generation of online advisory services promises to help retirees answer these questions and, in some cases, manage the whole drawdown process. Like existing â&#x20AC;&#x153;robo advisers,â&#x20AC;? these services rely on software to generate automated advice. Some also offer access to human advisers. But un-

like most established robo advisers, the services are aimed squarely at retirees.

Although thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plenty of retirementplanning advice available online, most of it focuses on how to accumulate a nest egg, not spend it down. And the drawdown advice that is available often makes simplistic assumptions, such as expecting that your spending will remain constant each year in retirement.

Tailored to your goals The new online services take a more sophisticated approach, aiming to design draw-

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MONEY HELP The Volunteer Money Management Program, a program through Senior Connections, helps those age 60 and over who need help

with their monthly bill paying. Trained volunteers provide one-on-one check writing and bill paying services in the home. They can also help create a filing system, prepare a budget, ensure bills are paid on time, and will help read and interpret billing statements. The service is free, but donations are encouraged. Applicants must use one checking account specifically for paying routine monthly bills and expenses, and have direct deposit of their income. For more information, call (804) 343-3055 or email adams@youraaa.org.

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down strategies tailored to a retireeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personal goals, life expectancy and spending needs. They can help coordinate the many sources of income a typical retiree receives â&#x20AC;&#x201D; including Social Security, investment income and required minimum distributions â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to form a tax-efficient drawdown plan.

In many cases, you can take advantage of these services while keeping your money in your current investments. On the down side, the services tend to be pricier than the existing robo advisers, which often charge 0.25 percent of assets or less. The firms say their fees are justified by the more complex services they deliver.

The Income Strategy software aims to make retireesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; assets last as long as possible by coordinating spending plans with Social Security, taxes, Roth IRA conversions and other factors. Currently, Income Strategy offers one-year access to the software, a personalized drawdown strategy report, a recommended Social Security claiming strategy and up to two hours with a financial professional for $500.

Early this year, Income Strategy began offering two new services, said William Meyer, managing principal. For retirees who want to manage their own money, the firm will offer not only access to the software, but also specific trade recommendations to help draw down assets efficiently.

The fee will be about $20 a month.

For retirees who want professional money management, Income Strategy will build a portfolio of exchange-traded funds and manage the whole drawdown process â&#x20AC;&#x201D; sending cash to the client and rebalancing the portfolio. The annual fee for this service will be about 0.5 percent of assets under management, Meyer said.

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M AY 2 0 1 7 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; F I F T Y P L U S

True Link, a robo adviser for retirees, launched late last year and helps implement a â&#x20AC;&#x153;bucketâ&#x20AC;? strategy, with specific assets set aside for each year of retirement.

Money you need this year might be held in money-market or high-interest checking accounts, while money you need five years from now can go into defined-maturity bond funds maturing in five years, according to Kai Stinchcombe, chief executive officer of True Link. Underlying investments include ETFs and bond ladders, and the fee is 0.87 percent annually.

The site also offers a free tool that recommends a monthly withdrawal amount and asset-allocation plan based on a userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s age, gender and portfolio size.

United Income, which will become publicly available in mid-2017, aims to offer highly personalized drawdown plans.

United Income will help retirees build portfolios of bond ladders, deferred annuities and other investments; tell them which accounts to tap first; and send them a regular retirement paycheck.

Instead of assuming spending will remain constant throughout retirement, the service will create a personalized spending forecast based on your gender, education level and other demographic information. Women, for example, â&#x20AC;&#x153;tend to look a lot more frugal relative to men,â&#x20AC;? said Matt Fellowes, chief executive officer and founder of financial-advice firm Hello-Wallet.

United Income will also rely on demographic data, along with personal health information, to generate personalized life-span estimates. Fees are not yet disclosed. Š 2017 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Consider this risk in your retirement plan

By Craig Hammer Investing, in general, involves risk. Some of the risks most often discussed are market risk, inflation risk and reinvestment risk.

These risks, and others, are present both before and after retirement.

However, one under-discussed risk in retirement income planning is the death of a spouse. The death of a spouse can have a substantial impact on the surviving spouse’s retirement lifestyle. In many cases, it results in a decrease in income for the surviving spouse.

Careful planning can help lessen the impact of an untimely death. Here are three things to consider:

Social Security choices Determining when to start taking Social Security benefits is an important retirement decision, and the ramifications of that decision can stretch beyond the beneficiary’s lifetime.

Why: Starting your Social Security benefit before full retirement age may not be your best option because of the impact an early claiming strategy might have on a surviving spouse.

How: At the death of a spouse, the Social Security Administration will review the ben-

efits that were available to both spouses and grant the surviving spouse the larger of the two benefits.

Effect: Claiming your Social Security benefit before your full retirement age will reduce your monthly benefit by at least 25 percent, and possibly as much as 35 percent, depending on your date of birth and when you start taking distributions. This is a permanent reduction, and so will affect what your spouse receives after you die.

Alternative: If your full retirement age is 66, you can increase your monthly benefit amount by 32 percent by not claiming your benefit until age 70. If your cash flow allows for you to delay claiming your Social Security benefit, the extra monthly income from the delayed credits could greatly benefit the surviving spouse.

Pension choices For those entitled to pension benefits, choosing the correct type of pension distribution is key to protecting your spouse after you’re gone.

Why: Many pension plans allow you to choose the type of distribution that is most suitable for your situation.

How: A life-only benefit would cease when the pension recipient dies. A survivorship op-

tion would pay a reduced benefit, for instance a 50 percent benefit, to the surviving spouse once the recipient dies. The difference between the two types of distribution is that the life-only option will usually pay a larger monthly benefit than any type of survivorship option.

Alternative: One way to help offset the loss of income from either the Social Security benefit or the pension benefit due to the death of a spouse is with life insurance.

Under this scenario, a life insurance contract would be written on one or both spouses.

Then at the death of the insured, the proceeds received from the life insurance company would be used to create an income stream to help offset the lost income.

Investment choices When one spouse dies, the other’s needs and goals inevitably change, and that can include the goals for their investment accounts.

Why: Assets are a tool to be used to help accomplish a goal. When both partners are living, the goal of the investments may be modest growth to help offset inflation in the future, or it may be to preserve the assets for the next generation.

At the death of a spouse the goal of the investment assets, or a portion of the assets,

may need to change to an income-focused strategy to help offset the loss of Social Security or pension benefits.

Effect: Failure to change the investment assets could result in a change of lifestyle for the surviving spouse, or it could lead to a more rapid depletion of the investments.

Caveat: Changing investment assets soon after the death of a loved one is not recommended. The surviving spouse needs time to grieve, and time to adjust to a new life without their loved one before it is appropriate to discuss the new goals of the investment assets.

The loss of a spouse is a difficult and trying time. Proper retirement income planning can help alleviate some of the financial stress the surviving spouse may face.

Both partners in the marriage should be educated on the options available, and decide which options best fit their situation. Also, a candid discussion about the objective of the investment assets is essential in helping the surviving spouse make appropriate decisions.

Securities and investment advisory services offered through Geneos Wealth Management, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. © 2017 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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17

Complex rules for mandatory distributions Investors know that there are many advan- by a financial institution. In this case, you must tages to IRAs and other retirement plans. pay the amount due, and file IRS Form 5329 to However, owners of these acrequest that the penalty be counts and their beneficiaries waived. don’t always follow the complex Multiple accounts subject IRS regulations associated with to RMDs: If you have multiple them, and the penalties can be IRAs, the RMD for each must significant. be calculated separately, but This is especially true of rethe total RMD can be paid from quired minimum distributions any one IRA or combination of (RMDs). According to Ed Slott, IRAs. However, if you own a rean expert in this field, the foltirement account from a comlowing errors are common, and pany plan, RMDs can be taken expensive, but can easily be THE SAVINGS from that plan only. avoided if you know the regula- GAME Exceptions for company tions. retirement plans: If you still

By Elliot Raphaelson Initial due dates for RMDs: work for a company that offers The required beginning date for RMDs of IRAs a 401(k), if you don’t own more than 5 peris generally April 1 of the year after you turn cent of the company, you can delay the RMD 70 1/2; after that, RMDs are due by the end of to April 1 the year after you stop working for the year. the company. However, you are still required For inherited IRAs, RMDs must generally to take RMDs from IRAs that are independbegin during the year of death of the ac- ent of your company’s plan. count’s original owner and be taken by the Year-of-death RMDs: RMDs must be end of each future year. taken out in the year an individual dies. Many There is a 50 percent penalty for any re- advisers and accountants are not aware that quired distribution amount not taken. However, year-of-death RMDs are not reported on the IRS will usually waive the penalty for a good decedents’ final tax returns or estate income cause — such as health problems or mistakes tax returns.

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Beneficiaries are responsible for reporting the income on their own tax returns. A beneficiary reports the amount the decedent would have taken if he/she had lived. The next year, the beneficiary calculates the required distribution based on his or her life expectancy.

First-year RMDs: When you take your first distribution, base your calculation using the balance as of December 31 of the year before you turned 70 1/2. You have the option of taking this distribution the following year

by April 1. After the first distribution year, all RMDs must be taken by the end of the calendar year.

This means if you do postpone your first distribution to the next year, you have two mandatory distributions that year. The second distribution is based on the balance as of December 31 of the year you turned 70 1/2.

Inherited IRAs: If you inherited an IRA in 2016, the first RMD will be due by the end of 2017. If there is more than one beneficiary, then, in order to maximize the stretch IRA for each beneficiary, the inherited IRA must be split into separate, properly-titled inherited IRAs for each beneficiary by the end of the year.

Direct transfers must be used for non-

Up or Down

spouse beneficiaries. Each titled, inherited IRA should contain the name of the deceased IRA owner. The account should be titled as a beneficiary IRA. Only a spouse beneficiary can use a rollover.

Taking distributions early: Some individuals younger than 59 1/2 file for what’s known as a 72(t) payment schedule, which allows them to use a series of substantially equal payments for a five-year period in order to avoid the IRS 10 percent early distribution penalty.

These schedules must be followed precisely without exception, otherwise the 10 percent penalty applies for all payments taken prior to age 59 1/2. So it is important to follow the payment schedule precisely to avoid the penalty.

IRS regulations are precise regarding IRAs and RMDs. Penalties are expensive. Make sure you and your beneficiaries are well-informed. Ed Slott’s books will be helpful. A good one is The Retirement Savings Time Bomb ... and How to Defuse It (Penguin Books).

Elliot Raphaelson welcomes your questions and comments at raphelliot@gmail.com. © 2017 Elliot Raphaelson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Travel Leisure &

For ways to find the best international airfares, see page 22.

Cuba combines opposites in a time warp

A country of contradictions Cuba is beguiling. Cuba is stuck in the ‘50s. Cuba is stunning. Cuba is frustrating. So go the opinions of many Americans who have visited the country.

Exploring this island nation is a classic “eye-of-the beholder” experience. The U.S. Tour Operators Association labeled Cuba 2017’s hottest destination. Former President Barack Obama, Madonna, Mick Jagger and Pope Francis went to Cuba in recent years.

In 2016, so did a record 4 million tourists.

But tourism is restricted and regulated by the Cuban and U.S. governments. Because of the U.S. embargo, travel from here requires a U.S. Treasury Department license for one of 12 categories of authorized travel.

Hence, the easiest way to go to Cuba from the U.S. is with a licensed tour operator. They can conduct authorized “people-to-people,” educational trips that involve not just tourism, but meeting and talking with Cuban people.

Independent travel is possible, but car rentals are expensive, hotels are booked far in advance, reservations are unreliable, and so are credit card transactions. It’s prudent to take cash and not expect to rely on credit.

To fully absorb all that Cuba has to offer requires an open mind. Only 90 miles from the U.S., it’s the largest Caribbean island — 777 miles long and 55 miles wide, with 3,570 miles of coastline and thousands of islands washed by the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean.

PHOTO BY JHVE PHOTO

By Glenda C. Booth When Columbus landed in Cuba in 1492, he proclaimed the island to be “the loveliest land that human eyes have ever beheld.”

Cuba is the “Pearl of the Antilles,” touted the 1958 World Book Encyclopedia.

Today, this tropical archipelago still boasts broad sandy beaches, seven UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites, lush rain forests, swaying palms, aquamarine seas, pristine reefs, and about 350 species of birds — including the world’s largest flamingo nesting site.

On the other hand, Cuba is probably best known to Americans as a communist state ruled ruthlessly for 58 years by brothers Fidel and Raúl Castro. Fox News’ Elizabeth MacDonald has said, “Cuba is run by Sovietstyle...party elites who call the shots behind the scenes, and who have gotten spectacularly wealthy in the process, all while abusing its people and business partners.”

Classic American cars abound in Cuba, where importing American-made goods was banned when Fidel Castro took power in 1959. Today, the meticulously maintained (though seat belt-free) Cadillacs, Fords and Buicks can be seen on streets in Havana and throughout the country. American tourists seem to enjoy taking a ride.

PHOTO BY GLENDA C. BOOTH

The main square, Plaza Mayor, of the 500-year-old Cuban city of Trinidad (not to be confused with the island) showcases some of the city’s Moorish-style and neoclassical architecture.

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Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution brought authoritarian rule. The U.S. broke relations and imposed an embargo in 1961. In 1990, when the former Soviet Union withdrew billions in subsidies, hard times, called the “Special Period,” ensued. In 2015, Obama re-established diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba.

For the traveler, this history could mean inconveniences or the absence of typical American amenities. Internet connections are spotty, and ATMs are sparse. Some guest rooms lack air conditioning, and their décor and furniture may look tired. Tap water may not be potable. Cruise ships can snarf up all the available bottled water. A museum’s hours may not be as advertised.

Resident Cuba expert Marc Frank maintains, “Remarkable changes are going on here. Cuba’s a work in progress.”

“We are changing, but not that fast,” said Cuban tour guide Rigoberto Rodriguez, explaining that there’s “guarded openness,” that people can speak their minds within certain parameters. Cuba has had more private businesses, more decentralization, and more economic globalization in recent years, he argues.

Cuba’s many pastimes Music is at the core of Cuban life. In the 1940s, Havana’s original Buena Vista Social Club throbbed with musicians, a club recalled in a famous recording by Juan de Marcos Gonzalez and Ry Cooder.

Then, Cuban-born Desi Arnaz, aka Ricky Ricardo, pounded his conga drums and sang “Babalu” on the 1950s television sitcom, “I Love Lucy,” imprinting lively Latin music on many American minds.

Today, in nightclubs, on street corners and at community gatherings, Cuba’s “musical golden age” of the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s lives on with salsa, rumba, mambo, chachachá, danzón and more.

At Havana’s La Colmenita Children’s Theater, children age 5 to 18 train daily, playing handmade drums, claves and castanets, beating on chairs and whacking wood and cow leather in a unique combination of percussion and dance. At the world-renowned Cabaret Tropicana, nearly naked showgirls, known as “Flesh Goddesses,” have performed in seSee CUBA, page 20 F I F T Y P L U S — M AY 2 0 1 7

19

Cuba From page 19 quined pasties and feathered head pieces since 1939.

Then there’s Cuban rum, Cuban cigars and baseball. Youngsters start playing the game at age six or seven. All of these express the Cuban spirit.

Having endured invasions, revolutions, hurricanes, embargoes and shortages, Cubans excel at surviving. “We Cubanize,” Rodriguez said. “We always find a way.” During the Special Period’s shortages, people started home gardens. They make do today with rationed goods, and joke that the national sport is “waiting in line.”

President Obama complimented their ingenuity, saying, “The Cuban invents things out of thin air.” This can-do spirit is symbolized by the ‘40s and ‘50s cars that resourceful owners keep running by making needed parts.

Only the indifferent could not marvel at the classic cars roaming Havana’s streets.

Eager entrepreneurs stand at the ready to take visitors for rides in spic-and-span 1950s classics, cars that have been meticulously preserved throughout the 56-year embargo, without dealer services or ready car parts.

Though these pre-catalytic-converter, preseat-belt relics are loud and can foul the air, they are well worth a taking for a spin around the city. Older tourists can recall their teens,

riding in a shiny Cadillac Eldorado, Ford Fairlane, Ford Thunderbird, Chevrolet Impala, Chrysler Plymouth Belvedere or Buick Roadmaster.

Now and then a Soviet-era Lada chugs by.

Because Ladas sputter like lawn mowers and stall in rain storms, locals like to call it the “Believer Car” — because owners believe they own a car.

Museums and Hemingway Old cars, old cobblestone streets, old buildings, filled with people young at heart. This is Havana, founded in 1519, and one of the great historic cities of the New World, where mansions going back centuries line plazas.

Old Town Havana, a UNESCO site, has around 900 historically important buildings — a mix of neoclassical and baroque architecture with some art deco thrown in. Visitors can fixate on peeling paint and neglected buildings, or as Chicagoan Carole Anshaw put it, the “beauty of decay.”

Calle Obispo is Old Havana’s main boulevard, a bustling commercial and night-spot artery. Plaza de la Catedral fronts the city’s asymmetrical cathedral from the 1700s, restored for the Pope’s 2015 visit.

Nearby is the Taller Experimental Workshop of cutting-edge art and graphics. At the Revolution Museum, Fidel Castro’s 60-foot boat, Granma, that transported 82 revolutionary fighters in 1956, is enshrined in glass.

The incongruous capitol building, built in the 1920s when officials wanted one like the U.S. Capitol, was the seat of the Cuban Congress until 1959. Today, it’s the National Library of Science and Technology. The Yoruba Museum and the Museum of the Orishas explore African influences and history.

Tourists can feel like locals strolling the famous, six-lane Malecón among enchanted lovers, cigar-sellers and musicians, refreshed by cooling sea breezes or jolted by crashing, Atlantic Ocean waves during storms.

Visitors can channel Ernest Hemingway with a mojito at El Floridita Bar or La Bodeguita del Medio. You can sense his spirit at Museo Hemingway, the 1940s villa he left to the Cuban people. In this home, unchanged since his 1960 departure, he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea while comforted by a clowder of cats.

French-inspired Cienfuegos Cienfuegos is a pedestrian-friendly port city with 19th century French roots. It is centered around the Paseo del Prado, a Parisianstyle main avenue, and Parque Martí, where a statue commemorates revolutionary hero, Jose Martí, Cuba’s leader of independence from Spain. This UNESCO World Heritage Site, its shops and street stalls, reflect the city’s mixed French-Caribbean heritage.

It is also the home city of Afro-Cuban singer Benny Moré. Talented students at the school bearing his name give public performances in music, dance and visual arts.

At a nearby former sugar mill built by Bostonian Edward Atkins, tourists can visit historic factory buildings and study today’s rationing system under pictures of Vladimir Lenin, Che Guevara and Raúl Castro. Quoting Martí, one sign says, “There is no possible social equality without cultural equality.”

The nearby 132-acre Cienfuegos Botanic Garden has 2,000 plant species and one of the world’s largest collections of palms.

boasts many pastel-colored buildings.

In today’s main square, Plaza Mayor, people play checkers and children romp around a former slave market, as horses clop-clop-clop down cobblestone streets. The tower of the Museo Histórico Municipal, a former sugar baron’s mansion, offers an expansive view of the city. The Nueva Era restaurant serves enticing dishes using fresh shrimp from a nearby farm.

“The enemy fled in disarray.” “Yankee imperialism is a total failure.” “Death to the invader!” These are some of the messages that scream out at the Bay of Pigs Museum in Playa Giron. Exhibits, uniforms, pictures of heroes and military equipment — including a captured U.S. Browning machine gun — present the Cuban point of view of the failed 1961 U.S. paramilitary invasion of Cuba.

Exhibits proclaim, the “first defeat of imperialism in history.” One quotes Fidel Castro: “We have made a socialist revolution in their noses.” Another: “This was one of the most glorious pages in the history of our country.”

Cuban cuisine The food scene has blossomed in recent years as Raúl Castro’s economic reforms have encouraged private restaurants called paladars. Visitors might be treated to gazpacho, garlic octopus tapas, paella, tacos, ceviche, spicy shredded beef, crocodile stew, empanadas, flan and plantain chips.

Hosts urge guests to top meals with “Vitamin R,” Cuba’s ubiquitous rum or a canchanchara — rum, lime juice, sparkling water and honey. Some restaurant ware dates from the 1950s, including frosted glasses with paintings of bathing beauties.

Expect the unexpected. Be flexible. Cuba constantly delivers “curve balls,” wrote Christopher P. Baker in the National Geographic Traveler. For the adventurous traveler, they can be intriguing curve balls.

If you go Other cities and countryside Cuba’s rural countryside is a verdant expanse spotted with palm, banana and mango trees, grazing cows, and rice and sugar cane fields. Most of the sugar cane today goes into Cuba’s celebrated rum.

In the small towns, many people walk, bike, ride horses or rumble along in horsedrawn buggies. There are more one-story houses with roof clotheslines, fewer cars and more dirt roads than in cities. People sell wares from front-yard card tables.

The central Cuban city of Trinidad, founded in 1514, reeks of history. Also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it’s the country’s best preserved colonial city — with shops, vendors, art studios (including a crochet collective) and many restored facades in the historic center. The city is a mix of 18th-century, adapted Moorish-style and 19th-century, neoclassical architecture, and

20

M AY 2 0 1 7 — F I F T Y P L U S

To learn more about rules governing travel to Cuba, see https://travel.state. gov/content/passports/en/country/cuba.html.

Some tour agencies offering trips to Cuba: Caribbean Conservation Trust, www.cubirds.org Cosmos, http://www.cosmos.com/ Marazul Charters, www.marazul.com National Geographic Expeditions, http:// www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/ Road Scholar, www.roadscholar.org Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, http:// ventbird.com/ Cruises: Carnival, www.carnival.com; Royal Caribbean, www.royalcaribbena.com; Norwegian Cruise Line, www.ncl.com If you want to arrange a flight yourself, American Airlines flies from Byrd International Airport with one stop. The least expensive flight in early June is $391 roundtrip . www.FiftyPlusRichmond.com

Not a hotel lover? Try a vacation rental “Eew, this isn’t anything like what I ex- rentals that I would be reasonably sure were pected!” Although vacation rentals don’t gen- described accurately and honestly.

And I know of literally dozens erate a lot of complaints, I’m of similar agencies around the pretty sure the number one world. While London, Tuscany complaint is disappointment on and Provence may get a bit arrival at a previously unseen more than their share of curated rental. agencies, you can find one alThe big online vacation rental most anywhere. “marketplaces” such as FlipKey and VRBO do as much as they New: rentals for seniors can to assure that rental owners But instead of a geographical are, as FlipKey puts it, “nice and focus, Scertified.com, a new trusted people,” and they vet rental agency, specializes in renter reviews and complaints TRAVEL TIPS rentals for senior travelers — to to weed out bad actors.

By Ed Perkins my knowledge, the first to do Still, they’re essentially billboards, with no way to check individually on so. According to their CEO, “We inspect up as many as a million separate posted rentals. to 60 senior-centric features in and around And less organized websites such as Craigslist every apartment we offer. Our hand-cranked algorithm assesses noise levels in bedrooms, provide almost no cover for renters.

Over the years I’ve used several such mar- graffiti in the neighborhood, local crime ketplace websites with no problems. But if rates, building security, property manageyou’re looking for an extra level of certainty, ment and dozens of other features.”

Obviously, you don’t have to be of a certain you might well turn to a “curated” rental agency that posts only rentals that staff or as- age to use Scertified; even some younger travelers might well like to stay in seniorsociates have examined personally.

Most curated vacation rental agencies spe- friendly facilities.

So far, rental listings on the site are limited cialize geographically. I’ve used such disparate outfits as Oregon Coast Vacation Rentals, At to a few units in 17 cities — including 11 imHome in France, and Vacanza Bella to find portant visitor destinations in the United

States plus Barcelona, Brussels, Lisbon, London, Paris and Rome. So far, there’s little in the countryside, but, as I said, it’s a new idea.

Property searches are straightforward, with excellent detail about the rental and its neighborhood. I would hope, however, that the search engine will incorporate filters for some of the most critical features, such as availability of an elevator, for seniors, and availability of free Wi-Fi for just about everybody.

Although I qualify as a senior, I haven’t personally used Scertified and can’t vouch for it on the basis of experience. But the idea seems like a good one.

Surprisingly, the big marketplace websites haven’t done much with either age- or interestbased filters. If you Google “vacation homes for golf,” you find postings for individual resorts or general “vacation rentals” responses, but the only one I found with a golf filter for listings was VacationHomes.com, which provides for quite a few filters, including “golf.”

Also, PerfectPlaces filtered for “tennis,” along with several other interest categories.

But I didn’t find any marketplace that specifically filters for seniors or senior-friendly features.

Working with an agency Some curated vacation rental websites offer another advantage. Unlike the marketplace websites, many specialized sites act as actual agencies: Your deal is with the online agency, not the individual property owner/manager. If you have any problems related to payment terms, you settle them with a local agency, not a possibly anonymous owner in some foreign country.

Not all geographically focused agencies are curated. I recently received a press release from a new outfit that mounts a series of separate websites for rental cabins in narrowly focused rustic regions: RentWisconsinCabins, RentMichiganCabins, RertMinnesotaCabins, RentMontanaCabins, RentNewYorkCabins and RentTennesseeCabins.

The basic pitch is to renters: Avoid the big guys’ fees. But, obviously, that pitch may draw in some properties that you won’t find on the giant websites. Give them a look if you’re interested in those areas.

Send e-mail to Ed Perkins at eperkins@ mind.net. Also, check out Ed’s new rail travel website at www.rail-guru.com. © 2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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81161

Understand what people are saying... the first time

21

Be flexible to snag true bargain airfares

By Ryan Ermey Kiplinger’s interviewed Scott Keyes, who writes an email newsletter called Scott’s Cheap Flights. Through it, he sends out international airfare deals to 350,000 subscribers.

Here are excerpts from the interview.

Q.: What’s your number-one rule for finding cheap airfare?

A.: Flexibility. Once you have an origin airport, a destination airport, and a date that’s set in stone, about 95 percent of what you can do to get the price down is already out the window.

Most folks look at a map and say, “I want to go to Spain.” And then they start searching. But there might not be a deal to Madrid, while there could be a deal to London.

Going where there’s a deal — rather than deciding where you want to go and then looking for a deal — may sound counterintuitive, but it will really help get the airfare down.

What’s the best way to build flexibility into a search?

I recommend using Google Flights, because you can enter five origin airports and five destination airports. Let’s say you live in New York City. You can check flights from LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy, Newark, Philadelphia and Hartford. Then you can say you want to fly to London, Paris, Rome or Madrid. Instantly, it will pull up two months’ worth of the cheapest prices.

Why do you think your website has taken off?

People don’t like to spend a lot of time monitoring airfares, and having someone to do it for them is a service that some people are willing to pay for.

A lot of the best fares often don’t last very long. So being able to pull the trigger quickly can be pretty important when it comes to getting cheap fares.

Is there a sweet spot for buying tickets?

I generally recommend buying overseas airfare about two to six months in advance.

You should not expect the airlines to offer cheap fares to fill seats at the last minute.

That was the model for a long time. But over the past 10 or 15 years, airlines realized that business travelers, who tend to be less price sensitive than leisure travelers, were buying those empty seats. Now, rather than cut the prices, they tend to raise prices closer to the departure date.

What constitutes a bargain fare to Europe now?

The new transatlantic budget carriers, such as Norwegian Air and Wow Air, regularly offer flights to Europe for less than $400 round-trip — from all over the country, not just from New York, L.A. or Miami.

So I’d say $450 to $650 is acceptable, depending on connections and how well the fare jibes with your preferred dates. Anything over $650 or $700, unless you’re buying at the last minute or for very specific dates around holidays, is too much. © 2017. The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

M A R K YO U R C ALE NDAR

Ongoing

SENIOR CENTER MEMBERSHIP Those 60+ are encouraged to join the Linwood Robinson Senior Center, the only senior center staffed by the city of Richmond. The

center provides programs for leisure, continuing education, and health and wellness, as well as social events, transportation and community resources. They also have options to volunteer. Weekdays at noon, the center serves a hot nutritious lunch and offers educational seminars. Linwood is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (804) 646-3115.

May 31

FREE TECH Q&A Richmond Public Libraries offers a free technology Q&A on Wednesday, May 31 in half-hour sessions from noon to 2 p.m. at

Belmont Library, 3100 Ellwood Ave. Bring a laptop, e-reader, iPad or mobile device, and be prepared with questions. For more information, visit http://rvalibrary.org/computer-classes or call (804) 646-1139.

22

M AY 2 0 1 7 — F I F T Y P L U S

www.FiftyPlusRichmond.com

Style Arts &

Kevin Kline returns to Broadway in a Noel Coward play. See story on page 25.

Sally Field returns to Broadway in drama

Paucity of female roles For Field, it was a simple decision: “There are very few really interesting characters for older women in theater or in film or even,

honestly, in literature. I mean, there are some, but you have to look for them.”

The Glass Menagerie centers on an aging, overpowering mother who hopes her unhappy son can fulfill her dreams of finding the perfect “gentleman caller” for her shy and damaged daughter. The last Broadway revival was in 2013, starring Cherry Jones and Zachary Quinto.

This revival is directed by Tony Awardwinner Sam Gold and co-stars two-time Tony Award winning actor and director Joe Mantello, playing Field’s son, along with Finn Wittrock and Madison Ferris.

Field admits she has a “creative crush” on Gold, the much-admired director of the musical Fun Home, who last year had explored the work in Amsterdam. Adding Mantello was just icing on the cake. “Of course I would always consider doing Amanda again, but under these circumstances it was better than good,” she said.

Gold couldn’t believe his luck to entice Field.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve this,” he said. “She was like, ‘I just want to get back on stage.’ And I was really excited about that play, which is her favorite part. So it just worked out to be the easiest decision ever made.”

M ARK YO UR CALE NDAR

May 6+

YVES SAINT LAURENT EXHIBIT

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is exhibiting “Yves Saint Laurent: The Perfection of Style,” a multi-media exhibit showcasing the lifetime achievement of Yves Saint Laurent, one of history’s most radical and influential fashion designers. In addition to over 100 examples of haute couture ensembles and ready-to-wear clothing, the exhibit features accessories, photographs, drawings, films and video and will be open from Saturday, May 6 through Sunday, Aug. 27. The museum is located at 200 N. Blvd. Admission costs $22 for adults; $18 for those 65+ and groups of 10 or more. Admission is free for museum members, children age 6 and younger, and active-duty military personnel and their immediate families. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (804) 340-1405 or visit http://bit.ly/RichmondYSL. For group sales, email GroupSales@vmfa.museum or call (804) 340-1575.

June 2

BLUE OYSTER CULT

The Beacon Theatre presents a concert with Blue Oyster Cult on Friday, June 2. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $35 to $50 in advance; $40 to $55 at the door. The Beacon is located at 401 N Main St. in Hopewell. For more information, visit www.blueoystercult.com.

www.FiftyPlusRichmond.com

PHOTO BY JULIETA CERVANTES

By Mark Kennedy Sally Field had a chance to cross The Glass Menagerie off her bucket list 13 years ago. It didn’t take.

The Emmy- and Oscar-winner is once again playing Amanda Wingfield, the fearsome Southern belle at the heart of the Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece. Field may have played her at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in 2004, and yet, here she is, playing her again on Broadway.

“It is really right up at the top — the finest American play ever written,” Field said.

“There’s no doubt about that. I think that it invites investigation time and time again.” Of Wingfield, she added: “She’s a very complicated character to play.”

Field, 70, follows other celebrated actors who have landed on Broadway in recent years to tackle roles they had earlier tried on, including Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard, Jessica Lange in Long Day’s Journey Into Night, and Jeff Daniels in Blackbird.

Sally Field takes on her first starring role on Broadway as Amanda Wingfield, the Southern belle who lives partially in the past, in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. Tony Award-winning Joe Mantello shares the stage as her son.

Top of the acting trifecta Field won Academy Awards for Norma Rae and Places in the Heart, and was Oscar nominated for her Mary Todd in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln. She also spent five seasons in ABC’s “Brothers and Sisters,” winning an Emmy in its first season.

Field, whose only other appearance on Broadway was as a replacement in 2002 in The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia by Edward Albee, is a huge theater fan, seeing as much as she can, often multiple times.

The Glass Menagerie that has emerged at the Belasco Theatre is more bare-boned than previous productions, according to Field. “It isn’t your mother’s Glass Menagerie,” she said. “It is a harder look at it.”

“It’s all worth seeing. I think right now, American theater is really exciting. I think in New York — off-Broadway, on Broadway — it’s a very exciting time. And I might add, I think, an important time for artists, for voices, for what theater is — for the dangerous nature of theater.”

— AP

B E AC O N B I TS

May 5+

COMMUNITY THEATER Huguenot Community Players presents A Bad Year for Tomatoes by John Patrick from Friday, May 5 through Sunday, May 21. Fed up

with the pressures and demands of her acting career, the famous Myra Marlowe leases a house in the tiny New England hamlet of Beaver Dam, and settles down to write her autobiography. Friday through Saturday night performances begin at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday matinees begin at 2:30 p.m. Tickets cost $12. Huguenot United Methodist Church is located at 10661 Duryea Dr. For more information, visit huguenotcommunityplayers.com or call (804) 272-6820 (box 5).

F I F T Y P L U S — M AY 2 0 1 7

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Prioritize protecting our plant pollinators How do they know where to go?

Pollinators are typically looking for nectar.

Specific pollinators look for flowers that have adapted to that one specific pollinator (or a small group of pollinators) through their structure, color, scent/odor, and nectar guides. This is called pollination syndrome.

Where do pollinators live?

Pollinators are all around us. For example, native bees nest in thick grass, soil and wood. They are rarely kept in hives and generally do not make surplus honey or form large colonies.

One example of native pollinating bees is sweat bees, which take their name from their habit of landing on people and licking their skin.

Why are they important?

Imagine a world without apples, bananas, blueberries, chocolate, coffee, melons, peaches, potatoes, pumpkins, vanilla or almonds. Pollinators are responsible for a third

of what we eat every day!

Most fruit and vegetable crops, nuts, seeds, fiber crops (such as cotton), and hay to feed livestock rely on insects for pollination. The estimated value of animal-pollinated commodities that are directly or indirectly used by humans is in the billions of dollars in the United States alone.

When does pollination take place?

Pollination takes place when plants are in bloom. In Virginia, for most plants that’s in the spring and summer months. And it takes place when the flowers are open, which is typically during the day.

However, moths are active pollinators in the evening or at night. They are attracted to white sweet-scented flowers that we can smell from a long distance away. If you visit the American Southwest or a tropical rainforest, you may see flowers being pollinated by bats at night.

Why be concerned about pollinators now?

Pollinators are in trouble. More than 50 native bees are in documented decline, with nine in peril. The rusty patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis), native to Virginia, was placed on the endangered species list this spring. An iconic North American pollinator — the monarch butterfly — is in severe decline, down from a billion monarchs 20 years ago to 35 million today.

Exotic parasites, disease, pesticide use and misuse, and decreasing habitat may all be playing a role in pollinator decline.

What can we do to help the pollinators?

• Attend the Bumblebee Jamboree on Saturday, June 17, at Maymont Park (Carriage House lawn) to learn more about pollinators. This free family event is sponsored by the Chesterfield County Master Gardeners: http://bit.ly/BBJam17.

• Become more aware of pollinators nearby. Watch for them in your own backyard or in an area park. Note: Persons with bee alLELA MARTIN

LELA MARTIN

By Lela Martin Who are our plant pollinators?

There are more than 100,000 species of pollinators. Most people know that honey bees are pollinators, but bumblebees, solitary bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, ants, beetles, flies, midges, mosquitoes and even some slugs do their part as well.

About 1,000 are birds, bats, and other mammals who carry pollen, which they pick up inadvertently while feeding on the nectar of plants.

What do they do?

About 75 percent of all flowering plant species need the help of insects or animals to move their heavy pollen grains from plant to plant (or within a flower) for fertilization. Pollination results when the pollen from the male part of the flower (stamen) is moved to the female part (stigma) of the same or another flower and fertilizes it, resulting in the production of fruits and seeds.

LELA MARTIN

M AY 2 0 1 7 — F I F T Y P L U S

LEA MARTIN

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lergies should avoid close observations of pollinators. If you’re allergic or want to enjoy them on a rainy day, there are videos and podcasts at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service website: www.fws.gov/pollinators.

• Celebrate National Pollinator Week from June 19-25, 2017: http://pollinator.org/pollinatorweek/.

• Order a Protect Pollinators license plate through DMV: Bit.ly/PollinatorPlates • Reduce chemical misuse by using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) methods for managing pest problems in the landscape and in and around buildings. IPM focuses on pest prevention and using the least toxic chemicals, if any, to control pest issues.

Choose safer products or eliminate pesticides altogether. For example, intersperse marigolds with your tomato plants to keep pests at bay. Remove standing water rather than spraying for mosquitoes (which kills beneficial insects as well). The Virginia Cooperative Extension has thorough guides about IPM: pubs.ext.vt.edu/456/456-018/456-018.html.

• Reduce your grass lawn. Replace it with a pollinator garden. Choose plants native to Virginia. Native plants have been proven to be four times more attractive than non-natives to pollinators.

Choose flowers with a variety of shapes and colors. Include host plants for the larval stages (caterpillars of butter flies and moths), such as milkweed for monarch butterflies. Plant in drifts. Provide a succession of blooms throughout the season. This publication from the Clemson Cooperative Extension may help: http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/plants/other/landscaping/hgic1727.html.

• Encourage neighborhood associations and other groups to learn more about the importance of pollinators.

Lela Martin is a Master Gardener with the Chesterfield County office of the Virginia Cooperative Extension. www.FiftyPlusRichmond.com

Kevin Kline: Farce not as easy as it looks

By Mark Kennedy At a press event celebrating his return to Broadway, Kevin Kline wanted to be crystal clear on one topic: He’s not having a midlife crisis. He’s playing someone who’s having a midlife crisis.

“I’m way past my midlife crisis. I’m in my third,” the actor joked.

Kline is starring in Present Laughter, Noel Coward’s 1939 farce about an egomaniacal matinee idol in the midst of personal turmoil.

It’s all about dressing gowns, love affairs and witty repartee, but Kline says it’s really hard work.

“One of my friends said, ‘Noel Coward?

That’ll be a breeze for you.’ But I’ve never done it before. It’s not as easy as it looks,” he said. “It’s supposed to look easy but, in fact, it’s threading a needle.”

A comical look at stardom Kline, 69, plays Garry Essendine, an aging star who can’t answer the door without first checking his hair in a mirror.

The character is planning a trip to Africa, but is interrupted by a love-struck ingenue, a producer, his estranged wife, and a crazed young playwright. The title comes from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night — “Present youth hath present laughter.”

Described by the playwright himself as “a series of semi-autobiographical pyrotechnics,” the play has now been revived five times on Broadway and many times in London, star-

ring Ian McKellen, Albert Finney, Frank Langella, Victor Garber and Coward himself.

“It had always been on my list of parts because I saw it once and thought, ‘What a funny play and what a great part,’” said Kline.

“Someone who takes himself terribly seriously — those are funny characters.”

Kline, an Oscar- and two-time Tony Awardwinner, is being joined onstage at the St. James Theatre by Tony- and Emmy-nominee Kate Burton, Tony nominee Kristine Nielsen and, in her Broadway debut, Cobie Smulders.

Stuelpnagel said.

“He can make the low-brow seem highbrow and the high-brow seem low-brow. But he also has a sensitivity in his sad-clown way that helps add depth to this play.”

Kline has played an aging ham before —

particularly in 1991’s Soapdish — but said he relishes the chance to parody his art in a high-energy show onstage.

“It’s not falling off a log,” he said. “I hope it’ll look like it’ll be falling off a log.”

— AP

ANSWERS TO CROSSWORD

FROM PAGE 26 ANSWERS TO SCRABBLE

Sharing the stage with Kline The play marks the first time Smulders has worked with Kline. She said she’s adored him in films like In & Out and A Fish Called Wanda. She called him a dynamic and deeply interesting force onstage.

“I find him to be so fluid,” said Smulders, who was a cast member on the TV sit-com “How I Met Your Mother.”

“I don’t know if it’s his physicality or just the way that he is, he’s so quick to change and move and switch,” Smulders said.

Director Moritz von Stuelpnagel, who earned a Tony nomination directing Hand to God, said the Coward play is timely despite being 78 years old. He said it’s about how celebrity and success can change you.

Getting Klein onboard was icing on the cake. “I have asked him to do very little. He brings so many options and tools to the table that it has been a wonderful exploration,”

S O P H

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

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

T H R I L L E D

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O R I O O K E L I R E D

ANSWERS TO JUMBLE Jumbles: SMACK PARCH CATTLE GRISLY Answer: When he joined the dice game, his chances were -- "SHAKY"

PHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS

Kevin Kline is currently starring in Present Laughter, a 1939 Noel Coward farce about a self-obsessed actor in the midst of a mid-life crisis. In this scene, he is shown with television and film actress Cobie Smulders, in her Broadway debut.

Enjoy Fifty Plus?

Tell your friends. www.FiftyPlusRichmond.com

F I F T Y P L U S — M AY 2 0 1 7

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Crossword Puzzle Daily crosswords can be found on our website: www.TheBeaconNewspapers.com Click on Puzzles Plus Hi Mom! 1

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By Stephen Sherr 4

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Across 1. Brief request for help 4. Hi ___!

7. Singer Sean Lennon’s mom 10. The lowest prime number 13. Aboard the lead UFO 17. It may be “guilty” 18. Sea eagle 19. Church song 20. State abbrev. for Des Moines moms 22. Martian, on Earth 23. State abbrev. for Harrisburg moms 24. In poor health 25. Swallows swallows 29. State abbrev. for Baton Rouge moms 30. Dies (as a snowman) 33. 10 C-notes 34. Fail the smell test 35. May greeting 42. Elementary reader 50. Dot-based language 51. Tel Aviv tenant 52. It parts “a fool”, “his money” 53. Suggestion from thesaurus.com, briefly 54. Star Trek captain’s diary 55. M&M color, absent from 1976 - 1987

Down 1. One with a GPA 2. “One night ___!”

3. Rose handle 4. State abbrev. for Augusta moms 5. Foreboding sign

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Jumble answers on p. 25.

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Scrabble answers on p. 25.

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6. State abbrev. for Jefferson City moms 7. State abbrev. for Columbus moms 8. State abbrev. for Lincoln moms 9. State abbrev. for Salem moms 10. On cloud nine 11. ___ and dine 12. Accepting customers 14. What a bank robber might say 15. One from a multiple birth 16. Some eBay users 21. Battery, bond, or baseball classification 22. Set one’s sights on 25. Third-person verb suffix in the King James Bible 26. “I just solved the mystery” 27. Add ice cream to pie 28. Having no maternal instincts 31. Starbucks offering 32. Pie in the ___ 36. Pressure-brewed coffee 37. Still in utero 38. Raw fish dish 39. Feel free to put your mother’s initials here 40. Underwater breathing aid 41. Baltimore baseballer 42. Advanced degree 43. Tiny bit 44. Monogram reqs. for Lex Luther and Lois Lane 45. Ulysses S. Grant or Robert E. Lee 46. Source of the Beverly Hillbillies’ wealth 47. Unit of work in physics 48. “___ the land of the free ...”

49. User of a cheaper menu

Answers on page 25. www.FiftyPlusRichmond.com

www.FiftyPlusRichmond.com

F I F T Y P L U S â&#x20AC;&#x201D; M AY 2 0 1 7

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M AY 2 0 1 7 — F I F T Y P L U S

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