November 2013 Baltimore Beacon Edition

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Contemporary grandparenting

NOVEMBER 2013

I N S I D E …

PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER MEYERS

By Carol Sorgen Linda Litofsky is a very different grandparent from her own grandparents. “They were elderly!” the Quarry Lakes resident exclaimed.

And while Litofsky prefers not to give her age, elderly is the last word she would use to describe herself, either in terms of chronology or lifestyle. “I’m at the opposite end from my grandparents,” she said.

Though Litofsky has fond memories of her grandfather taking her to the theater, her grandmother, she recalled, didn’t drive and didn’t venture out much.

“We’re much more active in the outside world than our grandparents were,” Litofsky said of herself and her husband, Harvey.

The couple, who has eight grandchildren ranging in age from 2 to 18 — five here in Baltimore and three in New York — take the kids shopping, out to lunch, and for “special one-on-one days.” For the local grandkids, the Litofskys are available for school carpools and extracurricular activities, too.

“We’re very involved in their lives,” said Litofsky, who added that she sees her role as grandmother as that of a mentor, though she said with a laugh, “You never really know how much sinks in.”

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L E I S U R E & T R AV E L

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

A special bond Grandparenting is indeed a very special role, according to Dr. Arthur Kornhaber, founder of the California-based Foundation for Grandparenting.

He has written, “The grandparentgrandchild bond is a separate and unique human relationship, second only to the parent-child bond in emotional importance...The grandparent-grandchild relationship is a repository of the purest form of human love — unconditional love, nonjudgmental love, freely given simply because the person exists.”

According to Kornhaber, grandchildren learn things from their grandparents that they learn nowhere else. Contact with a beloved elder enhances a child’s emotional, physical and spiritual health. At the same time, it helps grandparents maintain their own mental and physical health, fosters a positive identity, and contributes to a sense of usefulness, empowerment and meaning to later life.

Linda Litofsky is surrounded by four of her eight grandchildren, from left, Ethan and Anya Litofsky, and Leah and Noah Glaser. Many of today’s longer-living, more active older adults enjoy forging a close relationship with their grandchildren, even if they live far apart.

Like Litofsky, today’s grandparents — approximately 70 million of them in the U.S. — are relatively young. The average age of grandparents in this country is now 48 (43 percent became grandparents in their 50s, 37 percent in their 40s).

They are also active: 43 percent exercise or play sports, 28 percent volunteer on a regular basis, and 18 percent dance.

Six out of ten still have a full-time or parttime job, and 23 percent have started their own business. Furthermore, a significant number, 72 percent, say they take care of their grandchildren on a regular basis.

a more important role in their grandchildren’s lives,” said Christine A. Mair, assistant professor of sociology at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).

According to Mair, there are several reasons for this, including the fact that nuclear families (that is, households consisting of the father, mother and their children) are less common today than in the past.

Recent census data indicate 7 percent of children under 18 today live in grandparent-headed households. And nearly 3 million grandparents in the U.S. provide all the care for their grandkids.

Another reason for the more significant

Longer, closer relationships “Over time, grandparents have taken on

See GRANDPARENTING, page 15

ARTS & STYLE

Charm City’s tradition of painted screens; plus, a Baltimore poet writes the libretto for a new opera about the Holocaust page 30

LAW & MONEY 3 k Take a bite out of restaurant tabs k European stocks on the rise FITNESS & HEALTH 9 k New variety of flu shot options k How to get your necessary Zzzs VOLUNTEERS & CAREERS 22 k Raising awareness of Crohn’s disease PLUS CROSSWORD, BEACON BITS, CLASSIFIEDS & MORE

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NOVEMBER 2013 — BALTIMORE BEACON

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With appreciation Each year, I look forward to fall, knowing from two national journalism competitions: that our annual 50+Expo can’t be far behind. the National Mature Media Awards and the I so relish the opportunity to North American Mature Pubspeak with hundreds of our lishers Association (NAMPA) readers in person and to see awards competition. you enjoying yourselves.

At the NAMPA convention There is nothing so heartthis year, our four editions of warming to a journalist as to the Beacon garnered so many meet readers and hear accoawards that they asked me to lades and appreciation for stay near the announcer so I our work, as well as construcwouldn’t hold up the proceedtive criticism and suggesings walking back and forth tions for future articles. from my seat!

Our 50+ Expo at the Silver FROM THE For example, for best ProSpring Civic Center was well- PUBLISHER file, Anne Ball won first place attended and hopping with By Stuart P. Rosenthal in the 20,000 copies and excitement. Our keynote was under category for a cover extremely well attended, our exhibit areas, story in our Howard County edition, “Denhealth screening and flu shot providers tist is astronomy rock star.” In the same were crowded all afternoon, and there size category, Connie George won third were people swaying and dancing to the place for a cover in our Coachella edition, sounds of our band and guest soloists.

“Born to be a lifelong showgirl.”

I want to thank all of you who attended, In the 20,001-50,000 category, Carol Sorand especially those who brought friends gen (contributing editor for our Baltimore and family along. I also want to thank our edition) won first place for her cover story exhibitors and sponsors (as well as our “A refugee’s artistic journey,” and Barbara hard-working staff) who make it possible Ruben (managing editor of all our edifor us to present this event each year. tions) won first place for “Her homes This is also a good time to note some re- change boys’ lives,” in the 50,001-100,000+ cent recognition the Beacon has received category, our Greater Washington edition.

Beacon The

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

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Publication of advertising contained herein does not necessarily constitute endorsement. Signed columns represent the opinions of the writers, and not necessarily the opinion of the publisher.

• Publisher/Editor ....................Stuart P. Rosenthal • Associate Publisher..............Judith K. Rosenthal • Vice President, Operations........Gordon Hasenei • Director of Sales ................................Alan Spiegel • Assistant Operations Manager ..........Roger King • Managing Editor............................Barbara Ruben • Contributing Editor ..........................Carol Sorgen • Graphic Designer ..............................Kyle Gregory • Advertising Representatives ............Steve Levin, ........................................................................Jill Joseph • Publishing Assistant ....................Rebekah Sewell

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Carol also won first place awards for her Arts Review stories, for a Community Service article, and second place for Feature Writing. Barbara also won first place awards for Feature Writing and for a Topical Issue story.

Two cover stories by Robert Friedman, who writes for our Howard County edition, also won first-place awards. The judges (from the University of Missouri School of Journalism) called his cover story, “Muslim community reaches out,” “a fine piece of journalism.”

Our travel writer, Victor Block won first place for his Travel Columns, and our new publishing assistant, Rebekah Sewell, won first place for her story in our Greater Washington Housing Options section about “Communities designed for military vets.”

Our theater reviewer, Michael Toscano, won first place for his “in-depth reviews” in our Washington edition, and in the Personal Essay category, both Bob Levey and I won awards for our regular columns.

Furthermore, both our Baltimore and Washington editions won General Excellence awards for their “inventive topics and entertaining features throughout,” and our Baltimore edition won Best of Show for amassing the most honors in its division.

While NAMPA focuses on 50+ newspapers across the United States, the National Mature Media Awards has an even broader reach. It’s the competition that is often swept by AARP’s Bulletin and Magazine entries.

Still, nearly every year we receive one or more Mature Media Awards, and this year we were thrilled to win seven: A Silver Award for my (somewhat controversial) column of last December, “The Time is Ripe,” urging efforts to address Social Security’s long-term issues, and a Bronze Award for another column of mine (addressing healthcare reform); three additional Bronze Awards — two of them for cover stories written by Barbara Ruben (“Her homes change boys’ lives” and “Pro-

viding kids good counsel”), one for a cover story from our Coachella Valley (Calif.) edition by Connie George (“Love after 50 still going strong”); and two Merit Awards — one for another cover story by Connie, and one in general recognition of our Greater Washington edition.

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

I want to conclude by expressing my thanks to, and admiration for, the entire Beacon staff, which works so diligently to produce our four editions every month. I’d like to thank them by name for their efforts and devoted contributions to the Beacon: Managing Editor Barbara Ruben, Contributing Editor Carol Sorgen, Director of Operations Gordon Hasenei, Director of Sales Alan Spiegel, Graphic Designer Kyle Gregory, Asst. Operations Manager (and webmaster) Roger King, Advertising Representatives Doug Hallock, Steve Levin, Cheryl Watts, Dan Kelly and Jill Joseph, Publishing Assistant Rebekah Sewell, and last but certainly not least, my wife and Associate Publisher Judy Rosenthal.

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

The Beacon would not exist without all of their efforts, nor without you reading our publications. My deepest appreciation goes to all of you.

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

Dear Editor: Your recent issues have had so many useful articles for seniors. Among those which I appreciated: Avoiding drug interactions with impact of aspirin and Vitamin E (these two meds could easily slip under the radar screen) for patients taking heart medications.

Drug expiration dates and impact on nitroglycerin and liquid medications.

Checklist prior to travel.

Steps to prevent losing height. I thought I was shorter at 71 than at 35, and wondered

what was going on and how fast it progressed.

Refreshing editorial on “Intractable problems.”

Other articles I have not had time to read and digest yet: robotic surgery, lab grown organs and good employers for seniors.

I also appreciated a recent essay on Mr. Rosenthal’s interaction with his father’s issues. It makes one feel comfortable that he is connected to aging seniors.

Keep up the good work!

John Stevens Via email

BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2013

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MANAGE YOUR FINANCES ONLINE Recommendations for the best online banks and budgeting sites

Money Law &

ALL THAT GLITTERS Gold prices have come way down; is it time to buy or be cautious?

EUROPEAN STOCKS ON THE RISE Stocks in western Europe are rallying, but beware of risks before buying REVERSE MORTGAGES The improving housing market makes reverse mortgages look better

9 ways restaurants get you to spend more

By Cameron Huddleston Times are tough for restaurants. The average check size has increased just 1.7 percent per year over the past five years, according to NPD Group, a market research firm.

That’s because diners are watching what they spend at restaurants by forgoing pricey extras, such as drinks and appetizers, said Bonnie Riggs, NPD Group’s restaurant industry analyst.

In response to penny-pinching patrons, restaurant owners are compelled to find creative ways to get customers to fork over more cash. With the help of restaurant industry veterans, consultants and researchers, we’ve identified nine common tactics — ranging from subtle to overt — designed to increase the cost of your next meal out: 1. The upsell Servers will attempt to upsell you during every step of the meal-ordering process to increase your bill, said David Bakke, a former restaurant manager who is now an editor for the blog Money Crashers (www.moneycrashers.com).

When you order a burger, for example, you’ll likely be asked whether you want cheese with it. Or if you order a steak, you

might be asked if you would like a side of creamed spinach. Price-conscious diners should ask immediately if proposed extras will add to the bill.

2. The downsell Beware a little reverse psychology from your server. Some restaurants will recommend lower-priced items on their menus — often with the good intention of providing better value and encouraging repeat visits.

Still, the approach can lead customers to spend more in total for several lowerpriced items than they might have spent on a single, higher-priced meal, said Tom Frank, one of the creators of the P.F. Chang’s restaurant concept, who advocates the value-selling approach.

3. Wordy menu descriptions Think $12.95 is too much to pay for a salad? What if it’s a Kentucky Bibb lettuce salad with heirloom tomatoes, Maytag blue cheese, crispy bacon and homemade bourbon-infused vinaigrette? Carefully crafted descriptions can soften the price in a customer’s head, said Gregg Rapp, a menu engineer with 31 years of experience helping restaurants increase profits.

In particular, descriptions that use geo-

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graphic labels (Austin Tex Mex), nostalgic terms (Uncle Bob’s barbecue), sensory triggers (sizzling, savory, creamy) and brand names (San Marzano tomatoes) are most effective at creating a sense of value for customers.

4. Menus without dollar signs Another way restaurants “soften� prices is to leave dollar signs off their menus, Rapp said. A study by researchers at Cornell University’s Center for Hospitality Research found that diners given a numeral-only menu spent 8.15 percent more, on average, than customers given a menu with dollar signs.

Rapp also advises restaurants to omit the dots that connect prices to items on menus.

The dots make it easier for patrons to scan menus for the cheapest price, then to follow the line of dots over to the item to order it.

5. Menu item placement Savvy restaurant owners will place items that they want to sell most in the top spot under each course offering, Rapp said.

Sometimes these items might be the highest-priced, such as lobster or foie gras.

Other times, the items in the top spots will carry the highest profit margin (think cheap ingredients such as pasta that can

be gussied up). Restaurants also will place boxes around higher-priced items to draw diners’ attention to them.

6. The daily special The daily special is pushed heavily by servers, Bakke said, because it often costs more than regular menu items and can carry a higher markup. But patrons might not realize this because the price of the special isn’t always printed in the menu.

Servers usually just rattle off a list of specials without quoting dollar figures. It’s then up to patrons to ask for the price of each special — or potentially face a costly surprise when the bill arrives.

7. Background music The music a restaurant plays can affect the amount of money you spend. A study

by Scottish researchers found that customers spent 23 percent more on food and drink when slow music was playing than when the soundtrack featured fast music.

And a separate study by British researchers found that restaurant tabs were 10.4 percent higher when classical music was played than when pop music was piped in.

See RESTAURANTS, page 4

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NOVEMBER 2013 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Consider banking and budgeting online

By Anya Kamenetz According to new research from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 51 percent of Americans bank online, and more than one-third do so using their mobile phone. This trend is growing, as younger and more educated folks are more likely to bank online.

There are some security concerns with online banking, but you can address them with simple measures. Make sure to access your account only from your personal, private computer, which should be running up-to-date software systems and antivirus protection.

Avoid clicking on any emails that look like they’re from a bank; you should navigate directly to the website of your bank or app. And monitor your account balances too: some of the apps mentioned below can flag suspicious activity.

Just about every bank out there has a website you can use to monitor your spending, set up automatic payments, transfer money from checking to savings and more.

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

Best conventional banks for online use Citi and WellsFargo have each topped ratings from Global Finance magazine, Consumer Reports and Forrester for the ease of navigability of their websites. They have special features (such as instant spending charts that put your spending into categories), automatic bill pay, and tools for budgeting and setting savings goals.

Citibank even lets you link your accounts from other financial institutions so

you can look at them all in one place. And they have apps for the iPad and iPhone.

Best online-only banks Yes, it is possible to do all your banking with no physical branch visits. Typically, online banks offer higher rates for savings accounts, and they waive ATM fees so you can take out cash wherever you want.

Consumer Reports rates Capital One 360, formerly ING Direct, as its top online-only bank, while Ally Bank, a unit of Ally Financial (the former GMAC), advertises great customer service and ranks high on Bankrate for savings (currently at 0.84 percent APR).

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

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ing expenses and keeping books.

However, if you want a few more bells and whistles, the consistently highest rated site by consumer publications is Mint.com, owned by Quicken. The budgeting site is free to use, supported by advertising offers. It fetches all your transactions from every checking, credit and investment account, categorizes them and shows them all in one place.

The budgeting tool allows you to set spending targets in each separate category, and then it alerts you when you go over. You can also get email or text alerts in case of a low balance in any account, or an unusual fee or overdraft charge. I’ve been using it since 2009, and the alerts can come in handy.

The newer site YouNeedABudget.com was recently voted tops by readers of the blog Lifehacker. For $60, you get a software package that will guide you step by step through tracking every dollar you earn, spend and save, adjusting budget projections as you go. YouNeedABudget.com claims its users experience a median net worth increase of $3,300 after nine months.

Best financial mobile apps The sites and services mentioned all have their own apps. You might also want to check out Check (formerly Pageonce), rated tops by PCMag, which allows you to schedule a bill payment or quickly check balances. And Spendee (www.spendeeapp.com) is a well-designed expense tracker worth considering.

Anya Kamenetz welcomes your questions at diyubook@gmail.com. © 2013 Anya Kamenetz. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Restaurants From page 3 8. Souvenir items Many restaurants — chain restaurants, in particular — make a lot of money selling souvenir items in addition to food. One source with 23 years of experience at a popular restaurant chain said that customers often don’t want to feel like they’re being pushed to buy a souvenir, though.

So when the source (he asked not to be named to protect his employment prospects in the industry) asks patrons whether they want a small or large cocktail, he tells them that they get to keep the glass if they order a large. Usually, he said, they go for the large.

9. Refills Because many restaurants don’t charge extra every time the server adds more coffee to your cup or iced tea to your glass, it’s easy to assume that refills will be free everywhere you go.

However, some restaurants charge for refills, but only divulge that fact in the menu’s fine print — or not at all. A table of four that orders refills during the meal and again during coffee service might unwittingly add $20 to a tab. © 2013, Kiplinger. All Rights Reserved.

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a reputable dealer, one that’s been around for 30 years and that’s listed with the Better Business Bureau,” he said.

You’ll pay a premium when you buy and sell the pieces. But Young said you shouldn’t pay more than a 5- to 6-percent premium over spot-gold prices when you buy, and you should accept no more than a 1- to 2-percent discount to spot prices when you sell. Store the coins in a safe-deposit box at the bank.

5. Or invest in an exchange-traded fund. Many so-called gold bugs have chosen to buy shares in an ETF, such as iShares Gold Trust (symbol IAU), which tracks the price of gold by buying bullion.

Note that the IRS considers gold a collectible and gives it special tax treatment.

When you sell your shares, your gains will be taxed at your ordinary income rate, up to a maximum of 28 percent, if you’ve held the shares for more than a year. If you sell your shares within a year of buying them, your profits will be taxed as ordinary income, up to 39.6 percent.

6. Gold stocks are riskier. Prices of

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By Nellie S. Huang 1. Solid gold is not always solid. The price of bullion peaked in September 2011 at nearly $1,900 an ounce. But gold fell to $1,230 in early July, and is now trading around $1,270. Among the factors that could continue to weigh down gold: a strong dollar, a surging stock market, and tepid economic growth around the world.

2. Defense, defense. Think of gold as a hedge against unexpected, catastrophic financial events. For example, the credit downgrade of U.S. debt and worry about a Greek default fueled a 44-percent rally in gold prices in the first nine months of 2011.

3. A little bit goes a long way. Many experts say a small exposure to gold — from 1 percent to 5 percent of your portfolio — can be a good long-term portfolio diversifier whether prices move up or down.

That’s because gold tends to move out of sync with stocks and bonds.

4. You could start your own treasure chest. Consider buying the actual metal in one-ounce coins, such as American Eagles, said Alec Young, global equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ. “Buy through

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NOVEMBER 2013 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Why European stocks are popular again

By Stan Choe The world is warming up to Europe again.

Stocks from Germany, France and other countries in the region are rallying, just two years after worries about Europe’s debt crisis helped send global markets plunging.

Investors are buying into the promise made a year ago that the European Central Bank would do “whatever it takes” to preserve the euro currency. The 17 countries

that use the euro also are showing signs that they can break out of their longestrunning recession.

“Yes, the worst is over,” said Philippe Brugere-Trelat, portfolio manager of the Mutual Global Discovery fund (TEDIX), which has a five-star rating from Morningstar. “And I don’t think that markets have priced in this fact.”

Economies bouncing back Brugere-Trelat is among the European

stock fund managers who say the region’s stocks can climb still further, even though several risks remain. Among the encouraging signs: • Strengthening business conditions. A closely watched measure of business activity in the Eurozone, the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), grew in August for the first time since January 2012.

• Expectations for a stronger economy. Europe’s economy has shrunk for six straight quarters, but economists expect the recession to break in the second half of this year.

• The European Central Bank is supporting the recover y. The bank’s

leader, Mario Draghi, said in July 2012 that he would do whatever it takes to keep the Eurozone from breaking up. Inflation has also remained low in Europe. It was at an annual rate of 1.3 percent in August. That gives the ECB leeway to keep interest rates low to stimulate the economy.

• The region still looks attractive relative to other parts of the world.

Stocks in the MSCI Europe index trade at 14.5 times their earnings per share over the last 12 months. That’s less expensive than the MSCI USA index, which trades at 17.4 times. European stocks also offer See EUROPEAN STOCKS, page 7

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Nov. 15

TRASH OR TREASURE?

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Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money

BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2013

Gold From page 5 gold stocks are often more volatile than the price of the metal itself. For example, over the first four months of the year, the price of bullion declined 16 percent; by contrast, an index of the biggest U.S. gold

European stocks From page 6 higher dividend yields: 3.5 percent versus 2.1 percent for U.S. stocks.

Mutual funds that focus only on European stocks are up 27.5 percent over the last 12 months, including dividends, according to Morningstar. That beats the 23.8 percent return for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index over the same period.

Germany’s stock index is close to a record, and the broad MSCI Europe index is near its highest level since 2008.

The improved performance means investors are no longer fleeing European stock funds as much as they once were. Investors pulled $6 million out of the category in June, according to data from Morningstar. That’s a much milder pace than the average $100 million that investors were pulling out of European stock funds monthly in 2011.

Among the first stocks to recover following the European stock sell-off in the summer of 2011 were those based in the region but that do business all over the world. They were thought to be better bets because they could rely on growth from Asia and other areas to offset European weakness. “Those big global exporters are last year’s story,” said Brugere-Trelat.

He’s focusing instead on companies that do much of their business within Europe, saying that they offer better values. He owns retailers like Kingfisher, a Londonbased home-improvement chain, and German retailer Metro, for example.

mining stocks plunged 36 percent.

Nellie S. Huang is a senior associate editor at Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. Send your questions and comments to moneypower@kiplinger.com. And for more on this and similar money topics, visit www.Kiplinger.com. © 2013 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

Risks remain “It’s not too late at all to buy European stocks, but don’t buy something just because it’s European,” Brugere-Trelat said.

“There are some value traps and pitfalls.”

As with other regional stock funds, investors should keep only a small portion of their portfolios in a European stock mutual fund, said Karin Anderson, a senior fund analyst with Morningstar. That’s particularly the case if they already own broad global or world stock mutual funds, which often have hefty investments in European stocks.

Investors also still face risks in the region. The unemployment rate remains high at 12.1 percent for the 17 countries that use the euro currency. Earnings for stocks in the S&P Europe 350 index are expected to be flat in 2013 from a year earlier, according to S&P Capital IQ. And even optimists say that they can’t rule out another political breakdown or unexpected shock that could renew worries about European governments’ stillheavy debt burdens.

But the list of concerns could actually be a reason to consider European stocks, because it shows that expectations haven’t climbed too high.

Just as the market underestimates how much earnings can fall into a recession, it often underestimates the recovery, said Andrew Clifton, portfolio specialist for European equities at T. Rowe Price.

“As always, it’s about where expectations are,” he said, “and we would say they’ve been too pessimistic.”

— AP

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Join legislative representatives from Congressman John Sarbanes’ office to get answers to questions that affect you. A representative comes to the Myerberg Senior Center, 3101 Fallstaff Rd., the second Tuesday of every month from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. There is no charge. Call (410) 358-1816 or visit www.myerberg.org for more information.

Oct. 31

OFF TO WILMINGTON

Spend the day at Delaware Park Casino on Thursday, Oct. 31. This trip, hosted by Catonsville Senior Center, includes $30 coin return.

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Law & Money | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

NOVEMBER 2013 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Reasons to give reverse mortgages a look Ever since the housing boom and boost, Transform equity to cash the real estate market has been clawing its The firming housing market has way back from the bottom. brought reverse mortgages For those keeping track, back into the spotlight. A reprices peaked in 2006 before verse mortgage is a home dropping by over 30 percent loan that allows homeowners nationally and far more in 62 and older to convert a porsome markets. tion of the equity in their Housing bottomed out in homes into cash, as long as January 2012, almost three the home remains their priyears after the stock market. mary residence.

The reason for the lag is simMost reverse mortgages are ple: a house is an illiquid asset, offered through the Departwhich makes it more difficult RETIRE SMART ment of Housing and Urban to sell than a publicly traded By Jill Schlesinger Development and are guaranstock or stock mutual fund.

This year, activity has picked up, and prices are finally rising. This is good news for those who were counting on selling their homes and/or using equity to help supplement their retirement income.

teed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) through a program called Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM). FHA provides online counselors as well as valuable information by phone at 1-800-569-4287.

The borrower is required to continue to

pay real estate taxes, utilities and hazard and flood insurance premiums.

The amount you can borrow depends on several factors, including the age of the youngest borrower, the current interest rate, the appraised value of your home and whether the rate is fixed or adjustable. The more valuable your home is, the older you are and the lower the interest rate, the more you can borrow.

If the home is sold or no longer used as a primary residence, or if the borrower dies, then the loan, the accumulated interest and other HECM finance charges must be repaid.

All proceeds beyond the amount owed belong to your spouse or estate. If the house sells for less than the money owed, the FHA takes the loss — no debt is passed along to the estate or heirs.

Unlike a traditional mortgage, there’s

currently no lengthy underwriting process, and you don’t make monthly principal and interest payments.

Will it be harder to qualify?

But the reverse mortgage market could change in the coming months.

The FHA has informed Congress that the housing market crash has meant that some reverse mortgage borrowers don’t have enough money to pay their property taxes and homeowners insurance. Since failure to do so allows the lender to foreclose on the home, this has led to a number of tragic situations.

To shore up the system and reduce the risk of foreclosures, FHA wants to introduce some form of financial assessment to the process as well as a cap on the amount of money that can be extracted from the home’s value.

To change the current system, FHA needs congressional approval. The House gave these new ideas a thumbs up earlier in the summer, but it’s unclear whether the Senate will follow suit.

In essence, a reverse mortgage can help retirees convert an illiquid asset — a house — into a liquid one that can help supplement retirement income, which explains why at least 595,000 households have an outstanding reverse-mortgage loan, according to the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association.

But there is, of course, a downside: Younger retirees who use them may run out of money and options at too young an age. These folks may have been better off selling their homes and using the equity to purchase another home or rent. Additionally, it may make sense to spend other assets before extracting home equity via a reverse mortgage.

Another consideration is the cost, which may be far less expensive than it was a few years ago but can still total 2 to 3 percent of the loan amount.

It’s also important to remember that reverse mortgage payouts also can impact a borrower’s eligibility for means-tested benefits programs, like Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and/or Medicaid.

If you are serious about a reverse mortgage, consult a registered investment adviser or an attorney, who can help determine if it is in your best interest.

Jill Schlesinger, CFP, is the Emmy-nominated, Senior Business Analyst for CBS News. She welcomes comments and questions at askjill@jillonmoney.com. © 2013 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

Tell them you saw it in the Beacon!

BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2013

Say you saw it in the Beacon

Health Fitness &

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REVERSING MEMORY LOSS Mouse studies show that boosting a protein may improve memory GET YOUR ZZZs Adequate sleep is vital for a strong immune system and healthy heart YOUR HEART’S BEST FRIEND Studies show that owning a dog can keep you healthy and reduce stress DINNER DELIVERED New companies deliver dinner ingredients to your door, ready to cook

New flu vaccines offer tailored protection

By Lauran Neergaard Flu vaccination is no longer merely a choice between a jab in the arm or a squirt in the nose. This fall, some brands promise a little extra protection.

For the first time, certain vaccines will guard against four strains of flu rather than the usual three. Called quadrivalent vaccines, these brands may prove more popular for children (who tend to catch the newly added strain more often) and older adults.

These four-in-one vaccines are so new that they’ll make up only a fraction of the nation’s supply of flu vaccine, so if you want a dose, better start looking early.

Many options, more confusion But that’s only one of an unprecedented number of flu vaccine options available this year.

Allergic to eggs? Egg-free shots are hitting the market, too.

Plus there’s growing interest in shots brewed just for those 65 and older, and a brand that targets the needle-phobic with just a skin-deep prick.

“We’re moving away from the one-sizefits-all to choosing the best possible vaccine for an individual’s age and condition,” said Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious disease specialist at the Mayo Clinic.

“The flip side of that,” he said, is that “this will be a confusing year” as doctors and consumers alike try to choose.

Federal health officials recommend a yearly flu vaccine for nearly everyone,

starting at 6 months of age. On average, about 24,000 Americans die each flu season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some questions and answers about the different vaccine varieties to choose from: Q: What’s the difference between those new four-strain vaccines and the regular kind?

A: For more than 30 years, the vaccine has offered protection against three influenza strains — two common Type A strains called H1N1 and H3N2, and one strain of Type B. Flu strains continually evolve, and the recipe for each year’s vaccine includes the subtypes of those strains that experts consider most likely to cause illness that winter.

Type A flu causes more serious disease and deaths, especially the H3N2 form that made last year such a nasty flu season. But the milder Type B flu does sicken people every year as well, and can kill.

Two distinct Type B families circulate the globe, making it difficult to know which to include in each year’s vaccine.

Adding both (as in the quadrivalent vaccines) solves the guesswork, and a CDC model estimates it could prevent as many as 485 deaths a year depending on how much Type B flu is spreading.

Q: How can I tell if I’m getting the four-strain vaccine?

A: All of the nasal spray version sold in the U.S. this year will be this new variety, called FluMist Quadrivalent. The catch is that the nasal vaccine is only for healthy

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people ages 2 to 49 who aren’t pregnant.

If you prefer a flu shot, ask the doctor or pharmacist if the four-strain kind is available. Younger children, older adults, pregnant women and people with chronic health conditions all can use flu shots.

Four-strain versions are sold under the names Fluzone Quadrivalent, Fluarix Quadrivalent and FluLaval Quadrivalent.

Manufacturers anticipate producing between 135 million and 139 million doses of flu vaccine this year. Only about 30 million doses will offer the four-strain protection.

Q: Who should seek it?

A: Type B flu tends to strike children more than the middle-aged, Poland noted.

And he said it’s not a bad idea for seniors, who are more vulnerable to influenza in general. But the CDC doesn’t recommend one vaccine variety over another, and the American Academy of Pediatrics said either kind is fine — just get vaccinated.

Q: How are these new vaccines different from the high-dose flu shot for seniors?

A: Fluzone High-Dose protects against the traditional three strains of flu, but it quadruples the standard vaccine dose in

an effort to rev up age-weakened immune systems that don’t respond as actively to regular flu shots.

The government calls the high-dose shot an option for seniors, not one that’s proved better. Fluzone maker Sanofi Pasteur said initial results from a study of 30,000 seniors vaccinated over the past two flu seasons suggest the high-dose shot is about 24 percent more effective. Federal health officials will have to review the full study results to see if they agree.

Q: What if I’m allergic to eggs?

A: Traditional flu vaccine is made from viruses grown in eggs, and specialists say it’s usually not a problem unless someone has a serious egg allergy. But the new FluBlok vaccine eliminates that concern because it is made with cell technology, like many other non-flu vaccines. So far, it’s only for use in people ages 18 to 49.

Q: What if I’m scared of needles?

A: If you don’t qualify for the ouchless nasal spray vaccine, there is one shot made with a teeny-tiny needle that pricks the skin instead of muscle. Called Fluzone See FLU VACCINES, page 10

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Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

NOVEMBER 2013 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Might memory loss be treatable someday?

By Lauran Neergaard Scientists have found a compelling clue in the quest to learn what causes age-related memory problems, and to one day be able to tell whether those misplaced car keys are an early warning sign of Alzheimer’s.

A new report offers evidence that agerelated memory loss is a distinct condition from pre-Alzheimer’s — and offers a hint that what we now consider the normal forgetfulness of old age might eventually be treatable.

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center in New York examined brains, young and old ones, donated from people who died without signs of neurologic disease. They discovered that a certain

gene in a specific part of the hippocampus, the brain’s memory center, quits working properly in older people. It produces less of a key protein.

That section of the brain, called the dentate gyrus, has long been suspected of being especially vulnerable to aging. Importantly, it’s a different neural neighborhood than where Alzheimer’s begins to form.

But it’s circumstantial evidence that having less of that protein, named RbAp48, affects memory loss in older adults. So the researchers took a closer look at mice, which become forgetful as they age in much the same way that people do.

Sure enough, cutting levels of the protein made healthy young rodents lose their way in mazes and perform worse on other

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memory tasks just like old mice naturally do.

Reversing memory loss More intriguing, the memory loss was reversible: Boosting the protein made forgetful old mice as sharp as the youngsters again, the researchers reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

“It’s the best evidence so far” that agerelated memory loss isn’t the same as early Alzheimer’s, said Nobel laureate Dr. Eric Kandel, who led the Columbia University team.

And since some people make it to 100 without showing much of a cognitive slowdown, the work brings another question: “Is that normal aging, or is it a deterioration that we’re allowing to occur?” Kandel asked.

“As we want to live longer and stay engaged in a cognitively complex world, I

Flu vaccines From page 9

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Intradermal, it’s available for 18- to 64year-olds, and protects against the usual three strains.

Q: How soon should I be vaccinated?

A: Early fall is ideal, as it’s impossible to predict when flu will start spreading and it takes about two weeks for protection to

think even mild age-related memory decline is meaningful,” added Columbia neurologist Dr. Scott Small, a senior author of the study. “It opens up a whole avenue of investigation to now try to identify interventions.”

This is early-stage research that will require years of additional work to confirm, cautioned Dr. Molly Wagster of the National Institute on Aging, who wasn’t involved with the report.

But Wagster said the findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting “that we’re not all on the road to Alzheimer’s disease” after we pass a certain age.

For example, other researchers have found that connections between neurons in other parts of the brain weaken with normal aging, making it harder but not impossible to retrieve memories. In contrast, Alzheimer’s kills neurons.

— AP kick in. But later isn’t too late; flu season typically peaks in January or February.

Q: How much does flu vaccine cost?

A: The vaccine is covered by insurance, and Medicare and some plans don’t require a co-pay. Drugstore vaccination programs tend to charge about $30; expect the quadrivalent versions to be slightly more expensive.

— AP

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Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2013

11

Adequate sleep is vital for good health

By Gretel H. Schueller Can’t get enough sleep? You’re not alone. An estimated 50 to 70 million U.S. adults don’t get enough sleep, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

But hold that yawn! We’ve got five reasons why you need to get enough sleep for your health — and most importantly, seven sleep remedies to help you get more shut-eye. [See sidebar on next page.]

How much sleep do you need? Aim for seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Being well-rested makes you more alert and keeps your brain sharp. (When you’re tired, some brain cells actually nod off during the day.)

Sleep also gives you more energy overall.

But sleep does so much more.

Health benefits 1. A stronger immune system Skimping on sleep can compromise your immune system. A 2012 article in the journal Sleep reported that sleep deprivation had the same effect on the immune system as physical stress — such as from an illness or surgery, or grieving for a loved one.

After sleeping eight hours a night for one week, the men in the study were kept awake for 29 hours. This major sleep deprivation caused an increase in certain

white bloods cells that are key players in immune activity.

Another recent study published in the same journal found that shorter sleep duration adversely affected study participants’ responses to a standard hepatitis B vaccination. Researchers suggest this decreased antibody response may explain why people who don’t get enough sleep are more susceptible to infectious diseases.

2. Healthier heart When it comes to heart health, research definitely supports the need for a good snooze. Adults who regularly sleep less than six hours a night have an increased risk of developing high blood pressure and having heart attacks compared to those who sleep seven to eight hours per night.

Similarly, a large Swedish study reported recently in the European Journal of Epidemiology found an association between short sleep duration (five hours or less per night) and increased cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke.

On the other hand, going much beyond seven or eight hours of sleep each night might also be harmful. Recent studies have shown an association between excessive sleep (more than nine hours a night for adults) and cardiovascular disease.

In one study, researchers observed elevated levels of C-reactive protein — an in-

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dicator of heart disease — both in women who slept five or fewer hours and also (and even more markedly) in those who slept nine or more hours.

3. Trimmer waist If you don’t sleep enough, you will probably gain weight, or at least find it more difficult to lose.

Plenty of research confirms that adults who sleep less than six hours a night are at higher risk of being overweight. (Among children, sleeping less than 10 hours can

cause unhealthy weight gain.)

According to a recent study at the University of Colorado, the effect of sleep may be even more powerful than we realized.

The new study indicates that even just a few sleepless nights in a row can cause almost instant weight gain. Participants gained on average two pounds after one week of five-hour nights. Granted, the study was small — 16 men and women were tracked for two weeks — but it may See SLEEP, page 12

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Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

Sleep From page 11 have real-world implications.

One reason for this weight gain is because a lack of sleep increases hunger and appetite. Researchers have found a biochemical reason for this: Insufficient sleep can decrease levels of leptin — a hormone that tells us when we’ve eaten enough and suppresses appetite — and increase ghrelin, a hormone that signals the body to eat by stimulating hunger.

Not only does lack of sleep trigger appetite, it also increases the craving for high-fat, high-carbohydrate foods — aka junk foods. Researchers at Harvard University, for example, found that if you’ve missed even just an hour or two of sleep, you’re more likely to give in to junk food the next day.

4. Lower diabetes risk Over the long term, sleep deprivation increases the risk of serious health problems, including type 2 diabetes. Various studies have shown, for instance, that how much we sleep can affect blood sugar levels. Not getting enough sleep can cause an increase in insulin resistance, making it harder to metabolize blood sugar properly.

(Insulin is a key blood-sugar-regulating hormone.)

A 2012 study is the first to record this effect at the cellular level. Although it was a small study, with just seven participants, researchers were able to see how insufficient sleep shrinks the ability of fat cells to respond to insulin.

With meals strictly controlled, the seven healthy men and women snoozed 8.5 hours for four nights in a sleep lab. Then for the next four nights, they were restrict-

NOVEMBER 2013 — BALTIMORE BEACON

ed to 4.5 hours of sleep.

The researchers found that sensitivity to insulin in fat cells decreased 30 percent after participants slept less. This means that those sleep-deprived fat cells needed roughly three times as much insulin in order to activate an enzyme (called Akt) that plays an important role in regulating blood sugar.

When this sort of insulin resistance becomes chronic, it can cause excess sugar and cholesterol to accumulate in the blood, thereby increasing the risk of diabetes and other health problems, such as

metabolic syndrome.

5. Younger skin If these reasons aren’t enough for you, how about cosmetic ones?

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

EatingWell is a magazine and website devoted to healthy eating as a way of life. Online at www.eatingwell.com. © 2013 Eating Well, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

BEACON BITS

Nov. 2

AFRICAN AMERICANS & MEMORY LOSS

Attend the African American Community Forum on Memory Loss, Saturday, Nov. 2, from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at Coppin State University (2500 W. North Ave.). The forum will inform the community about memory loss, support caregivers, and share the promise of research. Health screenings will include dental health, nutrition and blood pressure. Admission is free and includes continental breakfast and lunch; registration is required by Oct. 28. To register, call the Alzheimer’s Association at (410) 561-9099 or visit www.alz.org/maryland.

Oct. 30

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT JOINT REPLACEMENT

St. Joseph Medical Center sponsors this workshop for anyone contemplating or already committed to having a total joint replacement, as well as their caregivers. The workshop is free and will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 30, from 1 to 3 p.m. on the St. Joseph Towson campus at 7506 Osler Dr. Admission is free, but registration is required. Call (410) 427-2279.

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Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

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NOVEMBER 2013 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Drug safely cuts risk of prostate cancer

By Marilynn Marchione Long-term results from a major federal study ease worries about the safety of a hormone-blocking drug that can lower a man’s chances of developing prostate cancer.

The drug cut prostate cancer risk by a third without raising the risk of dying of an aggressive form of the disease as earlier results hinted it might.

The new work could prompt a fresh look at using the drug for cancer prevention. Experts say it could prevent tens of thousands of cases each year, saving many men from treatments with seriously unpleasant side effects.

The drug is sold as Proscar by Merck & Co. and in generic form as finasteride to treat urinary problems from enlarged

prostates. It’s also sold in a lower dose as Propecia to treat hair loss.

Did it cause aggressive tumors?

A decade ago, the drug was found to cut the risk of prostate cancer. But there was a small rise in aggressive tumors among its users. Some researchers said that by shrinking the prostate, the drug was just making these tumors easier to find in a biopsy sample — not causing them.

But the concern led the Food and Drug Administration to turn down the drug for cancer prevention, and to add warnings to its label.

Now, with 18 years of follow-up from that earlier study, researchers report that men on the drug were no more likely to

die than those not taking it.

That’s reassuring because if the drug were truly spurring lethal tumors, there would have been more deaths among its users as time went on, said Dr. Michael LeFevre, a family physician at the University of Missouri.

LeFevre wrote an editorial that appeared with the study in the New England Journal of Medicine. He is one of the leaders of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of doctors who advise the federal government. The group has not taken a stance on finasteride for prevention, but has advised against screening with PSA blood tests.

Screening does more harm than good, the panel has said, because although 240,000 new prostate cancers are diagnosed each year in the United States, only about 30,000 prove fatal. That means many men are treated for cancers that grow too slowly to be life-threatening, and often suffer sexual and urinary problems as a result.

New study ends doubts

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The study, led by Dr. Ian Thompson at the Cancer Therapy and Research Center in San Antonio, was done to see whether finasteride could lower the risk of prostate cancer in men who were getting screened with annual PSA blood tests, as many still choose to do.

Researchers assigned 18,882 men 55 or older with no sign of prostate cancer on blood tests or a physical exam to take either finasteride or dummy pills for seven years. When the study ended, those who had not been diagnosed with prostate cancer were offered biopsies to check for hidden signs of the disease.

For the new analysis, researchers tracked the study participants for a longer time — 18 years in all since enrollment began.

Only about 10 percent of men on finasteride developed prostate cancer versus 15 percent of those on dummy pills. Aggressive tumors were found in 3.5 percent of men on the drug versus 3 percent of the others. Yet 78 percent of both groups were alive after 15 years.

That means the drug cannot be recommended to prolong life, but it might ease suffering by preventing disease, LeFevre said.

“You may be preventing cancers that don’t need to be prevented” because so few are life-threatening, but screening is finding these tumors anyway and leading to unnecessary treatments, he said. Reducing that number is a valid reason to use a prevention drug, he said.

Finasteride’s other impact is financial.

Proscar and a similar drug, GlaxoSmithSee PROSTATE DRUG, page 15

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Grandparenting From page 1 role grandparents now play in their grandchildren’s life is simply that we’re living longer. “We have more shared time together to reinforce that relationship,” said Mair.

While a close relationship between grandparent and grandchild is certainly beneficial for the child, research shows it can be equally beneficial for the grandparent, with improved emotional and physical health from remaining active and involved with others, Mair said.

She cautioned, however, that for grandparents who may be involuntarily more involved in their families’ lives, be it from a financial and/or caregiving standpoint, their health can suffer with such problems as depression and anxiety.

Fortunately, that’s not at all the case with Connie and Frank Hess. Both still work full-time — Connie, 55, is a banker, and Frank, 57, is an inspector with Exelon (formerly BGE). They are “thrilled” about being active, involved grandparents to 9month-old Reagan and newborn Benson.

Connie Hess uses her vacation time from work to spend every Monday with her granddaughter, and when the baby is old enough to join them, she’ll be happy to care for him, too.

She enjoys taking Reagan for outings, such as to the nearby petting zoo. And as the little ones get older, she and her husband plan to include them in their own active lifestyle.

Like Litofsky, Hess recalls her grandparents, whom she lost when she was young, as being “old and sedentary.”

“We didn’t do things,” she recalled. “We

Prostate drug From page 14 Kline PLC’s Avodart, cost about $4 a pill.

Generic finasteride is available for less. Insurers cover it when prescribed to treat urinary problems, but may not pay if it’s

•

visited.” Hess sees this contemporary generation of grandparents as much more active, youthful and useful — both in society in general and with their grandchildren in particular.

Long-distance grandparenting Simple logistics often keep grandparents who live some distance from their grandchildren from being involved on a daily basis. But they can make up for it in other ways.

For example, Elizabeth Beil’s two granddaughters — Ariana, 5, and Emie, 3 — live in Charlotte, N.C. So while Beil and her husband Matthew can’t be there for carpools, they are the go-to grandparents when the kids’ parents go on vacation twice a year for a week or two and bring them to “Mama B and Big Pop.” Beil, who is 64 and lives in Ellicott City, was worried that not living near her grandchildren might mean that the youngsters wouldn’t understand their family connection. But trusting her experience as a psychologist, Beil traveled to Charlotte as often as she could when the girls were very little so that they would get to know them and the special place they have in each other’s lives.

“I was ‘crazy excited’ to become a grandmother,” Beil recalled, but found that this new role has caused her to reexamine her own experience as both a parent and a grandparent.

“I’m more confident and less anxious now,” said Beil, but there is also a wistful envy of her daughter’s parenting situation.

used solely for cancer prevention.

The drug also can cause hot flashes, fatigue, weakness, low sex drive and trouble having sex.

“A man certainly needs to know what he’s getting into if he decides to take this,” LeFevre said.

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Beil lost her first husband at a young age and recognized even then that she was both parenting and grieving at the same time.

She envies her daughter and other young mothers for the opportunity they have to enjoy their young ones. “They’re having more fun,” said Beil. But now, so is she.

Many grandparents say that this new role strengthens their relationship with their grown offspring. Beil, for example, recounts how touched her daughter was when Beil told her that she was a good mother. “I didn’t know how important my feedback would be to her,” Beil said.

15

Become a better grandparent Connie Hess also said that being a grandmother has strengthened her already close bonds with her son. “We see him more often, and we have more family time together,” she said.

To make the most of being a grandparent, Stella Maris geropsychologist Barbara Ensor recommends preparing ahead of time. Develop a good relationship with your own kids so that the grandchildren will be included in that relationship.

She also noted that it’s helpful to be conSee GRANDPARENTING, page 16

16

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NOVEMBER 2013 — BALTIMORE BEACON

A dog could be your heart’s best friend

By Daniel DeNoon My twice-daily walks with my border collie, Clair DeNoon, are the highlights of my day. A new report from the American Heart Association will put an extra spring in my steps on these walks. It turns out that having a canine companion may help lower my risk of heart disease.

Studies linking pet ownership to better physical and mental health have been popping up for decades. The findings were usually encouraging to pet owners, but

Grandparenting From page 15 fident in your own skills, and to know your

none of these studies offered conclusive proof.

Although that’s still lacking, a panel of experts from the American Heart Association (AHA) has weighed all the available evidence. The verdict: Having a pet — a dog in particular — likely lowers the risk of heart disease.

Exercise and affection “People who have dogs live longer than people who have cats, and the assumption limitations so you’re not overcommitted or taking on more than you’re capable of.

Most grandparents-to-be are thrilled to find out another generation is on the way.

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has been that dogs naturally cause their owners to be more active,” suggested Dr. Thomas Lee, co-editor in chief of the Harvard Heart Letter. “The emotional benefits of having an affectionate creature are also one of the theories for why dog-lovers live longer.”

The evidence reviewed by the AHA indicates that dog owners are more likely to exercise, have a better cholesterol profile, have lower blood pressure, be less vulnerable to the physical effects of stress, and

be more likely to survive a heart attack.

Or it could be the other way around, pointed out Dr. Lee, a cardiologist and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. It’s possible that healthier people — or those who are making the kinds of lifestyle changes that reduce heart risk — are more likely to have a dog than are people in frail health.

The AHA panel could not rule out this

“It’s a gift we’ve been given,” said licensed clinical social worker Janet Kurland, senior care specialist at Jewish Community Services (JCS).

But still there are issues that can arise.

These range from the feeling that you’re too young to be a grandparent, to what the grandchildren should call you, to how to adjust to your children’s parenting skills.

Books (Kurland likes A Boomer’s Guide to Grandparenting), websites (such as www.grandparenting.com and grandparenting.org), and support groups are available.

Kurland, who has five grandchildren ranging from 4 to 21 years old, sees grandparenting as a multifaceted role. “You’re a playmate, a friend, a listener, teacher, comforter and family historian,” she said.

With all those roles, “grandparenting

can be exhausting,” Kurland admitted, especially for so many boomer grandparents who want to be as involved as possible with their grandchildren.

But it’s more than worth it, Kurland said. “When you look at them, there’s your future.”

The JCS is sponsoring a discussion on “Grandparenting in the 21st Century” on Sunday, Oct. 27, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the JCC in Owings Mills, 3506 Gwynnbrook Ave. There, Kurland will facilitate a discussion about how to balance your needs, time and values with those of your adult children and grandchildren.

The discussion is free and open to the community. For more information and registration, visit www.jcsbaltimore.org/parenting-series or call (410) 843-7568.

See DOGS, page 17

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BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2013

Dogs From page 16 possibility. It admitted it can’t tell whether owning a dog causes heart health or is merely a marker for people more likely to have healthy hearts.

Even so, the panel’s cautious recommendation favors dogs: “Pet ownership, particularly dog ownership, may be reasonable for reduction in cardiovascular disease risk.” The statement on pet ownership was published online in the journal Circulation.

If it were just about companionship, maybe dogs wouldn’t beat cats. But while

the data show that dog owners get more physical activity than people who don’t own dogs, the evidence is pretty convincing that ownership isn’t enough.

A 2008 study of 2,199 people found that those who owned a dog — but didn’t walk it — were actually more likely to be obese than people who didn’t own a dog. Dog walkers, on the other hand, were much less likely to be obese, although they were no less likely to be overweight than their petless peers.

Better response to stress But it’s not all about physical activity. A 2001 study looked at 48 people with high

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Ongoing

blood pressure and high-stress jobs who agreed to adopt a dog or a cat if so asked.

Half did, and six months later those who got a dog or cat had significantly lower blood pressure when stressed.

Getting a dog also seems to help even if you already have heart disease. A 1995 study followed 369 people with cardiovascular disease. A year later, those who owned a dog were four times more likely to be alive than those who didn’t have a dog. Cats, however, did not improve their owners’ odds of survival.

If dog ownership is heart healthy, should everyone who cares about heart health have a dog?

No. According to the AHA panel, “the primary purpose of adopting, rescuing, or purchasing a pet should not be to achieve a reduction in cardiovascular risk.”

The mere act of getting a dog is no substitute for a plan to get regular physical activity, to eat a heart-healthy diet, and to get regular medical care. That said, dogs do seem to be good for your heart in many ways.

“Loneliness can’t be a good thing, either from a cardiovascular or a psychological perspective,” Dr. Lee noted. “I am not going to be prescribing dogs for patients with heart disease, but I certainly won’t discourage them — even if they consider themselves fairly limited by their medical problems.”

Daniel J. DeNoon is executive editor of the Harvard Heart Letter. He was senior medical writer for WebMD for 14 years. © 2013 President and Fellows of Harvard College. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Gentle Foot Care in Your Home Diabetic foot exams Corns/calluses Wound/infection care Toenail fungus

MOVEMENT IMPROVEMENT FOR PARKINSON’S

The Myerberg Senior center offers an ongoing exercise program developed exclusively for those with Parkinson’s disease and other motor control difficulties. The class features cardio, stretching and light weights to improve physical and functional performance. The class meets Mondays and Wednesdays from noon to 1 p.m. at the Senior Center, 3101 Fallstaff Rd. Cost is $60/month for members, $80/month for nonmembers. Call (410) 358-1816 or visit www.myerberg.org for more information.

17

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Jewish Community Services (JCS) offers a Support Group for Adults with Low Vision. The ongoing group meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the Edward A. Myerberg Senior Center, 3101 Fallstaff Rd., Baltimore. Participants hear informative speakers, learn about helpful resources, and gain support from people facing similar challenges. There is no fee, and new members are welcome. For more information, call Wendy Garson at (410) 843-7309, or email wgarson@jcsbaltimore.org.

18

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NOVEMBER 2013 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Health Studies Page

THE PLACE TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION ON AREA CLINICAL TRIALS

New treatments for Alzheimer’s under study

By Carol Sorgen Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder named for German physician Alois Alzheimer, who first described it in 1906. It is progressive and fatal, today affects more than 5 million Americans, and is the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States. Alzheimer’s destroys brain cells, causing memory loss and problems with thinking and behavior severe enough to affect work, lifelong hobbies or social life.

There are seven stages to Alzheimer’s, from early-onset to severe. Researchers are also now studying an early form of memory

•

impairment called mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which may be less significant than Alzheimer’s disease, but still is characterized by noticeable worsening of cognitive abilities.

This cognitive decline may not affect functioning, but is apparent to the patient and others around him, and may place the patient at increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias.

“Memory problems and Alzheimer’s disease can place a terrible strain on those caring for these patients, as well as the patients themselves,” said geriatric psychiatrist Dr. Alan Jonas of PharmaSite Research in

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Pikesville. “Researchers are putting much effort and research dollars into finding treatments for this growing population.”

Three studies available Jonas is currently conducting three clinical studies in patients with MCI, mild, and moderate Alzheimer’s disease. These trials are part of a nationwide study effort to evaluate the efficacy and safety of new treatments that may address the possible underlying causes of the disease, rather than just treating the symptoms.

Those selected to participate in the study will visit the PharmaSite location at 1314 Bedford Ave. in Pikesville once a week to start, and then once a month over the course of 18 months for screening, treatment, and follow-up. The patient must be accompanied by a caregiver — either a member of his or her family, a paid caregiver, or a close friend or neighbor who has regular contact with the patient.

Screening procedures will include a physical and neurologic exam, cognitive evaluations, laboratory assessments, ECG, and may also include an eye exam, MRI, and a PET scan of the brain. Other study proce-

dures include regular cognitive assessments and screenings for mental health. There are no costs to participate in any of the studies.

The study medication will be administered by pill taken daily, or by a monthly intravenous infusion. PharmaSite staff will assess the patients to measure cognitive function, and interview the caregivers to determine whether they have noticed any improvement in the patients’ cognition and daily functioning.

Who can participate?

The studies are open to individuals with MCI, mild or moderate Alzheimer’s, who live alone, with a caregiver, or in an assisted living (but not nursing home) environment.

Participants need to be ambulatory (with assistance if necessary). Patients who have suffered a stroke or have been diagnosed with vascular dementia are not eligible for this study.

A modest stipend is provided for the patient and caregiver for time and travel expenses.

For more information about these studies, call Surya Korn at (410) 602-1440, or visit www.pharmasiteresearch.com.

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2013

19

Companies deliver dinner ready-to-cook

By Joseph Pisani Sarah Michaelson no longer wonders what she’ll be having for dinner. Her meals are delivered to her door.

Last fall, she signed up with Blue Apron, a company that ships ready-to-cook dinner kits. Michaelson and her husband, Phil, pay $59.94 a week to have six uncooked meals sent to their home every week.

Blue Apron’s kits are filled with everything needed to whip up a meal, from the raw meat and fish, to spices and vegetables. Recipes, with step-by-step instructions and pictures, are included.

“It saves us a lot of money,” said Michaelson, a marketing manager at Betterment.com, an online investment management company.

She now eats dinner at home at least three times a week. Before, she would order takeout while at work, or head to a restaurant. Takeout can cost as much as $35 for the New York couple, and dinner at a restaurant starts at $40 for the two of them, Michaelson said.

Ready-to-cook dinner kits are the latest concept in online grocery delivery. Blue Apron — and fellow startups HelloFresh and Plated — are targeting busy consumers who want to cook at home, but don’t have the time to hit the grocery store every week.

The companies are new — all three have launched within the last year — but are growing quickly and have plans to reach more customers in more states soon.

No need to shop; no waste The kits make cooking at home easier.

Since all the ingredients are included and measured, you don’t have to buy six onions when all you need is one, or a bottle

of a spice you’ll only use a sprinkle of.

The kits can sometimes be cheaper than dining out or ordering in, costing between $10 and $15 a meal. But some of the companies require a subscription or buying a minimum amount of meals a week.

They all work differently, but they all aim to give even the most inexperienced cook the ingredients to cook a gourmet meal.

Michaelson said she has become a better cook since joining Blue Apron. For a recent dinner party, she made seared rainbow trout and an arugula and peach salad, using a Blue Apron recipe. “Usually, I’m pretty basic with how I cook,” said Michaelson.

Subscribers are able to choose the dishes they want. A box is sent with that week’s meals. The boxes are packed with ice packs and insulated to keep the items fresh.

All three services use seasonal vegetables and fruits, and recipes change every week. Subscribers benefit from variety so they’re not repeating the same meals week in and week out.

The dinner kits are not cheaper than fixing a bowl of spaghetti at home, but they can be cheaper than takeout. Blue Apron’s meals cost less than $10 each.

The meals at HelloFresh and Plated are a couple of dollars more, but you can lower the price if you buy more meals per shipment or opt for the vegetarian meals from HelloFresh.

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

Singles face leftovers But be aware that these services cater to couples and families. Single subscribers may end up with more food than they know what to do with.

The minimum dinner kit available from Blue Apron and HelloFresh has two servings of three different recipes. That’s six meals all together.

At Plated, you can order a minimum of two servings of two different recipes, a total of four meals per shipment. Josh Hix, Plated’s co-founder, said the company’s single customers save extra food for leftovers or use it for date nights.

If subscribing to a ready-to-cook delivery service sounds appetizing, here’s what

you need to know about each company. All companies listed deliver to the Baltimore metro area: Blue Apron — www.blueapron.com Pricing: A minimum of $59.94 a week, which includes three meals for two people ($9.99 a meal). No membership required, cancel any time. A kit for four people costs $119.88, and for six, $179.82.

Recent recipes: Cod with crispy kale and roasted tomato. Lemongrass shrimp with soba noodles and Chinese broccoli.

Vegetarian option: Yes HelloFresh — www.hellofresh.com Pricing: A minimum of $69 a week, See DINNER DELIVERY, page 20

Exercise Research Study Healthy men & women 50-80 years old are needed to participate in an exercise research study at the University of Maryland / Baltimore VA Medical Center. Participation involves medical evaluations, blood draws, fitness tests and 2 weeks of exercise sessions. Compensation for your time is provided. Call 410-605-7179 Mention code EPC-X.

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Get a head start on your holiday shopping at Mistletoe Mart, Thursday, Nov. 7 to Sunday, Nov. 9, at Ascension Episcopal Church, 23 N. Court St., Westminster. Admission is $6. For more information, visit www.mistletoemart.org or call (410) 848-3251.

Have You Fallen?

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

you will receive: • Health evaluation • Balance, step, strength, and/or flexibility exercises • Compensation for your time If interested call: 410-605-7179 & Mention code: LIFT Baltimore VA/University of Maryland Gerontology Recruitment Line *You must be at least 65 years old and in good health *Participants will be seen at the Baltimore VA Medical Center and University of Maryland School of Medicine *You will attend approximately 41 visits for 1 to 4 hours of time per visit

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NOVEMBER 2013 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Some natural remedies for osteoarthritis Dear Pharmacist: They are not always well tolerated. For the I am 60 years old, and I’m told I most severe cases, physical therapy, injechave osteoarthritis. My tions of cortisone and surgery doctor said that there is no may be options. These, of known “cure” for this. I course, have their own risks. would like to know the So, let’s talk about simple best natural treatments. things!

— O.W. Capsaicin: Let’s hear it for Dear O.W.: hot peppers, which is where There isn’t a quick magical capsaicin comes from. Comfix for osteoarthritis. You mercial capsaicin products have to treat the cause, and are sold nationwide as a it’s not always easy to figure patch, gel, cream and roll-on.

DEAR that out.

You apply it externally, and PHARMACIST Osteoarthritis has always with repeated applications, it

By Suzy Cohen been considered a “wear and helps block pain signals. Wash tear” disease. But tick bites your hands after applications can also cause painful, swollen joints (or use gloves). The last thing you want to (Lyme disease) and that is actually how do is apply capsaicin to your joints, then Lyme was discovered: Kids with joint pain get some of it on yourself where you don’t were popping up all over Lyme, Conn. want it. Talk about a hot tamale!

There are many prescription drugs that Astaxanthin: This protective antioxiease pain, such as Celebrex or Relafen. dant is best known for vision health. How-

ever, it suppresses COX 2 enzyme, prostaglandins, interleukins and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a).

Simply put, astaxanthin helps painful situations that end in “itis” like arthritis, bursitis, tendonitis, etc. You may need 6 to 12 mg. daily.

Glucosamine sulfate: Your body makes this if you have healthy cartilage, but you can also take supplements. I think it’s well tolerated, even though the studies are mixed. Glucosamine may be helpful, but only if combined with other substances.

Ginger: This natural spice has anti-inflammatory properties. It is also sold as a supplement. I eat fresh ginger with sushi all the time, but you can buy it as a powdered spice, or fresh root in the produce section, and turn it into a tea. It reduces pain by blocking prostaglandins (that’s what ibuprofen does, too). Ginger is selective, it only blocks the ‘bad’ prostaglandins, not the ones that benefit your body.

DMSO: This is used on race horses, ex-

ternally. Many Internet sites sell it, as do health food stores. People use it all the time for joint pain (myself included), but because it is technically for horses, unless you’re a horse, I can’t really tell you anything more.

Methylsulfonylmethane (or you can just say MSM, phew!) is a natural sulfur compound related to DMSO (see above).

It’s been shown to improve pain symptoms, and although it is present in trace amounts in a variety of food, it is much more efficient to take a supplement.

I can send you a longer, detailed version of this article with more remedies and treatment options. Sign up for my newsletter at www.DearPharmacist.com to get it.

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.dearpharmacist.com.

Dinner delivery

Pricing: A minimum of $60 for four meals ($15 a meal). Order six or more meals for $14 each. If you pay a monthly membership of $10, it’s $12 a meal if you buy four or $10 a meal if you order six or more.

Recent dishes: Pork tenderloin with watermelon, mint, feta and cucumber salad. Apricot chicken with green beans and almonds.

Vegetarian option: No. (The company expects to add it later this fall.)

— AP

From page 19 which includes three meals for two people ($11.50 a meal). For four people, it’s $129 a week, or $10.75 a meal. The vegetarian kits are $59, which includes three meals for two people ($9.83 a meal).

Recent recipes: Beef cabbage wraps with sweet potato fries. Honey chili chicken with tomato relish.

Vegetarian option: Yes. Plated — www.plated.com

BEACON BITS

Nov. 9

STUdIES oN aNEMIa Are you 65 years or older?

Have you been recently diagnosed with anemia?

OR Have you had anemia in the past? en you may be interested in: “THE JOHns HOPkins registry of older adults with anemia” • Several new research studies are being designed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University specifically for older adults with anemia.

• By volunteering to join our anemia registry, you will be kept up to date on anemia research studies that match your situation.

Call us at 410-550-2113 to join the Anemia Registry today!

We can conduct the study in your home. No travel is required. If you choose to come to Bayview to participate, your parking will be paid.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Principal Investigator: Dr. Jeremy Walston, MD. IRB application No: NA_00035307

UNIQUE ETHNIC SINGING PROGRAM

Towson University’s Asian Arts and Culture Center presents the musicians of ALASH, masters of traditional Tuvan instruments as well as the art of throat singing — a technique for singing multiple pitches at the same time. You can hear their unique sound on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 8 p.m. at Stephens Hall Theatre on the Towson University campus. A pre-concert lecture and demonstration will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance; $20 at the door. For tickets, call (410) 704-2787 or visit www.tuboxoffice.com.

BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2013

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

21

Decide when (and how much) to intervene Dear Solutions: Dear Solutions: My daughter, who was not ver y I’ve been living with the same man for young when she married, 28 years, but we’re not marhas one child — “the heir” ried. However, like a maras her husband calls him. riage, our relationship has Now, because time is rungrown stale. So we snipe at ning out, as she says, she one another. wants to have another child I become extremely irriright away. tated when he questions Her husband says it’s and probes my five grown very important to him to kids (in a sneaking way have an heir so his family’s when I’ve left the room) to biological genes will confind out their income. He SOLUTIONS tinue in the world. But feels the need to know how

By Helen Oxenberg, since he now has that heir, much they pay for their MSW, ACSW he’s not interested in anhouse, mortgage, cars, etc. other child.

I’ve asked him not to grill She’s upset and has asked me for my kids about such things, but he advice about how to convince him. So continues to do so.

I’m asking you for advice about what I tell him, “If they wanted you to to tell her. Thanks. know their business, you wouldn’t — The Mother-in-Law have to ask.” We argue about this conDear Mother-in-Law: stantly after the kids go home.

She should tell him if he really wants to Bear in mind, all five kids are gainfulensure his biological genes’ continuation ly employed as nurses, real estate agents, in the world, he shouldn’t just count on own their own business, etc. As their one “heir.” He should have an heir and a mother, I never pry because it’s obvious spare. After all, who knows what can hap- they are all doing well financially. So what pen in this world? do you think?

— B.G. It would also be nice for the heir to have Dear B.G.: a sibling for company to carry those genes Well, B.G., 28 years? So while you were in the world. groaning, they were growing, and now both But on a deeper level, your daughter the groaning and the growing has come to should talk to her husband about his fears maturity. of having another child — financial? emoEvery one of his questions “when you tional? conflict? Whatever they are, they leave the room” can and should be (or not should sit down and talk frankly about each be) answered by those grown children. one’s feelings and fears, and then make a You were right: if they want him to know decision together. their business they will tell him — and if Bringing their opinions into the open they don’t, they won’t. will help them to be closer and to underIt sounds like you are using this probstand each other better. And you, mother- lem to cover your own uneasiness with in-law, after suggesting “heir” and a your “stale” relationship. Stop using your “spare,” say no more. children as scapegoats, and start working

Please tell our advertisers, “I saw you in the Beacon!”

with your companion to try to fix what’s wrong — maybe with some therapy. © Helen Oxenberg, 2013. Questions to be considered for this column may be sent to:

The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915. You may also email the author at helox72@comcast.net. To inquire about reprint rights, call (609) 655-3684.

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NOVEMBER 2013 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Careers Volunteers &

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

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

Son’s illness inspires mother to volunteer leave of absence from her business partnership to care for Jake as well as her other two children.

When Jake had another “flare” right before his bar mitzvah, he took the time to compile a book of jokes (similar to ones his aunt had told him to cheer him up) called LOL... Laugh Out Loud.

From the sales of the book, the Gelvars established a philanthropic fund called Jokes for Jake to raise funds to help others who suffer from Crohn’s and colitis.

“He wanted to create this book as a way to give back,” Gelvar said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHERI GELVAR

By Jennifer Waldera When Sheri Gelvar’s young son, Jake, was diagnosed with both Crohn’s disease and colitis in 2006, the professional event planner didn’t know how her family’s life was going to change as they helped him cope with the conditions. These often debilitating diseases can cause such symptoms as persistent diarrhea, rectal bleeding, cramps, pain and constipation.

On top of the symptoms themselves, the urgency that can accompany them, as well as understandable emotional distress, can make it difficult for sufferers to participate in typical day-to-day activities.

From Jake’s experience, Gelvar soon learned all too well about the difficulties that can come with a diagnosis of Crohn’s and/or ulcerative colitis.

Diagnosed in 6th grade, Jake spent many days at home, unable to attend school due to the inflammatory effects of Crohn’s. The condition can also affect the joints, and it left him wheelchair-bound for several months. Three times a week he had to attend intense physical therapy sessions to strengthen his joints.

At the time, Gelvar took a year-long

Raising awareness and money In addition to helping her now collegeage son learn to live with a chronic illness, Gelvar has made it her mission to “spread the word and create awareness” about the conditions in the greater community.

According to Gelvar, only 30 percent of the population knows what Crohn’s and colitis are, or that there is a nonprofit association, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA), that provides publications, educational workshops, fundraising

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Sheri and Eric Gelvar participate in, and train runners for, a charity half-marathon to raise funds for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. They got involved in the foundation after their son was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease as a youth.

and research, and partners with research and medical professionals to find a cure for both diseases.

“One of my goals is to make people

more aware of the work of CCFA,” said Gelvar. “Another goal is to support and asSee CRHON’S VOLUNTEERS, page 23

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Volunteers & Careers

BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2013

Crohn’s volunteers From page 22 sist those who suffer in any capacity.”

To that end, Gelvar volunteers for the Maryland/Southern Delaware chapter of the CCFA to help raise funds for research to find a cure for these life-altering conditions.

Mentoring a team As a mentor for the Team Challenge division of CCFA, Gelvar assists with training participants for an annual fundraising half-marathon. Since 2010, Gelvar and her husband have raised more than $30,000 for the local chapter of CCFA. “Sheri and her husband are amazing volunteers with CCFA. They are amazing ad-

BEACON BITS

Nov. 12+

CALLING ALL BIRDERS Cromwell Valley Park is seeking volunteers for Project Feeder

Watch, a citizen science program in which participants count the number and

vocates for the cause,” said Katie Corbett Ramirez, executive director of the Maryland/Southern Delaware Chapter of CCFA. “My favorite part of my volunteer job is meeting new people and introducing them to what we do,” said Gelvar. In doing so, she forms relationships with each new member.

“The most fulfilling part is when I become close with those new people and watch them succeed in their goals, because now those new people have become my family,” she said.

Of course, Gelvar continues to support her son in his fight against these condi-

tions, recently traveling to be by his side as he received treatments from a new doctor for the first time. “Ever since 2006, we’ve been fighting for a cure,” she said.

According to Gelvar, finding donors and creating fundraising efforts is crucial to CCFA’s ongoing existence and success.

Volunteers are always needed to create and take part in fundraising events.

As Gelvar explained her continued involvement with CCFA, “Research is expensive, but a cure is priceless.”

For more information on CCFA, or Team Challenge, call (443) 276-0861, email maryland@ccfa.org, or visit www.CCFA.org.

species of birds visiting feeders from Tuesday, Nov. 12 through early April. Participants are asked to sign up for one hour each week on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.

The park is located at 2002 Cromwell Bridge Rd. Call Gina for more information at (410) 887 3014 or email Gianina@cromwellvalleypark.org.

Ongoing

VOLUNTEERS WITH TECHNOLOGICAL SKILLS NEEDED Creating technological solutions to improve the independence and quality of life for individuals with disabilities, V-LINC volunteers

build customized assistive technology that makes it easier for people with disabilities to live, work and play more independently. Volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds, including engineering, carpentry, machining, nursing and physical and occupational therapy. For more information, call (410) 554-9134, or email info@v-linc.org.

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Volunteers & Careers | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

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NOVEMBER 2013 — BALTIMORE BEACON

014331RXX11

BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2013

Say you saw it in the Beacon

Travel

25

Leisure &

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

Escape to nearby Blue Ridge Mountains

A park with a view

From atop the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains at 3,000-plus feet, a vast panora-

© SVECCHIOTTI | DREAMSTIME.COM

ma of layered rolling mountains unfolds, fading from the foreground’s lush green to a wispy bluish-gray and punctuated by multiple peaks shimmering through a gauzy haze across the horizon as far as the eye can see.

Trees nod and leaves softly rustle. The wind whispers as tufted titmice tweet and hop from limb to limb, as a crow caw-cawcaws in the distance. The serenity is mesmerizing.

Naturalist John Muir wrote, “Wilderness is a necessity.” Shenandoah National Park is a place to get your wilderness “fix” just 110 miles southwest of Baltimore.

Over a million people visit every year to see one of the few big national parks in the East.

Seniors are the number one population demographic, say park managers, but they quickly add, “There’s something for everyone.”

In addition to nature, visitors can get a slice of the South. A greeter at the Skyland Lodge restaurant drawled, “Y’all ok? I’ll be with ya’ll in a few minutes.” Groups like the Possum Ridge String Band and Shenandoah Valley Cloggers perform in the lodges.

Dishes like rainbow trout, roasted turkey, fried chicken and braised Smithfield pork shank jump off the menus, not to mention the not-to-be-missed blackberry ice cream pie, SNP’s signature dessert.

You can start the day with the Southern Sampler breakfast: sausage gravy, buttermilk biscuits, buttermilk hotcakes and grits.

“Our sausage gravy is just like my grandma makes,” our waiter bragged.

Getting oriented

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

Shenandoah National Park, sprawling across Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, harbors rich forests, sparkling waterfalls, craggy peaks, inviting hiking trails and imposing rock formations.

The Skyline Drive, with 75 overlooks, splices along the park’s spine for 105 miles and joins the Blue Ridge Parkway, which goes anoth-

© CECOUCHMAN | DREAMSTIME.COM

By Glenda C. Booth We crouched down on our knees to study a thumbnail-sized, shiny green pendant dangling precariously by a silky thread from a three-inch-wide cement edge of one of the visitor center’s brick support columns.

The ranger explained it was the chrysalis, or pupal stage, of the monarch butterfly, transitioning from larva to adult — a tiny miraculous marvel of nature in a 300-square-mile national park known for its broad vistas, dense forests of tall trees, bulging granite boulders, plunging waterfalls and soaring peaks.

The “bigness” of Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park (SNP) is what typically gets people’s attention. But probing more deeply unveils much more. It’s the granular and the grand, the minute and the magnificent, for it is a park rich in diversity and eye-opening adventures, mini, mega and in between.

Trees turn crimson and gold in Shenandoah National Park’s autumnal show of color.

The 300-square-mile park is one of the few large national parks on the East Coast and only a 110-mile drive from the Baltimore area.

er 469 miles to Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains.

Mileposts are numbered north to south starting at zero at the Front Royal entrance and ending with Rockfish Gap at the southernmost end (milepost 105). The 1 billionyear-old Appalachian Mountains, of which the Blue Ridge Mountains are a part, constitutes one of the oldest ranges in the world.

Created as a national park by Congress in 1935 to provide a traditional “western” national park experience in the East, it’s one of the few big national parks east of the Mississippi. The Civilian Conservation Corps built recreational facilities, guard walls and trails during the Depression. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the park in 1936.

The park has around 1,100 flowering plants, 100 species of trees, 300 types of animals and 200 of birds. Waterfalls spill down the mountainsides. Hikers delight in over 500 miles of hiking trails, including the Maine-to-Georgia Appalachian Trail, a 2,176mile ribbon through 14 states.

Visitors can get glimpses of deer, bobcats, raccoons and foxes. Families of wild turkeys waddle into the woods. Park managers estimate that there are several thousand deer and 300 to 500 bears.

The really lucky might see the federallyendangered Shenandoah salamander, which

has only been observed on three mountain tops in Shenandoah National Park and nowhere else in the world.

Geology buffs can examine the nuances of sharp ridges and rocky outcrops of granite, sandstone, quartzite, phyllite, basalt and grandiorite.

Two peaks, Hawks Bill and Stony Man, soar above 4,000 feet. Old Rag, at 3,291 feet, is the most popular, yet most dangerous, hike.

The mountains are known for the everpresent bluish-gray haze, hence the Blue Ridge name. Sadly, 80 percent of the haze is pollution from the industrial and traffic fumes drifting in from near and far. Visibility has decreased 50 percent in the last 50 years thanks to human activity. At night, the lights of towns below make the valleys twinkle.

Fog too can shroud the mountains, and while fog may blur long-distance vistas, the fog provides a softly comforting, almost surreal, atmosphere. It also encourages visitors to focus on things up close, such as butterflies nectaring on blossoms, insects probing dewy flowers, and thistles releasing their seeds amid a chorus of chirping chickadees.

Four-season serenity “People have been coming here for 100 See SHENANDOAH, page 26

26

Leisure & Travel | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

Shenandoah From page 25 years to escape the heat of the city and experience things they cannot see in the city,” explained Lorrie Knies, supervisory interpretative ranger. “It’s close and quieter, slower, a way to get away from the city.”

Quietly imbibing the peace and beauty are plenty for many people. Some folks like ranger programs. Active types may plunge into the wilderness, gear and meals in tow.

Others enjoy a slow, winding drive along the mountaintop, stopping at overlooks.

The best time to go? “It depends,” said Knies. There’s something for everybody every season, she maintained.

Fall foliage astounds all, when the park blazes with orange-red-yellow hues. Warblers and monarch butterflies migrate

NOVEMBER 2013 — BALTIMORE BEACON

through. It is the busiest season (though quieter on weekdays than on weekends).

Spring climbs up the mountains 100 feet a day starting in March, rangers said. The park sparkles with rushing streams, waterfalls, vernal pools, and plants like trilliums, jack-inthe-pulpit, mountain laurel, rhododendrons, dogwoods, azaleas and lady slippers.

Summer is cooler on the mountain tops than down below. Fawns and bear cubs start exploring and streams murmur. Baby birds fledge.

Winter offers quiet, crisper air and clearer views. Foxes and bobcats become more active.

Exhibits at the Byrd Visitor Center (milepost 51) outline the park’s history. Those at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center (milepost 4.6) explore nature.

Around 500 miles of easy-to-strenuous hiking trails get people into the woods. Trails

range from short walks to a 101-mile segment of the Appalachian Trail.

Over 95 percent of the park is forest, but the 130-acre, treeless Big Meadows has vernal pools and at times an explosion of small critters, a “supermarket for insect-eating birds,” one ranger said. Barn swallows dart around snagging gnats midair.

Ranger programs, especially in summer, include basket-making, cooking demos, hikes, campfire talks, raptor demonstrations.

They take visitors on walks to some of the more than 100 cemeteries in the park, some with small plots, others with up to 100 gravesites.

Rangers lead a 30-minute bus ride to Rapidan Camp, President Herbert Hoover’s restored, rustic retreat, about which Hoover said, “This is just what I want — a camp of retreat, far removed from the city environ and the confines of the White House.”

Conservation advocate Sigurd Olson explained the lure of the wilderness in 1946: “Wilderness to the people of America is a spiritual necessity, an antidote to the high pressure of modern life, a means of regaining serenity and equilibrium.”

If you go The park’s two lodges are in the central part of the park, between U.S. 211 at Thornton Gap (milepost 31.5) and U.S. 33 at Swift Run Gap (milepost 65.7). Both have comfortable rooms.

Big Meadows Lodge (milepost 51.2), a

45 PAGES that add up to a remarkable retirement!

stone and timber structure with a chestnut interior, offers rooms and cabins, a dining room and a great room with expansive views of the valley. Skyland Lodge (milepost 41.7), at the park’s highest point, 3,680 feet, has a dining room, lodge, motel-type rooms and rustic cabins.

There are also some back-to-nature cabins (some without water) and trailside huts.

Campgrounds offer both first-come, firstserved and reservable sites. Study the facilities’ details carefully before reserving.

The park has four entrances: Front Royal, on U.S. 340 near Interstates 81 and 66; Thornton Gap, on U.S. 211; Swift Run Gap, on U.S. 33; and Rockfish Gap, at Interstate 64 and U.S. 25.

A vehicle is a must. Amtrak serves Charlottesville and Greyhound serves Waynesboro, towns that have car rental companies.

Gas stations inside the park are open only from spring through fall.

Park managers recommend lodging and camping reservations well in advance, especially for fall visits. In winter, only a few facilities are open.

For more information, see the National Park Service’s brochure on SNP at www.nps.gov/shen. Lodging reservations can be made at www.goshenandoah.com or by calling 1-877-847-1919. Campground reservations can be made at www.recreation.gov or 1-877-444-6777.

Glenda C. Booth is a freelance writer in Alexandria, Va.

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Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel

27

Andalusian fusion: Christianity and Islam

By Giovanna Dell’orto Last month, our lead travel story was about contemporary attractions in Northern Spain. This month we follow up with a story about the sites of Southern Spain.

For the third time in a week, I’m touring the Alhambra, one of the most popular sites in the world’s fourth most-visited country, and finally I have it all to myself.

Not a pushy guide but a bullfrog in one of the fountains is the loudest sound on a late May night in this hilltop Islamic palace complex in southern Spain.

I linger to stick my nose into the cabbage-size roses lining the pathways and to gaze over the floodlit red-tinged ramparts.

Their massive simplicity belies the infinite intricacy of the palaces inside, and I can easily believe the legend that the last Muslim ruler wept as he left Granada. Centuries later, we can be grateful that the conquering Christian royalty left this masterpiece nearly intact.

Nowhere in Europe is the complex coexistence between Islam and Christianity more etched in historical landscapes and current customs than here, in Spain’s Andalusia — a vast region of snowy mountains, olive-studded valleys and desert coasts whose tip sits less than 10 miles from Morocco.

For nearly 800 years, Muslim caliphs ruled

Andalusia. In 1492, the Catholic king and queen (and ultimate power couple), Ferdinand and Isabella, conquered this last Islamic stronghold in Europe — a few months before signing off on Christopher Columbus’ trip to the new world, which also started here.

A convergence of cultures I’ve traveled through the region in fall, winter and spring to admire the MuslimChristian monuments in the major cities of Granada, Cordoba and Seville. But this year, on a longer trip, I found the mingling of cultures in everyday life.

In Granada, I bought almond cookies and orange wine through a wooden rotating tray from an unseen cloistered Catholic nun in a convent near re-created Arab baths, where I sipped mint tea and spent a silent hour steaming and soaking feet sore from climbing cobblestone alleys.

And it turns out that tapas are a classic example of the region’s cultural fusion, having originated in Andalusia centuries ago, even though internationally they have come to symbolize trendy modern Spanish cuisine.

Of course, Andalusia also offers all the other experiences that draw tourists to Spain: Channeling Hemingway at a bullfight, getting goose bumps from a wailing flamenco singer, mingling sacred and profane at the Eastertide processions and

fairs, gorging on jamon iberico (cured ham) and whole fish baked in sea salt, and joining throngs of sunburned Northern Europeans on Mediterranean beaches.

But what’s unique about Andalusia is the trail of Islamic conquerors who arrived in the eighth century, and the Catholic monarchs who imposed their reconquista (reconquering) centuries later — vanquishing not just Islam but also eventually the Jews who had flourished under the Muslims’ tolerant rule.

Cordoba Begin your visit with the earliest masterpiece — the bizarrely repurposed great mosque, now a cathedral, of Cordoba.

From its massive size and horseshoe arches, the Mezquita’s exterior gives some hints that this is not your usual medieval cathedral.

But walking in still stuns. Out of the darkness pierced by low-hanging lights is a multiplication of two-tiered arches in all directions, disSee SOUTHERN SPAIN, page 29

28

Leisure & Travel | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

NOVEMBER 2013 — BALTIMORE BEACON

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Southern Spain From page 29 orienting like a house of mirrors.

This forest of shiny columns and redand-white arches — together with the kaleidoscope of golden mosaics, Arabic inscriptions and carvings — show off what I see as the hallmarks of Andalusian Islamic art. Geometry and repetition play with light to create flowing motifs that simultaneously overwhelm with their richness and seem weightless.

Smack in the midst sits an unremarkable church, built in the 16th century. A much nicer reconquista touch is a few blocks away in the 14th-century Alcazar — a fortress whose gardens lined by pools and rippling fountains mirror the centrality that water has in Islamic architecture.

The whitewashed homes around both monuments, covered by decorative iron grilles and bright potted plants, were part of Cordoba’s Jewish quarter, called the Juderia, a center of Jewish intellectuals before the Catholic takeover.

The great philosopher Maimonides was born in Cordoba in the 12th century, and a modern statue of him is located in the quarter near a 14th century synagogue.

But Maimonides did not die here; he fled to Egypt as the persecution of Jews began under the Catholic regime.

Digging deeper into cultural fusion: The Roman philosopher Seneca was also born in Cordoba, and a restored bridge from around his time still crosses the wide river behind the Mezquita.

Seville Less than 100 miles to the southwest, Seville’s grand cathedral also incorporated a Muslim element: La Giralda, the former 12th-century minaret, now bell tower, nearly identical to towers still standing in Rabat and Marrakech.

Next door is another much embellished Alcazar fortress, this one also visited by Ferdinand and Isabella as well as Columbus. Its style, called mudejar, is all about fusion — reflecting the taste and workmanship of Muslim artists in Catholic Spain.

Around it is the former Jewish neighborhood, the barrio de Santa Cruz, centered on small, orange-tree lined squares with homes and palaces whose doors and windows are often bordered in blue and gold.

Granada Seville is the region’s largest, most cosmopolitan city. But my Andalusian favorite is Granada, framed by the improbably snowy Sierra Nevada mountain range. It’s a university city that is small enough for the tradition of free tapas with each drink (think giant chorizo sausage and heaping plates of fried whitebait for the price of a 2euro frosted glass of beer).

But its attractions are outsized — not only the Alhambra, arguably the most impressive secular medieval monument from the Muslim world, but its ideological counterpart, a triumphant cathedral with its royal chapel preserving the marble funeral monuments of, who else, Ferdinand and Isabella.

I most enjoyed my night visits to the Alhambra’s Nasrid Palaces, where every inch is covered in Koran and poetry inscriptions, star-patterned tiles, and gravitydefying ceilings decorated with pointed ornamentation called muqarnas, all deflecting light with a soothing, awe-inspiring effect that plays on the motto written all over: “Only Allah is victor.”

In the many marbled patios and sprawling Generalife gardens farther uphill, water fountains seem to trace in the air the same curves as Arabic script, bubbling and flowing with precise patterns.

On the opposite hill is the Albaicin, the much restored Muslim quarter of whitewashed homes hiding scented gardens, or

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel

carmenes (watered by medieval cisterns), whose only outside signs are overflowing purple bougainvillea and austere cypress spires.

Nearby, two more churches show off Roman-inspired triumphalism — the convent of San Jeronimo with its giant altarpiece, and the Cartuja’s small Baroque sagrario (altar), which theatrically swirls with chubby angels and saints in a profusion of red marble and gold.

That Christian humanism sitting next to Islamic intellectualism is Andalusia’s own enchantment.

Back in the Generalife, a guard watched

29

me linger by water jets arching into a long pool. She was the daughter of a watchman there who raised his eight kids in a house on its property, and she’s worked in the Alhambra for 31 years.

“Magico, no?” she whispered. Three days later, I got back for visit number four.

More information on Andalusia is available at www.andalucia.org/en/.

The region’s most convenient airport is in Seville. The least expensive roundtrip fare in mid-November is $1,084 on Iberia Airlines from BWI. — AP

30

NOVEMBER 2013 — BALTIMORE BEACON

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Style Arts &

Baltimore’s tradition of scenes painted on screens gets its own show at MICA. See story on page 32.

Holocaust-themed opera makes its debut and in Manhattan in 1993.

“The story,” noted Azrael, “is often darkly humorous and ultimately triumphant, as the family evades the monstrous power of the Third Reich.”

The opera’s composer is Janice Hamer, Azrael’s cousin, with whom she’s collaborated on other choral pieces.

“So we kind of blithely said, ‘Why not have an opera next?’ We somehow thought it would take a year or so to write, and it ended up taking 15,” Hamer said.

Result of serendipity The central relationship in the opera — between a Jewish survivor and a German descendant of a Nazi sympathizer — is fictitious, but several real-life relationships have determined the production and plot.

How the opera came to be produced is a series of serendipitous coincidences, starting with the fact that Hamer’s parents live in the same retirement community as the father of the conductor of the National Philharmonic orchestra, Piotr Gajewski (pronounced Guyevski), and have attended several concerts together.

Piotr’s father Ryszard Gajewski and his

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family were imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto, a tiny corner of the city where more than 400,000 Jews were forced to live.

However, his family managed to escape and, like Nir, hid in plain sight posing as Polish Catholics for the duration of the war.

Gajewski and Nir were both born in 1930 and lived in several of the same towns, although they never knew each other. A sad, additional parallel is that both men are now gravely ill and not expected to live much longer.

“It felt somehow meant to be,” said Hamer, 63, when the elder Gajewski encouraged her to contact his son about possibly producing the opera.

sleep in and a special entrance to the Wagner Festival Theater, Hamer said.

But Gottfried Wagner, who is now 63 and lives in Italy, distanced himself from See OPERA, page 31

PHOTO BY CHRISTOPER MEYERS

By Barbara Ruben When Mary Azrael was a young teen growing up in Baltimore in the 1950s, she was inspired to become a writer by reading Anne Frank’s vivid descriptions of her life in hiding during World War II. But even when, as an adult, she spent a year living in Amsterdam and found herself coincidentally living around the corner from Frank’s home, Azrael never dreamed she would one day write an opera about the Holocaust.

The poet, who still lives in Baltimore, has written the libretto for a new opera in English that weaves together stories from the Holocaust and more modern times.

It will be performed in its entirety for the first time on Nov. 9, the 75th anniversary of kristallnacht — a night of violent Nazi attacks on Jews, synagogues and Jewishowned businesses throughout Germany.

For many, the “night of broken glass” marks the unofficial start to the Holocaust.

The opera, Lost Childhood, is based in part on a memoir by psychiatrist Yehuda Nir, who went into hiding from the Nazis as a child. Lost Childhood takes place in Poland and Germany during World War II,

A Wagner connection In addition to a fictionalized Nir, the opera is also built around a character much like the real-life Gottfried Wagner, the great-grandson of composer Richard Wagner.

In part because of Wagner’s anti-Semitism, Hitler found his music particularly appealing.

Members of the Wagner family (Richard Wagner died 50 years before Hitler came to power) became friends with Hitler during the war. They provided Hitler with a wing of their house to

Janice Hamer, at the piano, composed the music for the opera Lost Childhood; Mary Azrael is the librettist. The opera, which will have its first performance soon, deals with life in Poland during the Holocaust and the repercussions on two men more than a half century later.

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BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2013

Opera From page 30 his family, and has spent much of his life apologizing for their role with the Nazis.

“He and I met in a very funny way,” said Hamer, who teaches at Swarthmore College and lives in Philadelphia.

“My uncle had given me an old record album set that he had gotten from a friend who went to Hitler’s mountain abode right after war ended. A group of Army officers looted and took whatever they could. I didn’t know what to do with it. After all, what do you do with an album of records that had belonged to Hitler?”

By happenstance, Hamer tuned into the middle of an NPR broadcast in which Gottfried Wagner was speaking, and she decided to track him down to give him the albums.

Upon meeting him, she and Azrael found his story so compelling, that they added him to the opera.

“So we are two women writing an opera about two men,” Hamer said.

Putting it together This is the first opera either has written.

Unlike some librettists and composers, Hamer and Azrael worked together every step of the way.

While Hamer’s composing style is more modernist, with atonality and unmetered rhythms, she dialed back those elements to make the opera more accessible to gen-

eral audiences.

Azrael admits she’s not a huge opera fan, particularly of high-pitched sopranos.

But she discovered that writing lyrics was very similar to poetry, with much of the same focus on the sound of the words and their rhythm. Only moving the narrative along was a bit of a challenge.

She said she often thought of a quote by Danish writer Isak Dinesen when crafting Lost Childhood: “All sorrows may be borne if they can be put into a story.”

“For a lot of survivors of all kinds of things, there’s often a kind of relief from the past if they can talk to a really empathetic listener, Azrael said. “For the survivors who are getting old, many have kept quiet for 50 years or more for all kinds of reasons. Finally it’s now or never. [They realize] if I don’t let it out now it’s just going to be lost.”

Azrael, who turns 70 soon, can relate to growing older. In addition to teaching an evening writing class at Johns Hopkins, she co-founded Passager, a literary magazine for writers 50 and older, as well as Passager Press, which has published poetry books.

Reflecting on her own aging, she said, “Fifty I thought was cool. Sixty gave me pause, I would say. Seventy, there’s just a little feeling of yikes.”

“It’s a tremendous challenge because it’s a completely new piece. Sometimes I feel a weight on my shoulders, because how we do it may be viewed for future performances as the way to do it,” said Gajewski, who conducts the National Philharmonic, the ensemble-in-residence at the Music Center

at Strathmore in N. Bethesda, Md. Scenes from Lost Childhood have been presented at workshops in New York, Washington, D.C. and Tel Aviv. This is the first time the entire 2-hour-and-40-minute opera See OPERA, page 32

LYRIC OPERA BALTIMORE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, JAMES HARP

An orchestral opportunity For Piotr Gajewski, staging a brand new opera has had its own share of yikes moments.

It’s exciting, but also demanding, he said.

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NOVEMBER 2013 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Showcasing Baltimore’s painted screens

By Carol Sorgen Elaine Eff didn’t set out to become the savior of a longtime Baltimore tradition, but for the last 30 years that’s just what

she’s done. As the folklorist for the City of Baltimore and the State of Maryland, Eff has brought the urban folk art of painted door and window screens into both local

FROM PAGE 34

ANSWERS TO CROSSWORD S A N D A L

ANSWERS TO SCRABBLE

E N E R G Y

M O R A L E

O P A C A B T W O V B E A R A B E L S A L

I R A N N D I N A E A M D O M A K L B A G I E E R N A N B G E L S E S

A G O G

M U T E

S E I S M G O E A G N C R E S A R M E A G E D O T E T A R O S

Y A L E L O O S E L Y

T U S S L E S A S P S

O R A T E

T A K E S O T U A T D M P O E N A D C A E Y

E S L S E S M P T R E O N E S C A P E

T E E M E D

and national prominence.

Eff wasn’t familiar with painted screens when she was growing up in northwest Baltimore. “I don’t recall seeing them as a child,” she said in a recent interview.

But she stumbled upon a few in, of all places, the New York State Historical Association, while she was in graduate school in upstate New York in the 1970s.

She came to find out that screen painting actually began in 18th-century London, and painted screens were a fixture in fine homes in Europe and America throughout the Victorian era. Eff wrote a paper on the topic for graduate school, and it became “the subject that wouldn’t die.”

For the uninitiated, painted screens have long been synonymous with another Baltimore institution — the rowhouse. These window and door screens, usually of a pastoral scene and often taken from a greeting

card or calendar, offered privacy — you can see out but your neighbors can’t see in — ventilation, and protection from the sun in the days prior to central air conditioning.

Baltimore’s painted screen tradition dates back 100 years, introduced by grocer William Oktavec, who painted a still life on the screen door of his shop in the heart of East Baltimore’s Czech community. They reached their heyday in the 1940s and ‘50s, but they’ve never completely gone away.

Promoting screens widely Eff became so immersed in this contemporary folk art, now found only in Baltimore, that she founded the Painted Screen Society of Baltimore in 1985. The society is a clearinghouse for information and classes. It also hosts workshops, tours, See PAINTED SCREENS, page 33

Opera From page 31

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will be performed, though it’s only a concert performance, not a fully-staged production.

“You get the music, you get the acting.

What you don’t really get is the sets,” Gajewski said. “You don’t get the theater trimmings. But since music drives opera, you get music and beautiful singing. You get the most important aspect of it.”

“I’m really hopeful [this performance] will serve as a launching pad for full staging,” Gajewski added.

In the meantime, he hopes that his father will be well enough to attend the Nov. 9 performance, which will also be attended by Gottfried Wagner and Nir’s wife.

Perhaps Lost Childhood will be a conduit to help Gajewski, whose family emigrated from Poland to the United States in 1969, learn more about his own heritage.

His father has never talked to him about the family’s harrowing times in the Warsaw Ghetto, or his life of subterfuge in Poland during the war (five other family members perished).

He hopes that as his father nears the end of his life, he might share some of his stories.

And that’s what Hamer anticipates may happen when audiences see Lost Childhood as well.

“It’s not just about the Holocaust. It’s about any two cultures that are in conflict, learning to listen to each other’s narratives and noticing their projection of stereotypes on the other group. I hope it will help stimulate that type of thinking from the audience,” she said.

Lost Childhood will be performed at the Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Ln., N. Bethesda, on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $28 to $84; tickets for children age 7 to 17 are free with a paying adult.

For tickets, see www.strathmore.org or call (301) 581-5100. More information on Lost Childhood is available at http://bit.ly/lostchildhoodopera.

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style

BALTIMORE BEACON — NOVEMBER 2013

From page 32 artist residencies in schools and museums, demonstrations and exhibitions.

According to Eff, the ultimate aim of the society is to sustain the art form in Baltimore’s rowhouse neighborhoods and beyond. “Our goal is to encourage future generations of screen painters and aficionados,” she said.

Part of the society’s efforts is the Painted Screens Pilgrimage — a driving and walking tour through East Baltimore’s historic ethnic neighborhoods, including Canton, Fells Point, Little Italy, Little Bohemia and Highlandtown.

New book and exhibit Eff’s efforts to promote and preserve screen painting didn’t stop with the Painted Screen Society. In 1988 she produced a short documentary film, The Screen Painters.

More recently, she’s written a book, The Painted Screens of Baltimore. It will be released soon, to coincide with the exhibition, “Picture Windows...The Painted

Screens of Baltimore and Beyond,” at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) from Dec. 13 to March 16.

The exhibition will provide a comprehensive look at the history of screen painting, and will include the work of two dozen artists from four generations of screen painters, including Baltimore’s original screen painter, William Oktavec.

Screen painting has survived so long because it is a “vibrant, contextual art form,” said Eff. “It was, and is, completely a people’s art form.”

For Eff, the publication of her book and the installation of the exhibition are simultaneously gratifying and bittersweet. “As far as the screens go,” she said, “this will be my swan song.

“I want to give back to the city that has given me so much,” she continued, adding how fortunate she feels to have been able to observe and document this tradition over the course of her career.

“I love Baltimore, and these painted screens bring the people, the place, and the tradition together,” she said. “This is my gift to Baltimore and to the world...I want people to

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embrace this art and keep it going.”

But for Eff, it’s time for her next “obsession.”

She doesn’t yet know what it will be, but she’s ready to hand the reins of this passion to the next “screen lady,” whoever that will be. As for Eff herself, the future, she said, is “a complete unknown.” And that’s just fine with her.

“Picture Windows...The Painted Screens of Baltimore and Beyond” marks the centennial of Baltimore’s tradition of painting vivid images on rowhouse screens, and will be on view from Friday, Dec. 13, 2013 to Sunday, March 16, 2014, in the Fox Building’s Meyerhoff Gallery (1303 W. Mount Royal Ave.).

Hours for MICA’s galleries, which are free and open to the public, are Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.mica.edu.

PHOTO BY EDWIN REMSBERG

Painted screens

33

Elaine Eff studies the century-old Baltimore tradition of painted screens. Many neighborhoods still sport pastoral scenes painted on window and door screens to offer both privacy and decoration.

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

ESTATE SALES STRESS FREE. We provide services needed for Downsizing and Estate Sales. Let’s meet to discuss and schedule your on-site sale. For information, call Denise, 410236-8704 or Dan, 410-602-2430.

PERSONAL DRIVER/CHAUFFEUR – at your service for your special night out. Luxury town car limo. Complimentary beverages. First class service at affordable rates. 410-207-0249.

ESTATE SPECIALIST, experts in estate cleanouts and preparing your house for sale. Trash removal, house cleanouts, light moving, demolition, yard work, cleaning. 410-746-5090. Free estimates. Insured. Call 7 days, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

JOIN SENIOR BOX OFFICE

Senior Box Office (SBO), a volunteer program of the Baltimore County Department of Aging, provides complimentary or reduced rate tickets to members for cultural, educational and entertainment events.

Those 60 and older are invited to join. Yearly membership costs $30 per household. For more information or an application, see www.seniorboxoffice.org or call (410) 887-5399.

Nov. 3

BACH IN BALTIMORE

First Sunday Concerts’ Bach in Baltimore Series presents “Cantata 116” on Sunday, Nov. 3, at 4 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church Inner Harbor, 701 S. Charles St. in downtown Federal Hill.

Admission and parking are free. For more information, call (410) 941-9262 or visit www.bachinbaltimore.org.

35

TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED Deadlines and Payments: Ad text and payment is due by the 5th of each month.

Note: Only ads received and prepaid by the deadline will be included in the next month’s issue. Please type or print your ad carefully. Include a number where you can be reached in the event of a question. Payment is due with ad. We do not accept ads by phone or fax, nor do we accept credit cards.

Private Party Text Ads: For individuals seeking to buy or sell particular items, or place a personal ad. Each ad is $10 for 25 words, 25 cents for each additional word.

Business Text Ads: For parties engaged in an ongoing business enterprise.

Each ad is $25 for 25 words, 50 cents for each additional word.

Note: Each real estate listing counts as one business text ad.

Send your classified ad with check or money order, payable to the Beacon, to:

The Beacon, Baltimore Classified Dept.

P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915-2227 Wanted

Wanted

MILITARY ITEMS Collector seeks: helmets, weapons, knives, swords, bayonets, webgear, uniforms, inert ordnance, ETC. From 1875 to 1960, US, German, Britain, Japan, France, Russian. Please call Fred, 301-910-0783, Thank you. Also Lionel Trains.

FINE ANTIQUES, PAINTINGS AND QUALITY VINTAGE FURNISHINGS wanted by a serious capable buyer. I am very well educated [law degree] knowledgeable [over 40 years in the antique business] and have the finances and wherewithal to handle virtually any situation. If you have a special item, collection or important estate I would like to hear from you. I pay great prices for great things in all categories from oriental rugs to Tiffany objects, from rare clocks to firearms, from silver and gold to classic cars. If it is wonderful I am interested. No phony promises or messy consignments. References gladly furnished. Please call Jake Lenihan, 301-279-8834. Thank you.

VINYL RECORDS WANTED from 1950 through 1985. Jazz, Rock-n-Roll, Soul, Rhythm & Blues, Reggae and Disco. 33 1/3 LPs, 45s or 78s, Larger collections of at least 100 items wanted. Please call John, 301-596-6201.

WE BUY OLD AND NEW COINS, Jewelry, Silver and Gold, Paper Money too. Watches, Clocks and Parts, Military Badges and Patches Old and New. Call Greg, 717-658-7954.

OLD AND NEW WE BUY Sterling Silver Flatware, Tea Sets or Single Pieces., Furniture, Tools, Cameras, Good Glassware, Artwork Too. Toys From Trains to Hotwheels, Action Figures to Star Wars. Call Greg, 717-658-7954.

CASH BUYER FOR OLD COSTUME JEWELRY – pocket and wrist watches (any condition). Also buying watchmaker tools and parts, train sets and accessories, old toys, old glassware & coins. 410-655-0412.

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NOVEMBER 2013 — BALTIMORE BEACON

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

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to hts er’s k o ig im Lo r He zhe o Al d Tu ality qu r fo

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Tuesday, Oct 29, 7:15 pm In conjunction with the

Open to public last Tues. of each month.

Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support Group There’s one thing Alzheimer’s can’t steal…find out what as we discuss “Fade to Blank”, an exploration of the human side of Alzheimer’s created by Joe Buckheit of Agingcare.com.

We can’t cure the disease, but we can open hearts and minds to the truth - there is life to be lived inside Alzheimer’s. Light supper served. Reserve Now at 866-618-3244 Meat Kosher Dining Services Dairy Kosher Dining Services

www.seniorlifestyle.com

7218 Park Heights Ave, Baltimore, MD 21208

Tuesday, Nov 5, 7:15 pm Your Hosts

The Rosemore Greenlinger Group at Morgan Stanley & Law Offices of Guttenberg & Franklin

How to Secure

Your Legacy Reserve now for this free Q&A with distinguished specialists on the important topics of: • Senior Living • Growing & Protecting Assets • Estate Planning • Long-Term Care Insurance.

Refreshments & “Cake Tasting” courtesy Rosendorff’s Kosher Bakery. RSVP by Fri, Nov 1st.

Call 866-618-3244 Meat Kosher Dining Services Dairy Kosher Dining Services

www.seniorlifestyle.com

Baltimore’s First Choice for Kosher Senior Living 7218 Park Heights Ave, Baltimore, MD 21208