LifeTimes Feb 2022

Living well after 50 Tampa Bay Times | Sunday, February 27, 2022

Plays with a PURPOSE Humorous plays tackle serious subjects for seniors.

Pages 4 and 5

Love is in the air for Phoney Baloney characters played by Norma Caltagirone and Ron Regan in the beware-of-scammers play written

by Linda Goldman for SAGES Theater.

Photo courtesy of SAGES Theater

CROSSWORD The Last Name Game (2), by Merl Reagle ACROSS 1 6 11 18 21 22 23 24 25 26 28 29 32 36 39 45 46 47 48 50 52 57 59 60 61 62 64 67 70 71 76 79 80 81 85 87 89 92

The Grapes of Wrath clan “___ Joe’s” Gave rise to Late actor that Ms. MacLaine talks to?

Balloon buster Cute child star?

Change the name on “Life is ___ dream” PC exit “Yes, non?”

Mourning wetness It has an Apple menu Cops Disparaging Antibiotic discoverer, and not a moment too soon?

TV waitress General, in part “Aha!” Secretive one Tatters Actress who enjoys doing walk-ons?

Cyberpostings West Point grad who became pres. “___ always like this?” ___ good example Pacino-Depp crime drama, ___ Brasco Banned orchard spray Clumsy ones Scandal subject Author of Grand Canyon adventure stories?

Mimic A little Nevada game Arizona plants Apt rhyme for 80 Across Adams and Brickell Atty. foes, often Cleveland suburb

93 Playwright who’s always in hock?

99 Novgorod no 100 Glenn Close film, ___ Attraction 101 “___ be in England” 102 Court deposit 104 Compass pt.

105 First person to perform a heart transplant on a chicken?

110 Act up a storm 111 Russian ruler 112 Wine adjective 113 Rat Pack member 116 Untrained 118 Hot or thin stuff 121 Ad award or Muse 125 Away, in a way 128 Composer who ended up playing at high schools?

134 Vehement denial 135 Apt co-star of Midnight Cowboy?

136 Treacherous peak 137 Test out, as clothes 138 Diving bird

DOWN 1 2

King in 2 Kings Day-Garner comedy, The Thrill ___ All 3 House type 4 Beast’s mark minus 16 5 Haggard’s heroine 6 Extremes 7 Fills ___ (finds a place) 8 Pro ___ 9 The Matterhorn, for one 10 Ringer?: abbr.

11 Apple blossom time 12 Apple, for one 13 Busy bug 14 Toothpaste ingredients 15 Staff member?

16 Ms. Fitzgerald 17 The yearling in The Yearling, e.g.

18 19 20 27 30 31 33 34 35 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 49 51 53 54 55 56 58 63 65 66 68 69 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 82 83 84 86 88

The Well-Tempered Clavier composer: inits.

Sea sí Car co. estab. in 1904 “For Official ___ Only” Tool on a pumper Leg part Idle of “wink wink, nudge nudge” fame Church section TV Batman villain played by Joan Collins “___ glad” Rat Pack member Lone Star landmark Newswoman Lara Nonsocial type Lacking customers Moon vehicles Jacks and jackstraws, e.g.

Bedrock guy Actress Nelligan Trig function Close to Szechuan-born leader “Honey” Sales add-on Slangy hats It’s all in your mind Kin of “Be specific” Member of the jet set?

Cookout Tomato or potato, e.g.

From the States: abbr.

Guy on a junkyard set Portend Survey quickly Circle section Booty Early computer “Hear ye” caller Change Overfill Time’s “Man ___” Number of Nights

The crossword puzzle solution is on Page 7.

90 Swedish pop group 91 Balthazar’s guide 94 Where things keep cropping up 95 Assortment 96 Greek letters 97 Spanish lady 98 Lust, envy, etc.

103 Serious soap 106 Bourbon, for one 107 Darjeeling, for one

108 109 113 114 115 117

Kowalski or Kurtz portrayer..

Accumulate, as interest ___ de vivre Being broadcast “Or ___!”

Orator who lost to McKinley and Taft: inits.

119 ___ instant 120 Gun (the engine) 122 Marshall of money and magazine fame

123 Hungarian premier Nagy 124 Grizzly, to Gomez 126 Stout relative 127 Strength, in Latin 129 Table scrap 130 Not Haggard’s heroine 131 “___ luck?”

132 Droop 133 NO followers

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STEP BY STEP

Sally Anderson

Partner Exercises Want to reduce your stress levels? If you are vaccinated and boosted there are some fun partner exercises that can help keep you moving right in your own home. Research has found that more than 50 percent of those who started exercising as a New Year’s resolution fail to continue for very long. For many, the culprit is lack of motivation.

Working with a partner can help

lower the “drop out rate” by putting more fun into fitness while encouraging both support and motivation. There are studies that confirm working out with a partner improved performance and significantly increased time spent exercising. Here are several medicine ball and bodyweight partner workouts that can be more fun and motivating than exercising alone.

Your Move | Demonstrated by Sharon Dindal & Steve Davis RUSSIAN TWIST WITH MEDICINE BALL Strengthens core,

shoulders and hips.

• Partners sit on floor side by side with • Partner holding ball will turn to the bent knees, heels on floor. outside away from partner, then • One partner will begin with the ball turn and pass ball to partner. pass, passing the ball quickly without • Partner repeats pattern. throwing it.

• Continue the ball pass 1-3 minutes.

Tip: To make this more challenging, keep knees bent, but lift heels off floor.

And be sure to contract abdominals to stabilize the back.

CHEST AND SHOULDER STRETCH Improves posture by lengthening pectoral muscles located at the front of chest and shoulders.

• One partner stands with back facing other partner.

• The partner in front stands tall with abdominals contracted.

• He or she will pull shoulders to the back and extend straight arms behind back.

• Partner standing behind will hold the arms and lift arms up just as high as they will go without partner bending forward.

• The chest should stay open.

• Hold 10-30 seconds, repeating one to three times.

Tip: There should be no discomfort with the arm lifts. You should just feel a good stretch in shoulders and chest.

Photos by Dan Canoro

Medicine Ball Workouts A medicine ball is a weighted ball that varies in weight which is used for strength training.

Whatever your level of fitness level, medicine ball workouts are easily adaptable. You can target core, shoulders, back, glutes, hamstrings and quads. Tossing the ball back and forth will raise your heart rate while strengthening your agility and improving balance. Beginners should start the ball tossing with a lightweight ball and gradually increase weight.

Bodyweight Exercises Requiring no equipment, bodyweight exercises offer you both strength and cardio conditioning.

Bodyweight movement focuses on pushing and pulling, using the body’s natural movements.

Target many different muscle groups while improving balance and flexibility.

Check with your doctor before starting a new exercise program. Sally Anderson is happy to hear from readers but can’t respond to individual inquiries. Contact her at slafit@tampabay.rr.com

BODYWEIGHT SINGLE LEG SQUAT Targets same as bodyweight squat plus a good balance and stability exercise.

• Partners stand facing each other about a foot apart, holding each others fore-arms.

• Arms will be slightly bent and parallel to each other.

• Each partner lifts right foot off floor and extends leg straight out from hip.

• Contracting abdominals and keeping back straight, bend left knee and lower into a modified squat.

• Pause then slowly return to standing.

• Repeat 5-10 times on each leg.

Tip: Try not to let knee of standing leg move past toes. And when extending leg, only lift to where it feels comfortable.

MEDICINE BALL TOSS WITH LUNGE Targets glutes,

quads, hamstrings.

• Partners stand tall about 6-10 feet apart from each other.

• Legs will be a little wider than shoulder-width apart.

• The partner with medicine ball will step forward into a lunge position with the right leg while tossing ball to partner, then return to standing.

• Partner who is catching the ball will step into a lunge with right foot and return the ball toss. Continue ball toss 12-15 repetitions for each partner.

Tip: When performing the lunge, keep back straight and back heel off floor and be sure the weight of the ball is appropriate for you.

BODYWEIGHT SQUAT Targets lower body and core.

• Partners stand tall, facing each other at arms-length apart, holding each others forearms.

• Feet slightly wider than hip-width apart; abdominals contacted.

• Push hips back and bend knees to slowly lower into a squat.

• Pretend you are sitting in a chair.

• Hold a few seconds then push through heels to slowly return to standing.

• Repeat 10-12 repetitions.

Tip: Avoid knees moving beyond toes.

SSP Tampa Bay Times

| Sunday, February 27, 2022 |

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SAGES stages plays with purpose

Humorous plays tackle serious subjects for seniors.

BY AMY SCHERZER Times Correspondent

CLEARWATER - Feisty Grandma Claire took one misstep and broke her arm going out to the porch for a glass of wine one evening. Obstinate Bob swears he’s capable of driving his granddaughter to the mall. Sweet Mary Martha swooned for an online romance scam.

changes. The dialogue rings true because Goldman, 76, is her own target audience.

“We don’t lecture… we show good choices and bad choices,” said the retired post office revenue analyst.

“We know things happen as we age but we have risks we want to take even at this age. We still want to learn, to have purpose, to be self activated within our own abilities.”

Her first play, Denying Gravity, tackles fall prevention. In the next, Phoney Baloney, seniors play Dominoes and swap stories that turn out to be scams. In Deal Maker, a widower wants to keep his car though his cognitive abilities are declining.

Photo courtesy of SAGES Theater

SAGES co-founder and playwright Linda Goldman scripts comedy and drama in one-act, one-hour plays to educate and entertain seniors, their family members and caregivers.

And those are just three of the all-too-true-to-life characters playwright Linda Goldman creates for Senior Actors Guild and Education Services (SAGES), the Tampa Bay non-profit she cofounded with executive director Christine Hamacher in 2019 to bring “Plays with Purpose” to adult community theater.

Unlike silly, stereotypical senior citizen humor, Goldman’s one-act, one-hour plays are smartly embedded with safety cues for aging health and lifestyle

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By March 2020, as the coronavirus began to surge, more than 2,500 seniors, family members and caregivers had been educated and entertained

by Denying Gravity. According to Hamacher, partnerships with 911 and fire rescue agencies resulted in a documented reduction of emergency calls related to athome falls throughout Pinellas County.

“They don’t call them ICU gowns for nothing!”

– from Denying Gravity

Driven by such potentially lifesaving data, the two women would not allow the pandemic to close the curtain on SAGES’ vital programming.

Luckily, in October 2019, before the all-senior, allvolunteer cast and crew, plus

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some EMS responders in cameo roles, ever heard of Covid-19, Hamacher arranged to film a performance of Denying Gravity at the Bilheimer Capitol Theater in Clearwater.

“Smart is the new sexy for women of a certain age!”

– from Phoney Baloney

The professional recording was copied on DVDs for grant-funded “Do-It-Yourself ” kits distributed to local 55+ communities. Goldman also wrote and produced a series of humorous skits enacting useful COVID information for YouTube and the SAGES website.

Theatre in Gulfport as more venues are being sought.

sort of theater group and we think they will welcome this.”

“The only requirements are a stage accessible to the public with a safe backstage area and good parking,” said Hamacher, 54, noting there is never a ticket fee associated with any Play with Purpose, per SAGES copyright license agreement.

Many more public service themes play in Goldman’s mind, as she realizes the “phenomenal positive emotional appeal of live theater.”

“It is truly unusual for any playwright to designate that their work must be performed for free,” she said. “That’s how strongly we feel about raising awareness of these topics and replicating the plays across the country. Most senior communities have some

“…I didn’t know it would be successful…how many we’d impact. I feel we are actually saving lives and improving the well-being of older adults,” she said.

“I can’t believe I have this opportunity at this stage of my life to do something good that I so enjoy.”

Another pandemic innovation will continue, SAGES Readers Theater, a “performance of the voice,” as Goldman calls it, without costumes, sets or props.

She blends parts of her scripts with literary expressions and participants’ personal memories, “perhaps their first car or the smell of French fries on the boardwalk,” the Clearwater resident explained.

In October 2020, when it felt safe to perform Phoney Baloney to a small, masked audience, Hamacher had that show recorded and packaged in another 100 free DIY kits for senior communities across Tampa Bay. Now she optimistically plans to present at least seven in-person shows in 2022, with some extra staged readings in Spanish. Deal Maker is set to premiere April 16 at the Catherine Hickman

Photo courtesy of SAGES Theater

Actors Judy Landis and Max Roberts in Phoney Baloney, an original play by nonprofit SAGES Theater spotlights reality on both ends of a scam call.

April 16: Deal Maker will be performed at 2 p.m at the Catherine Hickman Theatre in Gulfport.

Free admission.

Plays With Purpose Kits featuring a DVD of a professionally recorded SAGES Theater performance, with scripts, viewing guidelines, playbills and audience feedback forms, can be ordered at sagestheater.org.

Linda Mastry participates in the Readers Theater program at the Sunshine Senior Center in St. Petersburg in Spring 2021.

Photos courtesy of SAGES Theater

To volunteer, audition or schedule a SAGES performance, call (727) 536-7076.

Gulfport Fire Rescue Paramedic William Sampson, left, played a cameo role in Denying Gravity at the Catherine Hickman Theatre 2021, joined by Cintia DeAlencar as the physical therapist; Cory McBride as the daughter; and Sandi Sunter as Claire, the feisty grandmother who fell.

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Andy Reeves, 78

MY FAVORITE CAR St. Petersburg

1991 Limited Edition British Racing Green Miata

This is a photograph of me and my grandson Colden as I was giving my 1991 Limited Edition British Racing Green Miata to him last year. He has the antique tag on it now, and uses it daily for school and transportation around Jupiter, where he lives.

I bought the car new in 1991, and kept it in good condition for 30 years. It has about 150K miles

on it, but it still runs, drives, and looks like new. I knew Colden should have it as he’s a lot like me – he’ll take good care of it, with the promise of keeping it in the family when he’s done with it.

It’s a great feeling to have a car you love for 30 years, then pass it along to someone you love who’ll treat it right and keep it in the family. An ongoing treasure!

CALL TO READERS Tell us your love story What’s the story behind your favorite or first car? We’d like to share it. Please send: • Your name, city where you live and your age (with your date of birth).

• The year, make and model of the car, with a description of

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the car and why you love it.

• A high-resolution photo or a scanned image. (Must be of the actual car.)

• Send to drive@tampabay. com and put My Favorite Car or My First Car in the subject line.

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