55 Plus

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Savvy Senior: How Much Do You Need to Retire

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PLUS Issue 37 February / March 2012

For Active Adults in Central New York

55 PLUS’ Hal Miller Launches ‘Memoirs of an Entrepreneur’ ■ Longer

A Man On a Mission

Life: Report Shows Why Americans Are Living Longer ■ Estate Planning vs. Financial Planning. What’s the Difference?

Dr. Ruben Cowart founded Syracuse Community Health Center in 1978. At 69, he remains the leader of the organization that treats more than 40,000 patients a year. Retirement on the horizon?

Stocks? Gold? Mutual Funds? Where to Invest in 2012

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55 PLUS

55 PLUS - February / March 2012

• It’s the first and only magazine of its type in Central New York; • It reaches one of the fastest growing population groups in the region; • Its content celebrates life after 55; • It brings feature stories highlighting those who are 55 and older; • It focuses on health, finances, travel, housing, family and leisure; • It is free of charge and distributed throughout Central New York; • Long shelf life and low advertising cost.

55 Plus – For Active Adults in Upstate New York.

Call 315-342-1182 to reserve a space.

55 PLUS

55 PLUS

February / March 2012

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Health Watch 6-7 Gardening 8 Financial Health 9 Savvy Senior 15 Golden Years 16 My Turn 17 Aging 40 Consumers Corner 45 Druger’s Zoo 48 Last Page 50

CONTENTS

18

40 46

38 12 DISCOUNTS

• Great discounts abound — all for the asking. A guide to getting good deals

18 LIFE EXPERIENCE • 55 PLUS columnist Hal Miller launches ‘Memoirs of an Entrepreneur’

22 COVER

• A man on a mission: Dr. Ruben Cowart still leading Syracuse Community Health

32 COLLECTING

• Gerry Orlando has been collecting vintage films for most of his life.

Now he shares all his collection

36 IMPOTENCE

• Managing impotence or erectile dysfunction

38 FINANCIAL MATTERS

• Stocks? Mutual funds?

Gold? Annuities? We spoke with three local experts

42 VISITS

• 10 things to do in Cleveland, the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

46 PROFILE

• Dick Carr: A Manlius residents is bringing back the classics

Februaruy / March 2012 - 55 PLUS

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HEALTH WATCH

55PLUS

Fast Food: What The Doctor Orders

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ounting calories doesn’t have to end when facing a fast-food menu. Between shopping excursions to the mall, juggling school activities or taking long car trips, swinging into a convenient burger or taco joint doesn’t have to mean you are entering a nutritional wasteland.

Jessica Bartfield, internal medicine who specializes in nutrition and weight management at Loyola University Health System has the following guidelines for you in case you want to eat some fast food 1 — Select grilled rather than fried. A fast-food grilled chicken sandwich has 470 calories and 18 grams of fat while the fried version has 750 calories and 45 grams of fat.

2 — Hold off on cheese, mayonnaise and salad dressings unless low-fat options are available.

Cheese can add an additional 100 calories or more per serving, as does mayonnaise, and often you won’t miss the taste when ordering the plainer versions.

3 — Order the smallest size

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55 PLUS - February / March 2012

Wagner Dotto

Associate Editor Lou Sorendo

Writers

Sandra Scott, Aaron Gifford Mary Beth Roach Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

Columnists

Eva Briggs, M.D., Bruce Frassinelli Marilyn Pinsky, Harold Miller Jim Sollecito, David J. Zumpano Marvin Druger

Advertising

Jasmine Maldonado Marlene Raite Tracy DeCann

Office Manager

Laura J. Beckwith

Layout and Design Chris Crocker

available. Go for the single burger rather than the double and for the small fry rather than bonus-size.

4 — Skip sugar-sweetened drinks, which are usually absent in nutritional value and don’t make you feel more satisfied. These calories quickly add up leading to excessive calorie consumption, especially at restaurants offering free refills on drinks.

5 — Save half of your order for your next meal. You save calories, save time and also save money.

Sugary soda raises fat deposits rinking a liter of regular cola every day increases the amount of fat in the liver and muscles surrounding the organs in the stomach, a new Danish study reveals.

That type of fat buildup has been associated in other studies to an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes.

For the study, the researchers had 47 participants, who were all overweight or obese, drink either a

Editor and Publisher

liter of water, milk, diet cola or regular cola each day for six months.

The findings suggest that the adverse effects of sugary beverages goes way beyond weight or fat gain.

The researchers noted that the sugar used in beverages in Denmark is fructose, different from sucrose used in the United States, adding that it is the fructose part of the sugar molecule that is the primary culprit in fat synthesis in the liver.

Cover Photo

Chuck Wainwright 55 PLUS –A Magazine for Active Adults in Upstate New York is published six times a year by Local News, Inc., which also publishes In Good Health–CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper.

Health in good

CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper Published at 185 E. Seneca St. PO Box 276 Oswego, NY 13126.

Subscription: $15 a year

© 2012 by 55 PLUS – A Magazine for Active Adults in Upstate New York.

No material may be reproduced in whole or in part from this publication without the express written permission of the publisher.

Third class postage paid at Syracuse, NY. Permit Number: 3071

How to Reach Us P.O. Box 276 Oswego, NY 13126 Phone: (315) 342-1182 Fax: 315-342-7776 Email: editor@cnyhealth.com Editor@cnyhealth.com

HEALTH WATCH Americans Living Longer, Report Finds Better treatments, screening for many diseases may explain trend, experts say

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mericans are living longer, a new report shows, with the average life expectancy going from 78.6 years in 2009 to 78.7 years in 2010.

Meanwhile, U.S. death rates dropped half a percent between 2009 and 2010, and hit the lowest rate ever, at 746.2 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the latest set of data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.

And while both heart disease and cancer stubbornly remain in place as the nation’s leading killers (together accounting for 47 percent of deaths in 2010), death rates here declined as well.

Mortality from heart disease went down 2.4 percent, while it dropped 0.6 percent for cancer.

The report is based on 98 percent of death certificates from 50 states and the District of Columbia available to the NCHS. “In many regards, I think the health of the nation is improving and people are living to an older age so that’s good news,” said Dr. David McClellan, acting regional chair of family and community medicine at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. “But we are starting to see age-related diseases have more prominence.”

For instance, pneumonitis (aspiration pneumonia) often happens when people get old enough and debilitated enough to where they can’t swallow. This could be due to dementia or as the

aftermath of a stroke, he explained.

There’s also “a long way to go in terms of combating the epidemic of smoking, obesity, poor diet and exercise,” he said. “If we could get the smoking epidemic under control, we’d probably see the numbers improve even more.”

Another expert was more optimistic.

“This is good news. We’re making major progression in cancer and heart disease through decreases in smoking,” said Dr. Jay Brooks, chairman of hematology/ oncology at Ochsner Health System in Baton Rouge, La. Statins are also playing a part in reducing the death toll from heart disease, while cancer screening is also helping to save lives, Brooks added.

There were slight shuffles in the rankings of other causes of death.

Homicide fell out of the top 15 category for the first time since 1965, replaced by pneumonitis.

Kidney disease and pneumonia/influenza switched places, with the former now 8th and the latter now 9th.

“Pneumonia and influenza have really dropped a lot. Several years ago, they were the sixth leading cause of death,” said Michael Niederman, chairman of medicine at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y. “To me, this is very encouraging because we’re dealing with older populations where many patients frequently have pneumonia, but this affirms the

national priority on immunization, both influenza and pneumococcal.”

The other leading causes of death (in order) were: chronic lower respiratory diseases, cerebrovascular disease (stroke), accidents, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, kidney disease, suicide, septicemia, liver disease, hypertension and Parkinson’s.

Many of these are clearly diseases related to the aging population, Brooks noted.

Death rates also declined for influenza and pneumonia (by 8.5 percent), septicemia (3.6 percent), stroke (1.5 percent), respiratory diseases (1.4 percent) and accidents (1.1 percent).

Meanwhile, death rates increased for five of the top 15: Parkinson’s disease (4.6 percent), pneumonitis (4.1 percent), liver disease and cirrhosis (3.3 percent), Alzheimer’s disease (3.3 percent) and kidney disease (1.3 percent).

The death rate for HIV/AIDS (which was not among the 15 leading causes of death) declined 13.3 percent between 2009 and 2010. But the virus remains a significant concern, especially for people aged 15 through 64.

There was also good news in infant mortality, with rates in 2010 down 3.9 percent from 2009.

But Suzanne Steinbaum, a preventive cardiologist with Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City cautioned against getting too excited over the findings.

“This is good news. I don’t think it’s great news,” she said.

“With the increased incidence in obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, we’re going to start seeing people getting sicker younger.”

Februaruy / March 2012 - 55 PLUS

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Gardening

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55 PLUS - February / March 2012

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eading through some nursery literature today, I noted that a full 70 percent of all plants sold by garden centers in 2011 were not even available just 20 short years ago.Wow, here’s a relatively stable industry going through real growing changes.

Heck, I have jackets that are older than 20 years. They seem fine to me, but Megan frowns when I pull one out of the closet when we are going to be seen together. She’s picturing it differently than I do.

That got me thinking: Passionate as I am about plants, constantly on the lookout for more color and less maintenance, I have seen these changes. But does the average homeowner see what I see? Do they get the new picture? Although they may be comfortable with the familiar plants of their parents’ era, they might be missing an abundance of improvements in color, less maintenance, and four-season interest.

It’s no wonder some established homes appear so bland, with plain evergreen hedges separating space, cutting off communication between neighbors. Newer homes display shrubbery with bright red or blue berries, with red or yellow stems, and trees resembling lovely waterfalls as they drape gracefully to the ground.

Some have shared open spaces that both homeowners “visually own.”

I am not about to suggest that you carry a petition around the neighborhood asking for a collective concerted effort to bring color and beauty to the entire block this spring.

Actually, I would like to suggest that, but I have to be realistic. We are a nation of individualists, although there is no accounting for taste. In my nightmares I visualize dozens of black silhouettes of wide, bent-over derrieres on exhibition throughout the landscapes of my street. No matter how hard I try to get rid of them, somebody keeps installing more.

Aaargh!

As for my own yard, I am not

about to change out large trees. It took too long to get them to their current size, and I need to consider the economy of time. Besides, we truly mostly observe things below the height of our eyes. When standing, the optimum range for maximum visual enjoyment is about 5 feet 6 inches.

That means shrubs rule. Shrubs are easier and more affordable to replace, as long as someone removes the existing overgrown pieces for you.

Removal isn’t all that expensive, and during this pre-spring time, you could arrange for the remaining desirable plants to be pruned while removing the less-interesting, high-maintenance old-timers.

It’s a good idea to have this work performed for you, for health, safety and economy of time. Plus, prices are lower at this time of year because it’s more efficient for the professionals to do the work with no leaves in the way.

Time is money after all.

Hiring others for manual labor that we used to do ourselves doesn’t mean we are giving in to encroaching age. We prefer to consider ourselves young people with experience. We can still have outdoor fun; just omit the heavy lifting. If it’s not fun, then why do it?

Anticipation is often better than an actual event. My senior ball comes to mind. Right now, frozen ground delays instant gratification. I just cannot wait to get my shovel into the soft, warm soil of spring. Expectations for the next growing season are even greater than last. I understand that photosynthesis isn’t the latest feature on a digital camera.

Can you picture that?

Jim Sollecito is the first lifetime senior certified landscape professional in NYS. He operates Sollecito Landscaping Nursery in Syracuse. Contact him at 468-1142 or at jim@sollecito.com.

financial health

By David J. Zumpano

Estate Planning Law The difference between financial planning and estate planning

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any times I have the opportunity to meet with people who confirm they recently had their estate plan done prior to meeting with me.

When I ask them who did their plan, the most common answer is “my financial adviser,” “my accountant,” “my banker” or some other financial or tax professional.

Most people are unclear what estate planning is. To clarify, estate planning can only be done by an attorney, while financial advisers, bankers, accountants and other financial professionals focus on the financial aspect of your estate plan or what is commonly referred to as financial planning.

Your financial professionals support you with all the assets you accumulate (we call it “stuff”).

When you think of your financial professionals, bankers and accountants they help you identify how much stuff you need to save, what type of stuff you need (i.e. stocks vs. bonds vs. investment strategies) and how to get enough stuff to retire.

Estate planning on the other hand is the legal documents, including wills, healthcare proxies, powers of attorney and trusts, to ensure three primary objectives.

First, who is in control of your stuff; second, who gets to benefit from my stuff; and third; when.

For example, you will be in control of your stuff and will decide who gets to benefit from when you are alive and well. When you become disabled, a major question of who is in control of your stuff and who gets to benefit from your stuff, now that you are disabled, becomes paramount and the proper legal documents then identify who you want to be in control and who can benefit (including you).

These same issues continue after

you die: Who is in control of your stuff after you die and who gets to benefit when you are gone.

What if your spouse remarries or goes into a nursing home or what if your children get divorced or go bankrupt, now who’s in control and who gets to benefit from your lifetime of hard work?

Estate planning is all about providing for the control of your stuff and ensuring those you want to benefit, do, whereas financial planning will help ensure you have the stuff you need to maintain your security and to pass on to your loved ones.

These questions have special relevance in that the greatest gift you can give your family is to ensure your wishes are followed and your family is protected even when you are not able to do it yourself.

Unfortunately, many people have the belief the family “knows what I want” but, while good intentioned, it is rare your wishes will occur when you’re not there to guide or when you fail to leave instructions.

Ensure that what you have gets to whom you want, when you want, and the way that you want, by having the proper legal estate planning documents and ensure you have sufficient “stuff” to live on and support your needs by engaging qualified financial professionals. Together, you can have complete protection.

David J. Zumpano is an attorney and a certified public accountant (CPA).

He operates Estate Planning Law Center.

He can be reached at 793-3622.

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Februaruy / March 2012 - 55 PLUS

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55+

discounts

Great Deals: All for the Asking You’ve earned it, so accept a “senior discount” whenever it’s offered

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

Y

ou may loathe the term “senior discount” and feel even more chagrined at seeking one, but take heart: you’re not alone.

“Seniors today are a generation of people who grew up in difficult times when foodstuffs and supplies and gasoline were very tight or nonexistent,” said Cheryl L. Wolfe, director of adult and senior programming at Jewish Community Center in DeWitt.

“People had to pay attention to every penny. Lessons like that learned when you were a child are not forgotten. As a generation, they’re frugal and these days, that’s a good thing.”

Since the baby boomers and the older silent generation are such a large segment of the population, vendors are smart for offering senior discounts and seniors are smart for 12

55 PLUS - February / March 2012

taking advantage of the deals.

“I think more and more people are seeking discounts,” said Bill Armbruster, associate state director for AARP. “It’s a tougher economy.

People are concerned seeing their retirement accounts diminish and if they can find a good opportunity or discount or deal, they’ll do it.”

I n a n e ff o r t to increase local usage, AARP has begun offering local discounts to members.

“We’re going local to try to get people if they’re going to spend money to get it to Armbruster go back locally,”

Armbruster said.

Joining AARP is only one way to nab discounts. Look for signs at retailers, restaurants, car repair shops, beauty and barber shops: basically, anywhere you spend money.

If you don’t see a sign indicating a senior discount, it only costs a little pride to ask, “Do you offer a senior discount?”

Even some banks and attorneys waive or reduce fees for seniors if asked. If the answer is no, perhaps the management will consider offering one in the future.

Before buying anything online, search on retailmenot.com for “senior discount” to see if the percentage off will help you get the best price among a particular site’s competitors.

Sites such as naughtycodes.com, currentcodes.com, dealhunting.com,

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WE CAN HELP YOU SELECT THE PROPER COVERAGE. CALL, WRITE, FAX OR EMAIL US.

Know you can get help when you need it most

Protect the ones you love Februaruy / March 2012 - 55 PLUS

13

or discountcodes.com also provide information on discounts to the general public.

Other sites to try include www.seniordiscounts.com, www. l o c a l s e n i o rd i s c o u n t s . c o m a n d www.sciddy.com/Discounts/NY/ Syracuse.

Carefully review the site before you click “purchase.” On some sites, such as Amtrak’s, you can choose “senior” and score a discount.

Before you travel, ask your travel agent or contact the area’s chamber of commerce to see which places of lodging and attractions offer senior discounts so you can get the best deal.

If you enjoy outdoor recreation, pick up a National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass for only $10 (www.nps.gov/findapark/passes. htm). The lifetime pass for U.S. citizens or permanent residents aged 62 or over is available at most federal recreation sites or through the mail using the form available online (but the latter also incurs a $10 processing fee).

The pass gives a 50 percent discount on many fees charged for facilities and services including

Social Security

Q&A

Q: I know that Social Security’s full retirement age is gradually rising to 67. But does this mean the “early” retirement age will also be going up by two years, from age 62 to 64?

A: No. While it is true that under current law the full retirement age is gradually rising from 65 to 67, the “early” retirement age remains at 62. Keep in mind, however, that taking early retirement reduces your benefit amount.

Q: Do I automatically get Medicare benefits if I’m eligible for disability benefits?

A: After you have received disability benefits for 24 months, we will 14

55 PLUS - February / March 2012

Senior Discount Etiquette • If the vendor doesn’t offer senior discounts, just let it go. The person with whom you’re dealing likely doesn’t have the power to change policy anyway.

• If you’re patronizing a business that typically accepts tips (such as a restaurant), tip on the pre-discount total. It’s not fair to stiff the wait staff because you scored a discount.

• Most places will honor only one type of discount. For example, an AAA discount usually won’t work with a senior discount, but a coupon might. It’s okay to ask if they’ll honor more than one discount, but be polite if it’s declined.

• When researching discounts, make sure you understand all the terms before you head out. For example, some offer discounts starting at age 55, others at 60, 62 or 65. camping, swimming, boat launch, and specialized interpretive services.

The federal recreation sites include more than 2,000 locations and the pass covers up to four adults. Children 15 and younger are free, so bring along the grandkids.

Yo u c a n g e t d i s c o u n t s o n healthcare, too. Ask your healthcare provider or public health office about money-saving programs, clinics or

discount cards.

Also try www.pparx.org (1-888477-2699) to see if you qualify for free or low-cost medications from the drug companies’ patient assistance programs. Drug Card America can garner you discounts of up to 50 percent at vendors including WalMart, Walgreen’s and Rite Aide through its free card. Visit www. drugcardamerica.com.

automatically enroll you in Medicare.

We start counting the 24 months from the month you were entitled to receive disability, not the month when you received your first benefit payment. Sometimes you can get State Medicaid in the meantime. There are exceptions to this rule. People with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and chronic renal disease may be able to get Medicare earlier. For more information, visit www.socialsecurity.gov or call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).

things you own). If you have low income and few resources, you may be able to get SSI. However, if you are receiving support from your friend or from anyone else, that income will be considered when making a decision on your SSI eligibility and amount.

Support includes any food or shelter that is given to you or is received by you because someone else pays for it. For more information, visit www. socialsecurity.gov and select “SSI.”

Q: Next month I’ll turn 65 and, because of my financial situation, I thought I’d be eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). But my neighbor told me I’d probably be turned down because I have a friend who said he might help support me. Is this true?

A: If your friend helps support you, it could have an effect on whether you get SSI and on the amount you receive.

Whether you can get SSI depends on your income and resources (the

Q: If I retire and start getting Social Security retirement benefits at age 62, will my Medicare coverage begin then too?

A: No. Medicare benefits based on retirement do not begin until a person is age 65. If you retire at age 62, you may be able to continue to have medical insurance coverage through your employer or purchase it from an insurance company until you reach age 65 and become eligible for Medicare.

For more information about who can get Medicare, visit www.medicare.gov.

savvy senior

By Jim Miller

How Much Do You Need to Retire?

H

ow much money you need to retire comfortably is a great question that all working adults should ask themselves. Unfortunately, far too few ever bother thinking about it.

But calculating an approximate number of how much you’ll need to have saved for retirement is actually pretty easy and doesn’t take long to do. Here’s a quick, simple three-step approach that can help you find your magic retirement number.

Estimate Expenses The first step is the trickiest — estimating your future retirement expenses. If you want a quick ballpark estimate, figure around 75 to 85 percent of your current gross income.

That’s what most people find they need to maintain their current lifestyle in retirement.

If you want a more precise estimate, track your current expenses on a worksheet and deduct any costs you expect to go away or decline when you retire, and add whatever

new ones you anticipate.

Costs you can scratch off your list include work related expenses like commuting or lunches out, as well as the amount you’re socking away for retirement. You may also be able to deduct your mortgage if you expect to have it paid off by retirement, and your kid’s college expenses. Your income taxes should also be less.

On the other hand, some costs will probably go up when you retire, like health care, and depending on your interests you may spend a lot more on travel, golf or other hobbies. And, if you’re going to be retired for 20 or 30 years, you also need to factor in the occasional big budget items like a new roof, furnace or car.

Tally Income Step two is to calculate your retirement income. If you contribute to Social Security, estimate how much your monthly benefit will be at the age you want to retire. You can get a personalized estimate at www.ssa. gov/estimator. If you’re married, remember to count your spouse’s benefits too.

In addition to Social Security, if you have a traditional pension plan from an employer, find out from the plan administrator how much you are likely to get when you retire. And, figure in any other income from other sources you expect to have, such as rental properties, part-time work, etc.

Calculate the Difference The final step is to do the math.

Subtract your annual expenses from your annual income. If your income alone can cover your bills, you’re all

set. If not, you’ll need to tap your savings, including your 401(k) plans, IRAs, or other investments to make up the difference.

So, let’s say for example you need around $45,000 a year for retirement and you expect to receive $25,000 a year from Social Security and other income. That leaves a $20,000 shortfall that you’ll need to pull from your nest egg each year ($45,000 – $25,000 = $20,000). Multiple your shortfall by 25, and that’s how much you’ll need to have saved.

In the case above, you would multiple $20,000 by 25 and come up with $500,000.

Why 25? Because that would allow you to pull 4 percent a year from your savings, which is a safe withdrawal strategy that in most cases will let your money last as long as you do — at least 30 years.

If you find that your savings are lacking, you might want to go back to your worksheet and cut some costs. Or, you may need to consider part-time work during retirement or postponing retirement so you can boost your savings.

Savvy Tip If you need help figuring out how much you’ll need to retire, there’s a variety of free online calculators that can assist you. Some top tools are offered by Analyze Now (analyzenow. com), T. Rowe Price (www3.troweprice. com/ric/ricweb/public/ric.do) and AARP (aarp.org/work/retirement-planning/ retirement_calculator).

Jim Miller writes the column “Savvy Senior” for In Good Health, Rochester’s Healthcare Newspaper. To contact him, write to Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org.

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golden years

By Harold Miller Email: hal@cny55.com

Hunker Down and Fly Attitude Principles of flying can be applied to everyday life

O

ne of the greatest challenges I ever undertook was to become an instrumentrated pilot, or one capable of flying without ground reference.

As it turns out, the lessons learned had relevance regarding how to navigate through today’s increasingly treacherous and ungodly world. The basic skill has to do with aptitude combined with attitude.

When you fly in clear skies, your eyes tell you that your path across the ground is “straight and level.” When you fly in the clouds, the only instrument you can rely on is the attitude indicator—a small round dial with a symbol of your airplane’s wings floating around a solid horizontal line that indicates the horizon. Your instructor will tell you: “Trust your life to that instrument, and ignore your body (the inner ear and the seat of your pants). Should you blunder into a thunder storm and the plane gets knocked around the sky, cinch your seat belt as tight as you can, hunker down in your seat and fly with reference to the attitude indicator. Keep the wings “straight and level” until you get out of the turbulence.

This is the best advice I can give, in order to get us all through this turbulent world where life seems to be upside-down at times.

My generation has a completely different set of values than many of this generation—values taught at mother’s apron strings, father’s velvet glove, and our reverend’s Sunday sermons. These value lessons were further enhanced by our favorite teachers.

Recently, our high school class at Smith Tech had its 60th reunion at the

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Sherwood Inn in Skaneateles. There were only a dozen of us to celebrate our good fortune at surviving well into the golden years. What was the main topic of conversation?

It was our teachers, who helped so much to set our course through life. Most of our class have become very successful businessmen and they gave a good deal of the credit to teachers like Merwin Jones, who taught us physics and the need for ethics and honesty in all endeavors; Eleanor Fitzgerald, who taught us the English language and temperance in all things; and most of all Dr. Edward Lang, who’s foresight created a unique school that combined academics with learning a trade—the fore runner of today’s Board of Cooperative Educational Services.

My education continued with the mentoring and tutelage of Herbert Laube, former vice president of engineering at Carrier Corporation, and founder of Remington Air Conditioning in Auburn. Herb taught me all I know about business and I have dedicated my newly published book, “Memoirs of an Entrepreneur,” to his wisdom, character, honesty, and vision to foresee—50 years ago—the need to conserve our precious energy resources.

Resurrect lost values Getting back to our country— which is indeed upside-down— someone has to reestablish the values that have been lost. Our financial institutions and our governments are corrupt, dishonest, and criminally negligent toward their responsibility to those of us who have created America’s wealth.

Many of us have seen our life

savings and our property diminish in value. Who will re establish morals, ethics, and honesty to our capitalistic society? Will it be us, the 55-plus generation? Surely it starts at the voting booth and continues with the financial institutions and businesses that we deal with.

Meanwhile we must take on a “hunker down and fly” attitude.

Do not compromise your values, or necessarily give your patronage to the lowest bidder. Don’t rationalize every purchase based on saving a buck. We of the Miller clan try to trade with the local merchants rather than the “big box” stores that get most of their goods from a foreign country.

What’s wrong with buying American goods? If we don’t buy cars made in the USA pretty soon, we won’t have cars made in the USA. When will we wake up and put some of the millions of unemployed back to work by trading with American firms and buying American goods. I have always believed that charity begins at home. Ask that contractor who is low bidder if all of his workers have green cards (issued only to legal aliens).

Look at the bar code on the goods you buy (Google: “buy bar codes” which will identify the goods by country of manufacture).

Many are pessimistic about America’s future, but I am not one of them. The pendulum has swung many times between conservatism and socialism during America’s history, and it will again. Most of us (including this readership) are hardworking people who have taught their children the right values. We just need to be diligent, and remember that discrimination is not a dirty word.

my turn

By Bruce Frassinelli Email: bruce@cny55.com

A

An Elderly Wondering What’s Out There

s I have officially joined the ranks of the “elderly,” I admit to a certain fixation on and fascination with the

hereafter.

Once we pack it in, what is out there? As best as we can determine, no one has come back to give us a firsthand account. Quite frankly, being a journalist, I would love to get the scoop on that story. An interview with the Big Three — God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit — would be awesome.

If I don’t wind up there, though, interviewing the devil would be kind of neat, too. He probably would have some great quotes and anecdotes.

Reality being what it is, I don’t expect that bucket-list item will come to pass. We are pretty much left to try to figure it out on our own, but instead of clarity we are faced with ambiguity from the passages of the Bible, Koran and other holy books.

The Christian doctrine says: Live a good life, and you’ll enjoy the fruits of paradise. But if you don’t, you’re a candidate for eternal damnation in hell.

We probably have our version of what this perfect state would be like.

Suppose I love the idea of spending eternity with my wife, but she wants no part of it. “Being with him on earth was plenty long, thank you,” she might say. What happens in a case like that: Does God toss a coin? Poof, there goes somebody’s paradise.

Then there is the whole issue of space. Where has God put all of the good people who have died and gone to heaven over all of these years? Presumably there must be millions and millions of them. Since the weather is perfect, do they all live outside instead of in a home as most of them do on earth? In the 23rd psalm, however, we see: “…and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” That must be some house! The gospel of

‘Quite frankly, being a journalist, I would love to get the scoop on that story. An interview with the Big Three — God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit — would be awesome.’

John even refers to the Lord’s “many mansions.” Did you ever wonder if they have electricity, and, if so, how did the utility company string those lines up there?

On the other hand, if we somehow wind up in the other place, it seems as if everlasting hellfire will be our fate. Matthew refers to a “furnace of fire that will cause us weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The book of Revelation says evildoers will be “tormented by fire and brimstone… day and night.”

I wonder whether Satan might have a personalized hell for each of us? For example, let’s say you can’t stand the sound of someone raking his fingers down a blackboard, will that be your hell — hearing it over and over and over again, each time as if it were the first time?

Suppose you are claustrophobic: Would your hell involve being confined to a small space, such as being buried alive (even though you’re dead)?

Of course, many believe that all of this is a fantasy, that there is no hereafter. When you die, that’s it.

Done. Finished.

But isn’t that thinking heresy?

After all, if there is no “penalty” for

doing bad stuff during our lifetime, what’s to keep us on the straight and narrow? Remember Maude’s (Bea Arthur) warning to her husband, Walter: “God’ll get you for that.”

Then there was Flip Wilson, who, after doing something mischievous, would sheepishly admit that “the devil made me do it.’’

True believers are preparing for the great beyond now by their actions on earth. They are looking for that super payoff — life eternal with the supreme being. I wonder how much time each of us will get to spend with God, especially since so many will be expecting his company and undivided attention.

Wouldn’t it be a lot easier if the Big Guy called a news conference and made it official: “Hey, it’s no hoax; there really is life after death, so get your act together, or you’ll be checking in at you-know-where, and you won’t be checking out.”

That would really get people in line in a hurry.

The way it is now, we’re left to interpret translations of words that were presumably uttered or written more than two centuries ago. Did you ever hear of something “getting lost in translation?” As a kid in a classroom full of students, we would whisper a phrase from one to another? By the time it passed through the 25 class members, the phrase was nothing like the original.

We’re left with the contradiction of a kind and loving God exacting absolute and unspeakable vengeance on his people for their sins. That punishment isn’t for a day, a month or a year but for all of time — billions of years, even longer, much longer.

Forget life in prison; this is eternity with cruel and unusual punishment, without pardon or parole and no appeals process.

Ouch! How fair is that?

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‘Memoirs of an Entrepreneur’ In a new book, retired entrepreneur Hal Miller shares his ideas on what it takes to be a successful business owner and run a lucrative business

By Lou Sorendo

F

or Hal Miller, there’s nothing more pleasing than to be free from corporate bondage.

That’s why he is a self-made

man.

The Auburn native and resident who writes a column in 55 PLUS titled “Golden Years” started out as a small businessman and built a career that has resulted in highly successful enterprises.

Prior to being hired by Remington Air Conditioning as sales manager in Auburn, Miller worked as a manufacturer’s rep.

After Remington was bought by Singer Corp., he quit and founded Modular Comfort Systems and PASCO. MCS has been in business for almost 40 years promoting, applying and selling commercial HVAC equipment. PASCO was formed in 1972 to provide parts and service to customers for the equipment MCS sold.

He later would jump into real estate development, an investment that has served him well.

Miller, 78, is now retired, but his two sons are running the show at a business that grosses $40 million a year and features 50 employees.

He recently published a book, “Memoirs of an Entrepreneur,” which shares his ideas on what it takes for a successful business owner to run a lucrative business. It 18

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also examines the way he managed to climb the ladder to success.

The book is available at www. memoirs-of-an-entrepreneur.com. It is published by MCS Publishing.

“I think a lot of people long to be in their own business and most of them don’t really have an idea of how to do it,” he said.

“This is really a joint effort

between ourselves and The Central New York Business Journal,” said Miller, a graduate of Smith Tech in Syracuse.

He credits CNY Business Journal Assistant Editor Maria Carbonaro as being a “tremendous help” in editing his book. He credits her with teaching him the finer points of journalism, an endeavor he is exploring during his golden years.

The CNY Business Journal features a column by Miller.

His book actually came as a result of an accident. Miller fell down stairs five years ago and ruptured his quadriceps tendon, forcing him to be immobile for several weeks. He decided to take that time and write the book.

“We’re very fatty in this c o u n t r y. We g r a b a h o l d o f something and shake it and overdo it. The word ‘entrepreneur’ is way over-applied in society,” Miller said.

“Everyone who opens a tobacco store is an entrepreneur. It’s more than opening your own business.”

“Find a need and fill it,” Miller said. “That to me is the key” to being an entrepreneur.

“If you can find a way to make a product faster, cheaper, with less parts, more reliable, actually anything that improves life, that is what entrepreneurship is all

55+ about,” he added.

The Auburn project In his book, Miller profiles several of the area’s most prominent entrepreneurs, such as Robert Congel and Michael Falcone, who is spearheading revitalization efforts in the city of Auburn.

Miller is part of the Stardust Foundation, which is striving to revive downtown Auburn.

“What we’ve done so far in Auburn is to create a ‘creative corridor’ from State Street to Genesee Street,” Miller said.

The plan calls for the refurbishing of buildings and the development of an entrepreneur center that will serve as a breeding ground for budding business people.

The project is going to be anchored by a new Hilton Gardens Inn on the arterial in Auburn.

Miller said the purpose of the effort is to find something to market in Auburn.

There is a push to inject cultural attractions to the city, while tourism has showed an uptick.

Miller resides in one of his developments, Martin Point, which spreads for 50 acres along Owasco Lake.

Solid mentor Miller writes that one of the common elements of entrepreneurship involves ideas. “Everything starts with an idea,” he said.

Herb Laube, former vice president at Carrier Corp., left the company in 1948 to form Remington Air Conditioning in Auburn. The principle he used was decentralized air conditioning systems and energy conservation air conditioning systems.

“Herb said, ‘Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come’,” Miller said.

Miller describes Laube as his mentor.

“He taught me everything I know,” Miller said. “If you are going to start a business, you have to have a mentor.”

“We preached the gospel of energy

life experience

conservation and heating buildings with renewable, clean energy 50 years ago, but nobody listened,” he added.

“We built a small group of manufacturers’ reps, mostly on the East Coast, one by one. We built the business from scratch. Of course, today it’s overdone. Everything is green and everything is energy conservation. Again, it’s an overuse of the term. But our time has come and our business is thriving today because of it,” Miller noted.

He said another common element of entrepreneurship is timing. “Seldom is it about being at the right place at the right time. It’s more about thinking ahead of the crowd,” Miller noted.

“It’s good to lead the parade, but don’t get so far ahead that you can’t hear the tune the band is playing,” Laube once told Miller.

Miller also has been inspired

by Congel, who he said has taken a “nasty, toxic site that once featured an old junk metal firm along the shores of one of the most polluted lakes in the country and used his experience and salesmanship to create Destiny USA in Syracuse.”

Miller said Congel created The Pyramid Companies by first putting certain key people in business who would help him market what he was doing.

“He bankrolled their business and had 50 percent interest in it. When they were established, he allowed them later to buy out his interest,” Miller said as to how Congel “pyramided” his success.

Humble beginnings One of Miller ’s early steps in his business career was to get involved in being a manufacturers’ representative.

He started out in a tiny office in downtown Camillus with his mother Marie keeping books and answering phones and his wife Janet typing his dictations while he was out making sales calls.

He was later hired by Laube as a sales manager at Remington.

Laube took Miller under his wing

and taught him that you can’t get things done by yourself.

“Loyalty is a two-way street,” he said.

When Miller was sidelined due to a hunting accident, it was Laube who kept him on the payroll so he could care for his wife and four children.

“Obviously after that experience, I was loyal to that company,” he said.

Remington would later be acquired by the Singer Sewing Machine Company.

“They didn’t know what they bought. We were building this company very nicely before it was taken over by them,” Miller said.

He later worked for Singer in an office overlooking Rockefeller Center in New York City.

However, Miller said he got frustrated with a corporation “which was trying to run a business it had no concept of. That’s why I started my own business.”

He quit and founded Modular Comfort Systems and PASCO. Not surprisingly, the subtitle of his book is “How to Escape Corporate Bondage.”

Miller said it was a frustrating experience working for Singer. “There were endless reports and plans. Today, a five-year plan isn’t worth a damn,” he said.

Miller said the computer age has Februaruy / March 2012 - 55 PLUS

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largely been responsible for the rapid change in the markets. Companies that were thriving yesterday—such as Kodak in Rochester—“are going right down the tubes,” Miller said.

Kodak stock once stood at $160 a share. Today, it is less than $1.

“They couldn’t foresee digital photography and it completely wiped out the industry. They missed that,” he said.

Set yourself free “The main thing is to be a free man. Be your own person,” Miller said. “Take off at 3 in the afternoon to go fishing or swimming or whatever you want to do. You are free to do it because you are not shackled” by a 9-to-5 job.”

“Corporate bondage” means no future security, Miller said.

He said today’s business executive will work for five different companies before he or she retires.

“Today’s corporate world is

largely devoid of any loyalty,” Miller writes in his book. He said it was not uncommon in his day for people to start with a company right out of school and remain there until retirement.

“We were taught if you apply yourself and excel, you will be rewarded with pay raises, promotions and retirement programs for the golden years. All of this is gone with the wind” due to corporate greed and “merger mania,” he said.

Stuck in recession Miller said the only solution to the current recession is business growth and new businesses.

“We’re not going anywhere with the unions or government employees.

They don’t do anything. They are takers, not givers. This administration is anti-business, and that’s one of the reasons this thing is falling apart,” Miller said.

He said he hopes to see those who

realize the current program is wrong take over politically. “Otherwise, the future looks kind of dim,” he said.

“People hunker down during these times. It’s the worst time to start a business,” he said.

Miller said one thing that needs to happen for the country to turn around economically is decreased taxes.

“Ronald Reagan is the greatest leader of this country in modern times,” he said. “He took us out of [President] Carter’s malaise and the first thing he did was cut taxes.”

At that time, personal income tax was up to 70 percent. “ A u t o m a t i c a l l y, b u s i n e s s i m p ro v e d a n d p e o p l e s t a r t e d investing. It was the right work atmosphere. And he also controlled the unions,” Miller added.

“In today’s society, unions have outlived their usefulness,” said Miller, noting that “sweat shops” no longer exist.

“The bill is coming due,” Miller

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“I had cancer.

Cancer never had me.”

Yesterday, I got out my fishing rod. I couldn’t help thinking of everyone at HOA. It was last spring when I found out. I was overwhelmed, distraught - and scared. I thought my fishing days were over. Then I went to HOA. My medical team all said, “We have the technology to fight this thing!” and showed my the CyberKnife. It sounded scary, but when I learned how it worked and how safe it was, I had hope for the first time.

Your attitude really inspired me, your staff always encouraged me and your plan of action worked. I may have had cancer, but cancer never had me. Today, my kids and I are heading up to the lake.

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55 PLUS - February / March 2012

55+ said. “We can’t afford that type of thing.”

He said no politicians—except New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie—has stepped up to unions to accept pay cuts or see their retirement benefits disappear.

“Our society is out of kilter,” Miller said.

After the battle The book’s epilogue, “After the Battle is Won,” has Laube saying that anyone who is a business leader “will go absolutely nuts” in retirement unless they continue a retirement career.”

“You just can’t sit at the beach and read. It just doesn’t sustain you,” Miller said.

In retirement, he plans to continue his journalism career while trying to maintain his active lifestyle.

A “snowbird,” Miller’s normal physical routine in Florida once

life experience

involved an ocean-side bike ride, a visit to the gym, followed by a swim in the ocean or pool. A recent hip replacement, however, has slowed him considerably.

“I look forward to getting up every morning, but I also look forward to retiring after a day because my energy level isn’t quite what it was 30 or 40 years ago,” he added.

“The biggest thing is to maintain mental health,” he said.

He has seen retirees in Florida die prematurely “many times out of boredom.” “ Yo u ’ v e g o t t o s t i l l h a v e challenges,” he said.

“I have accomplished most of the goals that I set in retirement. Now I want to sustain them,” he said.

Succession plan Miller has been married to his wife Janet for 56 years. They have five children. The oldest son, Ronald, died in a tragic auto accident while a

student at Ohio State.

“Both my sons run the business and it is a pleasure seeing them do it.

I go in mornings and stay out of their way,” he said.

His sons—Stephen and Christopher—do tap into his expertise, and he helped create the websites and logos that represent the company.

The couple also has two daughters, Jeanne and Marcia.

The business is now seeing involvement from a third generation of Millers. Grandson Matt Kremers, an RIT graduate and son of Jeanne, has joined the company as a sales engineer.

A second grandson, Ohio State student Eric Miller, the son of Stephen, plans to join the company after postgraduate studies.

To order copies of Hal Miller’s new book, visit www.memoirs-of-anentrepreneur.com

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A Man on a Mission Dr. Ruben Cowart, 69, founded Syracuse Community Health Center in 1978 and still leads the organization. Through 15 sites, SCHC serves more than 40,000 people, most representing Syracuse’s at-risk population

By Aaron Gifford

W

hether he was cleaning pharmacies in the pred a w n h o u r s b e f o re school or picking citrus fruit on hot Florida afternoons, Ruben Cowart always knew his hard work would pay off.

In a household of five children and a single mother, Cowart had his sights set on becoming the first in his family to go to college. Back then, in the days before the Civil Rights Act, African-Americans were often discouraged from pursuing their dreams. And yet, Cowart never lacked confidence.

If he wanted to play football and basketball after school, Cowart was required to work in the early mornings or on weekends and study during the time that remained. In the summer he had an additional job mowing lawns where he was not paid by the hour, but by the completed job.

“Those jobs, they taught me to be disciplined, to be organized, to work hard,” said Cowart, who founded the Syracuse Community Health Center in 1978 and has led the organization ever since.

Cowart was fortunate that he had a high school guidance counselor who encouraged him to pursue his

aspirations, “and not to think small about what you do,” he said. He was also inspired by the dentist who conducted the required college preentrance oral exam.

“It was the first time I met a black dentist,” said Cowart, now 69. “I was amazed and intrigued that I was seeing a minority professional. I got to know him.”

A stellar student, Cowart then attended Saint Augustine College in Raleigh, N.C., where only five of the 17,000 students there were AfricanAmerican. He got a campus job as a dormitory supervisor. When he wasn’t at class he spent much of his time shooting pool in the student union, sometimes until late at night.

“I wanted,” he said, “to be noticed.”

He’d grab three or four hours of sleep a night and wake up around 4:30 a.m. to study, sitting next to an open window so the cold air would keep him awake. The long days and nights apparently paid off: He never scored below a 97 on any exam.

“But still, my work was scrutinized,” he recalled. “It’s like you lived in a fish bowl — everything you did was scrutinized. It was a mindset that I had dealt with my whole life, but I would never describe

it as frustrating.”

Cowart had teaching job offers upon graduating from college, but instead of working he elected to pursue an advanced degree. An automobile accident, however, delayed his entrance, so he spent several months working construction in Rochester and then at a job at Kodak before he returned to school. He went on to complete a degree in dental surgery from Howard University in Washington, D.C. Cowart chose a position at the Syracuse Neighborhood Health center over several other offers, including working for private practices that probably paid significantly more money.

“I chose the job here because that’s what I felt strongly about — helping those who want to help themselves but might not be able to help themselves.”

Back then, inner-city clinics were often considered a place of last resort.

The Syracuse facility was managed

by SUNY Upstate Medical Center and, despite the stigma clinics had at the time, there were plenty of young, eager and caring doctors there who performed excellent work.

Six years after Cowart began his Februaruy / March 2012 - 55 PLUS

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work at the Neighborhood Health Center, a legal loophole that required a certain percentage of board members to be clinic patients forced the facility to close. Instead of taking his skills elsewhere, Cowart enrolled in an MBA program to learn how to run a business. With a Syracuse University degree in hand, the young dentist re-established the center and became its director.

“Otherwise,” he said, “it had to close. I assumed the responsibility to start a new organization to satisfy the regulations of the federal government.

I have always been someone to say, if I don’t know it, I don’t know it but I’ll learn it. If I do know it, I’ll try to get even better.”

That was in 1978. Under Cowart’s leadership, the Syracuse Community Health Center steadily expanded to include 15 sites, six of which are based in city schools. The organization employs nearly 500 people, including more than 100 health care providers.

Its annual operating budget totals $134 million. All told, facilities serve more than 40,000 people, with up to 70 percent of the patients representing the city’s at-risk population (elderly, below poverty households, Medicaid recipients and those without a high school diploma.

Cowart said the most vulnerable population served have less money, are less likely to exercise and have very little political clout. More than 90 percent of the organization’s budget goes directly to patient care.

Most revenues come from Medicaid, Medicare or co-payments based on a sliding income scale. The director was proud to say that he has relied very little on government grants, and the organization has never had to lay off any employees due to revenue gaps.

In his first few years Cowart still practiced dentistry on a part-time basis, but over time the day-to-day responsibilities of overseeing such a large organization precluded him from seeing patients.

By the late 1980s the Syracuse Community Health Center was going strong and Cowart was confident in his leadership role. But he didn’t settle for the status quo. He was aware 24

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of the changes ahead, especially in the direction of health maintenance organizations and managed care. He shifted his focus to networking with other organizations, serving on a

Q&A with Dr. Ruben Cowart Q: You still work about 70 hours a week at the age of 69. How do you stay so energetic?

A: Ever since college I’ve been able to get by on three or three and half hours of sleep at night. I still have that automatic alarm clock in my head. I also have decent genes in my family; I have a 97-year-old mother. I think that’s a big part of it, but I have tried to live a healthy life.

Q: How do you manage stress?

A: I believe in using inner peace can help you to deal with stress and anxiety. I have accepted, and live by, the golden rule — to do unto others how you would have them do unto you. I try to live one day at a time and not worry too much about tomorrow.

Q: What about exercise?

A: I have a treadmill. I use it four to five times a week. But I also realize that I am not 16 years old, so I don’t push myself too hard.

Q: And how about you’re eating habits?

A: I eat how a doctor should eat, but maybe not by the book. I’m lucky to have co-workers to make sure I eat the right food (laugh) and live like I should.”

Q: What advice can you give to folks 55 and older who see you as a role model?

A: Believe in yourself. Be a good person, look for inner peace and live by the golden rule. It’s never too late to make changes in your life if you want to be a better person.

governor’s advisory committee that later established a managed care plan with Medicaid.

“We could not stay alive in isolation,” he said, “so we started our own managed care plan.”

Cowart is “cautiously optimistic” that his organization as a primary care provider would remain financially strong under future health care reform, but stressed that these are very trying times for nonprofit medical providers.

Cowart had a glowing resume and years of experience in dentistry and business, but he continued to decline other opportunities that could have made him a wealthier man. He stuck with the clinic for the same reason he got into it, and never had an interest in “keeping up with the Joneses, getting into debt or spending more than my means.”

“I still loved the element of surprise here that every day is different,” he said. “I never lost sight of my mission or purpose of being.

And we did not want to be identified as a place of last resort. We wanted it to be a place of choice where anybody would be happy to receive care. I think that has happened, but I stress, I did not do it alone.”

He still works about 70 hours a week. Cowart said a good chunk of his time is spent outside of the health center, at City Hall, area health care associations or events with civic organizations and local, state and federal elected officials.

“It’s not the part I enjoy the most, but politics is a big part of this,” he said. “That aggregate of activities is necessary in order to survive. You have to get to know the decision makers.”

His work in health care has not gone unnoticed by city officials. Five years ago, the Syracuse Common Council passed a resolution proclaiming Nov. 11, 2006 “Ruben Cowart Community Recognition Day.” Cowart has lived in the city of Syracuse since his arrival here. He thinks it is absolutely essential to reside in the same community you serve and work in.

Cowart is previously divorced but

engaged to be married again. He has a grown daughter and a grandson. In what little spare time he has, Cowart enjoys reading, hunting, going to the theater and traveling. He’s adjusted to the cold Central New York winters and never longs for the Florida heat.

“I do like to travel, but I honestly love Central New York,” he said.

“There are four distinctive seasons here, and everything here is accessible.

It’s easy to make friends here. Syracuse is a fine place to live.”

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he Syracuse Community Health Center is on track to open a new $14 million clinic next to its current location on Salina Street by the end of 2013.

Ruben Cowart, president and chief executive officer, said the new facility will contain more than 60,000 square feet of clinical space. The project, which will take place in phases, includes an overhaul of the Syracuse Community Health’s information technology systems, allowing the organization to maintain electronic medical records at all of its locations.

The existing building, just one block away from the future clinic, will mainly be used for administrative functions, but some walk-in services will continued to be offered after the new center opens.

“With the new facility, we will be more efficient and cost-effective,” Cowart noted, but he said he would prefer to withhold details on the project until after he meets with the center’s designers. An architectural firm was to be selected by the end of January.

According to federal 990 taxexemption forms filed in 2010, the most recent year available, Syracuse Community Health Center had a reserve fund of $16,482,326 to cover expansion projects and working capital.

Cowart expects to break ground in the late spring. Construction should take about 18 months.

Februaruy / March 2012 - 55 PLUS

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10 Resolutions That will help you age successfully

S

uccessful aging means more than good health. It means taking charge of your personal wellbeing so that you can continue to live a vibrant, independent

life, regardless of your age, according to Dr. Terri Ginsberg of the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging.

“Successful aging isn’t d i ff i c u l t , b u t it does require a personal commitment to active living,” s a y s G i n s b e rg .

To help them age successfully, Ginsberg recommends that adults of all ages follow these 10 resolutions for healthy aging.

1. Sleep at night. Avoid frequent daytime naps, late night snacks or watching television in bed.

2. Eat lots of colors. Vibrantly colored fruits and vegetables on your plate mean a healthy diet that keeps your body moving.

doesn’t mean being alone. Reach out to friends, neighbors and relatives.

6. Move more. Exercise improves heart health, and good heart health helps prevent a range of related disorders, including blood clots and depression.

7. Read more. You can “exercise your brain” with newspapers, books, magazines or puzzles.

8. Laugh and sing. Is there a better way to enjoy life? And both will help you to worry less.

9. Take control. Be proactive about your own health. Ask your doctor questions about your health and for advice on positive lifestyle changes.

10. Get involved. Local organizations of all types need volunteers. Helping others is the best tonic for feeling good about yourself.

3. Get checked out. Catch up on any health screenings your doctor has recommended and don’t forget eye and dental check-ups.

4. Worry less. It really is possible to “worry yourself sick.” Excessive worrying can lead to high blood pressure, digestive problems, chronic headaches and unhealthy weight gain.

5. Stay in touch. Living alone

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31

55+

collecting

Lights, Camera, Action!

Collector of vintage films shares his wealth of knowledge

By Mary Beth Roach

G

erry Orlando doesn’t just watch and enjoy classic movies.He immerses himself in them as a longtime vintage film collector, a writer on the subject, an adjunct professor, president of the Syracuse Cinephile Society, and a master of ceremonies at the weekly screenings offered by the society in the spring and fall.

And all this in addition to his 32

55 PLUS - February / March 2012

occupation as a residential real estate appraiser affiliated with Copeland & Copeland Inc. in downtown Syracuse.

T h e s o c i e t y, d e d i c a t e d t o furthering the appreciation of vintage motion pictures and related materials, was founded in 1967 by Phil Serling, who also served as its president until his passing about 10 years ago.

Orlando took over as president

about two years ago.

Orlando’s interest in classic movies began, he said, in the latter part of grammar school. Growing up in the western suburbs of Syracuse, the Camillus resident recalls that his all-time favorite theater was the old Kallet Genesee in Westvale Plaza, where he would catch Disney titles and the like.

But he added that once in a while

55+ “we would get dressed up and my mother would take us to one of the big downtown theaters like Loew’s (now the Landmark), RKO Keith’s or the Eckel, but most of the time it was the comfortable Kallet Genesee.”

The 56-year-old began collecting 8-mm silent films when he was a child, and then graduated to Super 8 Sound films as a teen and young adult, before moving up to 16-mm sound, which he currently collects.

He also began to collect 16-mm films of half-hour vintage shows, such as “Burns & Allen,” “I Love Lucy,” “Make Room for Daddy,” “Jack Benny,” “The Abbott & Costello Show,” and “Sgt. Bilko,” as well as theatrical short subjects with Laurel and Hardy and Buster Keaton.

His current library consists of titles in different formats, including 16-mm film, VHS video and DVDs, but he numbers about 200 features in his film collection.

Snowball effect He calls it the pyramid effect.

“You’ll watch a movie with a star

collecting

you like and then you like the co-star,” he said. “It keeps branching out and branching out.”

“Vintage” can be a subjective term, Orlando explained. Some people consider a 1975 film an “old movie,” while others consider that era to be “recent.” However, he clarified that a “vintage” film is generally considered to be one that was released before 1970.

Each member of the Cinephile Society, he said, has his or her own collection. While he opts for comedies and musicals, there are others that specialize in horror and science fiction films or English titles, for example.

These collections form a basis for the weekly showings that the society offers at the Spaghetti Warehouse in Syracuse on Monday evenings during the spring and fall.

“We want the viewing experience to be good for our patrons,” he e x p l a i n e d . “ We w a n t t o h a v e something for everyone.” There is a lot of time and detail that goes into planning a well-balanced season.”

While it’s true that people could easily catch a variety of classic movies these days in the comfort of their homes on cable television or via the Internet, Orlando contends that there is much

more to viewing a film than the simple act of watching it.

To him and others in the Cinephile Society, it’s an experience.

The screenings are shown are film, not VHS tapes or DVDs, he said.

“We show film because it really gives the film experience, the quality,” he remarked. “If you’re showing it on a large screen, there is a depth …

People just notice the difference.”

The whirring noise of the projector and being part of the audience enhance that experience and gives it more of a “night at the movies” feel, he added.

For many, he said, audience interaction is key. Together, they can enjoy the Mae West one-liners or gasp during the mysteries, and the intermissions give the patrons the opportunity to socialize.

Adding to it are the introductions that Orlando gives.

“Audiences like the behind-thescenes stuff,” he said.

Learning experience “Some films, especially if they’re mine, I just know a lot of the information. But the most rewarding introductions for me personally are the ones that I do on films that I’m not particularly a fan of because those are the ones that I really have to do the digging,” he said. “My opinion is that no star, no director ever set out to make a bad film, so I try to find the good in each film. I will start doing

Februaruy / March 2012 - 55 PLUS

33

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55 PLUS - February / March 2012

research.”

He has found this will provide him with a new respect for the film, and he watches it with a new appreciation.

The films attract a diverse group of audience members, Orlando noted, which indicates that vintage films can appeal to all ages.

But what is the appeal?

“It depends on the genre. For the horror films, they can see scary stuff that’s not too bloody. As for musicals, where are you going to see a Fred Astaire? I find that some of the older films take a little bit of getting used to,” he said. “I think they were slowerpaced. They were more methodical in their storytelling.”

He hesitates to suggest which might be the “best era” for vintage films, but he pointed out that 1939 is universally accepted as the very best year ever for films, and it’s often referred to as “Hollywood’s Greatest Year.”

Calling them classic and superb films, Orlando named just a few films released that year—”Gone With The Wind,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Stagecoach,” “The Women,” “Destry Rides Again,” “Dark Victory,” “Gunga Din,” “Beau Geste,” “Ninotchka,” “Wuthering Heights,” “Goodbye, Mr. Chips,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington,” “Of Mice and Men,” and the list goes on.

��������������������������� ������������������������� ���������������� ��������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������� ������������������������������� �������������������� ��������������������������������� �������������������������������������������������������

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Time for the Cinefest Orlando and members from the Cinephile Society have begun preparations for Cinefest 32, which will run March 15-18, with most of the activities at the Holiday Inn in Liverpool.

The key to Cinefest is that it showcases very rare films that can’t be found on cable TV or on DVDs, he said.

To prepare for a well-balanced schedule of films, the group puts together lists and reaches out to their contacts at the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, the Library of Congress and the Museum of Modern Art, for example, for their suggestions.

While at the hotel, the films shown are all 16 mm. There is a trip on the Saturday morning of Cinefest to the Palace Theatre in Syracuse’s Eastwood neighborhood for a showing of a 35Februaruy / March 2012 - 55 PLUS

35

mm classic.

Audiences love the theater, Orlando said, because it is so reminiscent of the theaters many of them might have gone to on Saturday afternoons were younger.

Nationally known film critic Leonard Maltin has become a regular at Cinefest and is scheduled to return this year to conduct the Sunday morning auction. Eileen Bowser, who initiated the film preservation/ restoration program at the Museum of Modern Art, and several others will also be featured. There are also four dealer rooms for collectors.

Orlando offers some advice to new collectors: Learn as much as you can about 16-mm film prints, original prints vs. “dupes” (duplicate prints typically have inferior quality to originals), different conditions of used prints, etc. They should also find out about different film sellers by reading the message boards on such online sites as www.16mmfilmtalk.com and talking with other film collectors at events such as the annual Cinefest convention.

For info on the Cinefest event, visit www.syracusecinephile.com.

When he’s not preparing for the Cinefest, watching films or planning screenings, Orlando has written or provided classes about them. He’s a contributing writer to some local publications and has written for two national publications, “Classic Images” and the now-defunct “Big Reel.”

He has also been an instructor in film preservation and public speaking at the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation at the Eastman House.

When asked to name 10 classic films that fans should see and/or add to their collection, Orlando found it difficult. There are so many choices, so many aspects of these films to appreciate, he pointed out—from technical innovations to the way the story is told, from the musical numbers to powerful performances.

He said once someone becomes a fan, he or she will find as much enjoyment in watching a more obscure film as in viewing a classic like “Citizen Kane,” “King Kong,” or “Casablanca.”

It appears it’s true what Mae West said: “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!”

36

55 PLUS - February / March 2012

Impotence

Managing Impotence or Erectile Dysfunction

By Bashar Omarbasha, MD

M

ale impotence — what doctors refer to as erectile dysfunction (ED) — is not considered normal at any age, and you should certainly not shrug your shoulders and pass it off as “just a symptom of getting older.”

Nor is impotence the transient problem — one that affects many men from time to time — of failure to get an erection because of too much alcohol, tiredness or any other definite, short-term reason. It’s when this failure occurs more than 50 percent of the time that an occasional problem or embarrassment becomes one requiring medical attention. It is estimated that about one in 10 men suffer from ED. As men age, the rate of impotence rises.

One reason you should visit your doctor if you have ED is that it could be the sign that another ailment — such as heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes — is affecting blood flow. Impairment of blood flow into the penis, or the inability to store blood in an erection, is the most frequent causes of ED. Other possible physical causes include nerve damage, side effects of prescription medications, smoking, high cholesterol, excessive alcohol consumption, and hormonal problems, such as low testosterone or diabetes. Doctors now believe psychological causes play a lesser role in ED than physical ones; nevertheless, stress, anxiety, and

One reason you should visit your doctor if you have ED is that it could be the sign that another ailment — such as heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes — is affecting blood flow depression — sometimes brought on by the condition — can exacerbate it.

The good news is that ED is treatable, and advances in doctors’ understanding of the condition mean that many options are available. Because men respond differently to varying therapies, what works for someone else might not work for you.

Treatment Oral Medications — Many men have heard about the phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors called sildenafil, vardenafil, and hydrochloride tadalafil, better known as Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis, respectively. Effective at treating ED caused by inhibited blood flow, they work by relaxing muscles in the penis. Your doctor can determine which medication, and in what dose, is right for you.

Alprostadil — This is an

approved ED drug that can either be injected into the penis or placed into the urethra in suppository form. The success rate is very good, although side effects such a burning feeling in the penis or prolonged erection (“priapism”) have been reported.

Vacuum Devices — Mechanical vacuum devices help engorge the penis thanks to a pump that creates a partial vacuum in a tube placed over the penis. To maintain the erection, a rubber ring can be used at the base of the penis.

Surgery — Severe ED cases may require one of three surgical interventions: the placing of a prosthetic device in the penis, such as an inflatable implant; reconstruction or repair of arteries to increase blood flow; or the blocking of veins that are causing blood to leak out of an erection.

Counseling — such as couples therapy or sex therapy — may be suggested if your ED has no physical cause and is instead the result of stress or relationship problems. A therapist might help with better everyday communication skills and suggest new ways to be intimate or to initiate love-making so that the “pressure to perform” is reduced.

Communication — It’s important to be patient when treating your ED, which can be a frustrating condition for both partners. Open sharing with your partner is essential so you can both work through complex emotions, stay positive, and enjoy a successful treatment.

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For comprehensive, quality care from physicians you can trust, turn to University OB/GYN Associates All general and specialty women’s services are provided by our group • Infertility Diagnosis and Treatment i ncluding Advanced Reproductive Technologies Accepting new patients In – Vitro Fertilization to our practice • Family Planning • General Maternity Care 725 Irving Ave., Suite 600 • General Gynecology and Well Woman Services Syracuse, NY 13210 including menopause and PMS 315-464-5162 • Urogynecology • High Risk Maternity Care www.upstate.edu/obgyn • Gyn Oncology Our physicians are faculty of the Upstate Medical University We are the only group with the Academic Difference. Most insurances accepted

Bashar Omarbasha is a board-certified urologist with Associated Medical Professionals of Central New York.

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financial matters

Stocks, Mutual Funds, Annuities, Bonds, Gold?

Three local experts discuss best ways to invest in 2012 Aaron Gifford

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inancial planning is much more involved now than it was 20 or even 10 years ago, experts say. People are living longer, people are working longer, and it’s not uncommon these days for a would-be retiree to take a little time off after ending a long career but taking up another job that pays less because they fear running out of money. The economic downturn and wild rollercoaster in the stock market as of late makes the task even trickier.

David Mirabito, a certified financial planner with MetLife in Fulton, said clients need to initiate the retirement planning process by determining how much income they’ll need to cover expenses for the remainder of their lives.

“That’s the most important criteria,” he said. “What are your essential expenses? What are your luxury expenses? Are you still paying a mortgage or do you have kids that are still in college? What is your income with Social Security, an IRA, a pension? Then, if they say I need $1,000 a month to live, we work from there.”

Mirabito said, contrary to popular belief, retirees should not just look at the hottest mutual funds or exchange traded funds. Diversification, he urged, is the key. Even with the sluggish economy and the volatile stock market, people should not be scared to invest.

“Do not put the money under the pillow,” he said. “There are unquestionable excellent opportunities out there.”

The domestic bond market, at 38

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only 2 percent for 10 years, might not be appealing right now.

Foreign corporate bonds, however, are worth considering. The major ones are available for British and German companies. These types of bonds will not fluctuate 4 or 5 percent in one day as many stocks have lately.

Investors should also consider buying stock in companies in developing nations like China, India, Singapore, Malaysia and Brazil, just to name a few. Some of the greatest growth rates, Mirabito said, are not happening in the United States.

R a n d y Z e i g l e r, a certified financial planner with Ameriprise Financial Services in Oswego, s a i d s a v i n g s f ro m a 401K account may be good enough for some would-be retirees, depending on the lifestyle they want to maintain. However, he advises, retirees need to take into account the tax implications for drawing money from 401K accounts and Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Consider spreading your money out into some investments that are not taxed or not taxed as heavily as the retirement accounts you invested in over the course of your

employment.

“It’s good to have some flexibility,” he said.

Brett Baumlin of The Decisive Difference financial planning office in Syracuse, said it’s also wise to consider “nonmarketc o r r e l a t e d investments like fixed annuities, REITs, equipment leasing, etc.”

“Doing absolutely nothing with your hardearned dollars is just one step worse than putting it all in the bank, he said. “With so many alternatives available which offer returns much greater than your banking institutions and without worrying about market fluctuation, it would be a total waste to leave your money idle.”

Investing in gold is another misconception, though there seems to be plenty of advertising in that area lately, Mirabito explained. While gold is jewelry to many people, others see it as an insurance policy against overspending governments.

“But people should not overspend on gold,” Mirabito said, adding that he becomes very concerned if gold exceeds 25 percent of a client’s

portfolio. “Gold is very speculative and it doesn’t pay dividends.”

Zeigler said investors should only buy gold nuggets, bars or coins if they have “a very, very diversified portfolio in place.”

“I’ve had many conversations in the past about precious metals,” he said. “There are still groups of people who believe gold is [a measurement of] the stability of American currency.

Gold has a value because of perception, and it always has.”

Baumlin calls gold a popular alternative investment in times of economic uncertainly. He, too, advises investor to proceed with caution.

“Don’t throw caution into the wind,” he said, “when the demand begins to wither. The price of gold can drop dramatically.”

Inflation should be factored into the retirement conversation; the value of a dollar in the years ahead is a much more serious issue when health care costs are considered. People all too often underestimate how long they’ll live, Mirabito said, and “they blow through their investments way too fast.”

Zeigler echoed those sentiments.

He said people are hesitant to take risks because of the current state of the economy, but as they gravitate toward bonds and other conservative investments, they are not considering that they may have a long life ahead of them.

“The problem is,” Zeigler said, “the longer people live, the greater the need for an inflation hedge. The question we [financial planners] ask ourselves is, how do we help our clients not outlive their money?”

Baumlin says the combination of inflation, taxation and skyrocketing medical expenses in this bad economy can be quite distressing to those who are hoping to retire some day. People need to realize that today’s economic problems and the ways lending institutions do business now will have lasting implications on our standard of living.

“Americans, in general, are forced to put away more toward retirement goals,” Baumlin explained. “This has mandated less spendable income per individual household, and thus an economy that is significantly more stressed. Prices rise on consumer

goods to meet this troubled economy, creating a never-ending spiral. What used to be viewed as the primary solution to savings has itself become the obstacle. Our banking industry has become more greedy, offering less than 1 percent returns on savings and certificates of deposit while demanding exorbitant rates on credit cards and adding fees for everything imaginable.”

Those who are planning for retirement need to review any life insurance plans they purchased while working. And always consider thus question: “If I passed away today, how would that affect my family financially?” Moreover, planning for retirement involves stressful decisions and topics that most people don’t want to talk about, including death, dementia or long-term disabilities.

Those who are looking to retire in the coming years also need to consider that there’s no guarantee that employers who fund their retirees’ medical insurance will always do so.

The cost of supplemental insurance to Medicare and long-term disability must be factored into the mix.

“It’s a major threat to a happy retirement,” Zeigler said. “But it’s a lot better to deal with it ahead of time, and when you’re not in a crisis.”

While retirees should feel a sense of urgency in planning ahead, they should not panic once their choices are made and their investments are selected.

“In general, I stress patience,” Mirabito said. “I say watch the news less, not more. Don’t pay attention to the day-to-day swings of the market. We’re inundated with news 24 hours a day, and some of it will be unnerving.”

Baumlin stressed that anyone considering the retirement planning process should not go it alone. He recommends selecting a financial planner who has at least 10 years of experience, and asking for references before they select one.

“If you try to tackle this task on your own, proper goals may not be set; nor will you have the insight as to which investment vehicles to use,” he said. “In order to secure a comfortable future, contact someone whose profession is to make sure you succeed.”

David D. Mirabito CLU, ChFC, CFP™, MSFS

Senior Financial Services Executive Registered Representative Investment Advisor Representative 1909 State. Rte. 3, Fulton Ph: 315-592-3145 Fax: 315-592-8325 dmirabito@metlife.com Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife), New York, NY 10166. Securities and investiment advisory services offered by MetLife Securities, Inc. (MSI) member FINRA/SIPC and a registered investment adviser, New York, NY 10166. MLIC and MSI are MetLife Inc. companies. L05083327 [exp. 12/13][NY]

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Reaching the fastest growing population in the area For advertising information, call 342-1182

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aging

By Marilyn L. Pinsky

An Entrepreneur at 65: Not for the Faint of Heart Inventor of Thermal Bar pays his entrepreneurial dues

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aybe it was the steady nerves he developed as a fighter pilot dodging flak during Desert Storm or climbing frozen waterfalls with a pick.

Something made Bob Rose feel he could spend seven years and more money than he cares to remember following his dream.

Rose is CEO and president of Thermal Bar, Inc., a corporation that markets a unique type of energy bar.

I met Rose through the South Side Innovation Center (SSIC) where he is a client/tenant.

As Bob Herz, director of the SSIC says, “Bob is an example of some of the folks we work with here, entrepreneurs ‘living the new narrative’. People who’ve had a career, and are now reinventing themselves in ways that they control, pursuing an idea they always wanted to pursue, living the dream.”

For Rose, it has been quite a journey to reach the point where he can see success looming.

And the journey was not for the faint of heart.

The years of starts and stops, fits and spurts would have caused most people to throw in the towel long ago, but after an hour spent with Rose, I could feel the positive energy that keeps him going.

“My first job out of college was with Carrier Air Conditioning, where I eventually worked as a development engineer on air distribution terminals,” said Rose. “I was at Carrier for 10 years and at the same time I was a Reserve pilot for the Air National Guard, flying evenings and weekends and was asked to join the Air National Guard as a full-time flight instructor.”

Somewhere around age 50, Rose 40

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started waking up with ideas for inventions, like a suitcase on wheels that generated energy to power your cell phone as you walked through the terminal. That idea didn’t quite fly, or roll, as the case may be.

He continued to fly fighter jets with the 174th Tactical Fighter Wing, The Boys From Syracuse, for 29 years, until he was 51, finishing up in the hottest fighter jet in the world, the F-16, and then flew for Delta Airlines for 10 years.

At the time the FAA required that pilots retire at age 60, so he was on the lookout for his next gig.

Warms up to idea He was a marathoner who would come home with a sweating body but cold fingers. “I need to solve this,” said Rose, “so I went to the computer and looked up warming agents—cinnamon, ginger and other spices that make up my trade secret bar. Then I called my brother who is a graphic artist in New York City for help. His first response was, ‘This isn’t another suitcase that powers phones, is it?’ I convinced him that I was really on to something this time, so he agreed to design the graphic image for their new product, the Thermal Bar, which was essential to marketing the product.”

“While my first few batches of dough were effective for keeping my fingers warm, it tasted just awful,” he said. “This is when I started to reach out to people for advice. I went to my first mentor, Art Zimmer, an entrepreneur himself, who owned the Syracuse New Times.

“Art sent me to Nelson Farms in Cazenovia who helped me develop the bar further, but after two years, we couldn’t quite get the performance

and the flavor to match.”

He next went to Cornell University’s Department of Food Science in Geneva, which sent him to Dr. Danny Chawan, who is also SSIC’s food scientist, and Rose and Chawan worked together for six years to make the taste and the performance better.

From there, he worked with Diorio Frozen Dough Company in Utica, which had the capacity to mix up huge quantities of the dough.

However, the process of making a baked bar there and procuring tooling challenged Rose financially.

“I was continually going to outdoor sports facilities, ski areas, rock and ice climbing shops and sporting goods stores, trying to convince them that this product was perfect for their type of sport and that they should sell it in their shops. Despite all my efforts, the product just really wasn’t taking off. I needed to stop and back off for a while,” he said.

Shows persistence After some time away from it, Rose jumped back in and put together an “entrepreneurial minute,” a verbal presentation in which you have literally one minute to convince investors to invest money in your product.

While this helped him to get up and going again at the Syracuse Technology Garden and got him the assistance of their entrepreneurs in residence, he couldn’t find any investors willing to put in the money needed to take it to the next level.

“Finally I got a lead on a company in Canada who not only helped me improve the flavor, but also suggested it should be manufactured as a coldpress bar. Not having to go through the baking process saved money on

the manufacturing end and made the product more viable,” he noted.

“Now I needed to find places to sell it. A friend suggested I contact Eastern Mountain Sports,” Rose said. “They loved it and wanted to order 150 bars for each of their 69 outlets. Leaving EMS headquarters in Peterborough, N.H. full of adrenalin, I now needed to come up with money to manufacture the bars. I went to Steve Suhowatsky, one of the Tech Garden’s entrepreneurs in residence who has been a prime mentor and an inspiration to me.

“He said, ‘Bob, don’t worry, I’ll make a few calls downtown.’ Almost to the day that it would have been too late to meet the EMS contract, Steve came up with the money to get the production line at Noble Foods rolling.”

“At this point I had used close to six figures of my savings and five years of my time with no salary coming in. But now, I’ve got an investor and the Thermal Bar is on the shelves and selling. I got in my car and drove 4,800 miles during the next three weeks

visiting all 69 EMS stores so they could connect a face with the product. Store managers and sales people never get to talk to the inventors of the products they sell, just the sales reps, and these face-to-face meetings proved to be essential in really getting the product moving,” he added. “Since those original visits, I’ve been invited back to ‘meet the inventor’ events, where people just love coming over to talk about the product.”

Global appeal Not only is it starting to take off in this country, but Rose’s sister, a public relations professional, put a press release out in Europe and has had interest in selling the bar from The Ice Hotel in Sweden.

And then there’s the Coney Island Bears Club New Year’s Day Swim in the New York Harbor where Rose and a couple of his family members took the dive to promote Thermal Bar and help raise money for Camp Sunshine, a program in Maine to help terminally ill children and their families.

Even having come this far, it was

still a start-up venture and Rose was running it out of his house. “Working at home, I would go to get coffee, then end up doing the laundry or cleaning up around the house. To have some peace and quiet I needed to find an office and that’s when I was told about the SSIC. Now I’m out of the house, there’s no distractions, I can come in here and really focus. The nameplate on his office door reads “Ken’s Cave,” named after Bob’s dad, his hero and role model.

“Not only do I have nice office space at a reasonable rent, but I also have the benefit of people around me to provide mentorship and training,” he said. “It is the perfect place for a start-up entrepreneur to work. I even have 24/7 access to the center, a key code to get in, security cameras and a well-lit parking lot, so if I wake up in the middle of the night with an idea, I feel safe coming down here. Thanks to the staff here at SSIC, Thermal Bar is not in ‘full afterburner.’”

Director Bob Herz refers to SSIC as “The Best Kept Secret in Syracuse.” The center is on South Salina Street.

SSIC was launched by the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University and provides a full range of services and facilities to new and current entrepreneurs. In addition to office space and equipment, there is intensive hands-on training and counseling, courses, business plan development, and marketing assistance.

SSIC is also home to the WISE Center for entrepreneurial women and Start-Up NY for entrepreneurs with disabilities. The creative way the organization maximizes its partnerships and funding enables it to reach out to people who are following their dreams and support them with great advice and contacts.

As Herz says, “No one comes down here and just drifts. From the time you come through the door it is a hands-on experience. Our whole mission is self-determination. Each person has the opportunity to find out what’s really involved in being an entrepreneur and if they decide it is too much, and that they’d rather have a secure job, we consider that outcome a success because you made the decision for yourself.”

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visits

10 Things to do in Cleveland

By Sandra Scott

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eorge Washington was correct when he predicted that one day a great city would stand where the Cuyahoga River flows into Lake Erie. Today that city is Cleveland home to professional sports, excellent museums, charming neighborhoods, and much more in a city that is easy to navigate.

1 — Be a sport: Sports is huge in Cleveland. From the crack of the bat in the spring to the fans shouting “defense” in the fall. Sports reign all year long. Cheer for the Indians at Progressive Field, the Browns at their namesake lakeside stadium or head to Quicken Loan Arena to watch NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers and the AHL hockey team, the Lake Erie Monsters.

And for those looking for something more participatory there is golf, hiking, fishing and boating.

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2 — The Cleveland sound. Onetime Cleveland disc jockey, Alan Freed, is widely credited with coining the term of “rock and roll.” Today the city is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where a multi-media presentation features the honorees and their music that range from Elvis Presley to Black Sabbath. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, designed by the famed I. M. Pei, mirrors his Louvre expansion with its pyramid-shaped design. There is more to Cleveland’s music scene than rock and roll. People are often surprised to learn that the Cleveland Orchestra was voted one of the top 10 orchestras in the world. Or that Nighttown is just one of the many places to have a jazz-filled evening.

Great Lakes Science Center, located next to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Visitors of all ages have fun while learning about the theory of relativity, the human body, and exploring all phases of flight.

3 — It is all relative. Blink your eyes. In the time it takes you to blink, light has traveled two times around the world. Amazing! And so is the

5 — Know thyself. From our position in the vastness of the universe to a “Field Guide to Humans,” the Museum of Natural History unravels

4 — The Thinker. Visitors are sometimes surprised to see Rodin’s The Thinker in front of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Their 43,000 works of art from around the world include a sarcophagus from ancient Egypt, full suits of medieval armor, and works of art that are representational of all cultures and time periods worldwide.

The museum has docent-led tours along with fun, educational tours for children. Admission is free.

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life of the past, present and future.

Stop by to say “hello” to Balto, the famous Alaskan sled dog whose heroic race from Anchorage to Nome was responsible for the yearly Iditarod Race, and Happy, the 70-foot-long Haplocanthosaurus delfsi dinosaur.

Be sure to include time for an “outof-the-world” show at the Nathan and Fannye Shafran Planetarium.

6 — Celebrate nature. The Cleveland Botanical Garden is great year round. Inside, wander through the spiny desert of Madagascar with the strange-looking baobab tree and continue into the tropical rainforest of Costa Rica and climb the canopyviewing platform atop the strangler fig tree. Outside, the Hershey Children’s Garden allows young and old to experience the natural world firsthand. There is a wheelchair-accessible tree house, cave, and dwarf forests.

Explore their rose, herb and woodland gardens.

7 — The lake connection. Explore Cleveland’s connection to the lake by taking one of the several cruises.

Learn about the Great Lakes freight steamship days at the William G.

The Great Lakes Science Center, located next to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Mather Steamship Museum. Nearby is the USS COD Submarine Memorial, a National Historic Landmark, who fought its biggest battle in Subic Bay, the Philippines, on May 10, 1944, but The COD’s most impressive feat was performing the only international

Facade of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, one of the hottest attractions in Cleveland.

submarine-to-submarine rescue in history when she came to the aid of a Dutch submarine. And, of course, there are fishing trips on the lake.

8 — Architectural treasures. From the palatial grandeur of The Arcade, America’s first indoor shopping mall built in 1890 to St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral with its onion domes and ornate interior the architectural treasures are many.

Architectural tours are available. There are great monuments in the Lake View Cemetery. It was founded in 1869 and modeled after the great garden cemeteries of Victorian England, View the final resting place of the 20th President of the United States, James A. Garfield and his wife. Leave a dime on the John D. Rockefeller monument in the hope of personal financial success.

9 — A smorgasbord. Cleveland has recently developed a reputation as a foodie destination often described as being “wildly eclectic” food-wise.

Stop by the West Side Market for a cup of coffee with a yummy eclair or a falafel with tabouli. The historic West Side Market opened nearly Februaruy / March 2012 - 55 PLUS

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Learn about the Great Lakes’ freight steamship days at the William G. Mather Steamship Museum.

90-and-Older Population Triples in 3 Decades

T 100 years ago. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, there are many new treats to savor. The dedicated foodie will want to enjoy one of the many dining tours of Cleveland’s ethnic neighborhoods.

10 — A Christmas Story. A major portion of the iconic movie, “A Christmas Story” was filmed at the house now known as the Christmas Story House.

See Ralphie’s bedroom and the backyard where Black Bart hid out. Across the street the museum highlights some of the favorite episodes from the film and the museum shop sells the Leg Lamp, Red Ryder B-B Gun, and Lifebuoy soap. It is open year round.

Visitors are sometimes surprised to seeso many item at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland is familyfriendly with plenty to see and do for people of all ages habitat and conservation center is and interests. The theater is live and world class. well in Cleveland offering a variety For more information check www. of entertainment. The Cleveland positivelycleveland.com or call 800Metroparks Zoo African elephant 321-1004.

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he nation’s 90-and-older population nearly tripled over the past three decades, reaching 1.9 million in 2010, according to a report released in November by the U.S. Census Bureau. Over the next four decades, this population is projected to more than quadruple.

Because of increases in life expectancy at older ages, people 90 and older now comprise 4.7 percent of the older population (age 65 and older), as compared with only 2.8 percent in 1980. By 2050, this share is likely to reach 10 percent.

The majority of people 90 and older report having one or more disabilities, living alone or in a nursing home and graduating from high school. People in this age group also are more likely to be women and to have higher widowhood, poverty and disability rates than people just under this age cutoff.

While nearly all people in their 90s who lived in a nursing home had a disability (98.2 percent), the vast majority (80.8 percent) of those who did not live in a nursing home also had one or more disabilities.

Difficulty doing errands alone and performing general mobility-related activities of walking or climbing stairs were the most common types, which indicates that many who live in households may need assistance with everyday activities.

The proportion of people age 90 to 94 having disabilities is more than 13 percentage points higher than that of 85- to 89-year-olds.

The 90-and-older population is overwhelmingly (88.1 percent) white. Additionally, blacks represented 7.6 percent, Asians 2.2 percent and Hispanics (who may be of any race) about 4 percent.

Women outnumber men by a ratio of nearly three to one.

There were 38 men for every 100 women ages 90 to 94, with the ratio dropping to 26 for ages 95 to 99 and 24 for those 100 and older.

consumers corner

By Eva Briggs

Conquering Fear How it will help you stay healthy and live longer

I

’m dedicating this column to my childhood best friend, Tierney Deuel, who died far too young at age 19. I’m writing about conquering fear, because I often see patients who delay preventive care or other medical treatment out of fear.

As a childhood peer, Tierney probably did more than anyone else to teach me how to continue forward in the face of fear.

I met Tierney when I was just barely 7 and she was nearly 6. Our families moved next door to one another in a new housing development, and we soon became inseparable friends. Part of that friendship involved a certain amount of daredevil stunts and challenges. There was the day, when I was 8 and she was 7, that we fashioned homemade wings from layers peeled from a chunk of plywood we found abandoned in the woods nearby.

Since we couldn’t get airborne by pedaling her baby brother’s tricycle at top speed, we climbed to the top of her older brother’s tree fort.

Tierney strapped my arms into the straight unbendable ersatz

wings. It was my idea, so I was going first. Fearlessly I leapt from the top of the tree fort only to face plant into the woodland floor below. Fortunately my physical injuries were limited to minor scrapes and bruises. My ego took a larger hit as I was astonished that the wings had not worked at all!

But I never let on a moment’s fear, lest my friend tease or discover any weakness.

Over the years, I learned to conquer any inner apprehension in order to function outwardly through our various escapades: discovering how to “swallow fire” by putting matches out in our mouth; racing our bicycles, skates, skateboards, and home-made go-karts; sneaking out at night as teenagers. Long after Tierney was gone, that ability to control fear gave me the inner strength to stay calm when patients were yelling or bleeding or undergoing CPR. I encourage everyone out there who is afraid to see the dentist, have a tetanus shot, get blood drawn, or undergo a colonoscopy to find a way to overcome their fear. Because the alternatives (like tooth abscesses a n d

pulled teeth, tetanus, undiagnosed deadly diseases) might be worse than the thing you fear.

There is more than one way to overcome fear. Sometimes it’s a matter of knowing education, or understanding what it is that you fear. Many people fear having a colonoscopy because they think they’ll be embarrassed or in pain. But the doctor who is going to perform the procedure can explain how your privacy and dignity will be respected, and what anesthesia is available to prevent pain and unpleasant memories. It definitely far less invasive and far quicker than the treatment for invasive cancer.

Psychologists have techniques to help patients address recurring fears like needle phobia and dental phobia (along with a host of other fears and phobias). You don’t have to lie on a couch and be psychoanalyzed. There are modern techniques, like cognitivebehavioral therapy, that focus on the specific fear and are often relatively brief.

Finally, there are drugs to allay anxiety. Short acting anxiolytics can be very helpful for predictable stressors, like a trip to the dentist.

For more pervasive fear problems, like agoraphobia (the fear of having a panic attack in a situation from which one can’t escape), patients may require medicines that act to keep emotions on an even keel, rather than a short-acting medicine.

Listeners to public radio may be familiar with Prairie Home Companion’s Powedermilk Biscuits that give shy people the strength to do what needs to be done. But when Powedermilk Biscuits aren’t enough, don’t be afraid to ask your doctor for help when fear or anxiety interferes with your life.

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profile

black and white

Bringing Back the Classics Big Bands, Ballads and Blues reinvents itself on the Internet

By Melissa Stefanec

“It was just one of those nights, Just one of those fabulous flights, A trip to the moon on gossamer wings Just one of those things.”*

W

hen you hear this song, where does it take you? Does it take you to your younger days? It may conjure up an image of a radio and a parlor. Maybe it makes you want to dance. It probably makes you nostalgic.

If this song brings you away from here and now, there’s an Internet site that is perfect for you and it’s brought to you by Dick Carr.

Carr, a 55-plus radio professional, wants to stir some sentiment out of his visitors and that’s exactly what he does on his website BigBandsBalladsandBlues.com (BBB&B).

The website is a collection of information and stories from the golden age of music. Carr was an insider and as such can share the stories behind the music.

Stories range from his time at WNEW 1130 in New York City, to the 46

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times he met Sammy Davis Jr. Carr gives his readers an insider’s look at the music industry during the mid 20th century, as well as links to videos from the era. The website also offers visitors photos from the era and links to other sites interested in the preservation of jazz and the standards.

Carr also maintains Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin pages for BBB&B. Carr is a 76-year-old former radio and advertising executive who lives near Manlius. After a long career in radio management, he decided it was time to get back to his roots and get on the air. He started volunteering at WAER, a National Public Radio station based in Syracuse. On WAER he turned his love for jazz and standards into a hobby. He started gaining a following of listeners and decided to take his retirement hobby to the next step by telling the stories behind the music to which he dedicated his career.

“You never lose your interest and love for the music you grew up with,” said Carr.

Although Carr had no intent of turning his hobby into a business that is exactly what happened. Carr soon found himself running down the path toward an encore career. He started the BBB&B program after his retirement and it was featured on 80 radio stations across the country.

Big Bands, Ballads and Blues not only features the music of the early and mid 1900s, it also follows the format of that era. Carr reinvents the idea of a radio announcer as a personality. He comes from a time when disc jockeys were informed

about the music he or she was playing and shared that knowledge with listeners. Radio was an important part of a family’s daily life and was often played each morning. Radio announcers gave people information, weather reports, news, sports and community announcements. To put it in Carr’s words, disc jockeys, “sort

Linda Land and Jay Land at their home in Syracuse.

e 55+ of became a member of the family-an old shoe.” Fifeteen to 20 years ago radio formats drastically changed and stations stopped investing in traditional radio personalities.

Television soon replaced radio as the medium of choice for most families, but Carr never forgot what he grew up with.

Carr is no stranger at reinventing himself and his trade. He attended college at St. Bonaventure University and was on the air at the campus radio station there. He then went on to serve in the US Army and became an officer. After the Army he got back into radio. He was a disc jockey for a while, but soon found himself in management roles. As a station manager he watched popular music go through many changes. The stations that once played big band tunes had to make format changes.

Soon rock and roll was monopolizing the waves along with country and talk radio. Carr kept pace with the changes and appreciated the new sounds, but his heart always stayed loyal to the classics.

So in 2002 he started BBB&B to pay homage to a different time.

When his syndication ended in 2006, it became clear although his style was from a different era, he would have to use mediums from the era he was living in. That’s when Carr decided to bring his fans BBB&B not over the radio waves, but through satellites and Internet cables.

Reinventing your craft isn’t easy, but Carr has made an encore career of it and he some advice for his fellow seniors. One of Carr ’s secrets to success is that he is doing something he loves. He wanted to find a way to serve a purpose in his community.

“If you are in retirement, do something you like and really enjoy,” he said.

One of his other secrets is to keep in contact with people younger than himself. He loves to introduce his passions to his grandchildren and play ideas off of them. He values their reactions and lets them know he takes them seriously. He asks them questions about what they are

profile

Dick Carr is a 76-year-old former radio and advertising executive who lives near Manlius. He is the force behind “Big Bands, Ballads and Blues or BBB&B, which streams classics 24/7 on an Internet radio show. doing in their lives and soon they are interested in his.

“Too often we assume they’re not interested in what we are interested in,” he said. “They enjoy being exposed to things they otherwise wouldn’t get from their peers.”

He receives a lot compliments on BBB&B, but his most treasured compliments don’t come from his everyday listeners.

“Sometimes I get ‘Grandpa that’s cool’. That’s a wonderful thing. That’s all I need.”

For more information on BBB&B visit www.bigbandsballadsandblues. com “Just One of Those Things” is a song written by Cole Porter for the 1935 musical Jubilee.

Februaruy / March 2012 - 55 PLUS

47

druger’s zoo

By Marvin Druger

Exercise is for Everyone

R

My favorite part? The shower after exercising

egular exercise is promoted as a major key to good health.

There are lots of jokes about exercise. One vegetative friend claimed that he hated exercise, and whenever he got the urge to do exercise, he would lie down until the urge went away.

That same person claims that we are born with a limited number of heartbeats and, if we exercise, we use them up faster.

My own joke is that the exercise isn’t really too good for you. It’s the shower that’s important. If you pretend to exercise, and simply take a shower, you feel just as good and as healthy as if you exercised.

Nevertheless, regular exercise is considered to be important at all ages.

I started exercising in my early teens. My family lived in a small apartment in a poor neighborhood in Brooklyn. I belonged to a small “gang” of boys known as the Wildcats.

When I mentioned my “gang” at a presentation I gave to an elementary school class, one student asked, “Was it the Crips or the Bloods?”

I explained that it was neither. We played punchball, stickball, basketball and softball. We played stickball in the streets, and had to hide the stick when a police car drifted by. Tennis and golf were for the rich people, so these sports were not in our repertoire.

We had purple team jackets and we “hung out” in the finished basement of a house. We were a good gang. We didn’t smoke, drink alcohol or use drugs, and had little interest in girls.

Once in awhile, we’d have a party in a clubhouse, and we served Pepsi and salami sandwiches. At age 16, my wife, Pat, was at some of these parties. She was impressed by the lack of alcohol and drugs, and our lack of sophistication.

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55 PLUS - February / March 2012

In particular, I was good at basketball. These were the days when a skinny, 5 foot 10 inch player could excel at basketball. My dream was always to touch the rim, or possibly dunk the ball. (It still is.) Nowadays, almost all serious basketball players dunk the ball, regardless of their height.

I was good enough to be on the New Utrecht High School basketball team. I recall when we played the Erasmus High School team that won the national championship that year.

We were slaughtered. I was free under the basket. The guard didn’t pass me the ball. Our coach called a time-out.

“Art, you saw Druger free under the basket. Why didn’t you pass him the ball?” Without hesitation, Art replied, “Ah, he would have missed the shot anyhow.” So much for confidencebuilding.

I played on the freshman team at Brooklyn College. As a science student, I had labs at 8 in the morning, and had basketball practice from 5 to 8 every night. Even though I had the highest GPA on the team, my grades suffered. There was never any time to do homework, so I stayed up late every night. After one year of this exhausting pace, I decided to quit the team. I realized that I would never make the NBA, so I might as well quit. My academic performance improved.

Subsequently, I maintained an active exercise program on my own, including jogging and pick-up basketball games and racquetball.

When I became a faculty member at Syracuse University, a colleague decided to teach me how to play squash. For about a month, we went to the squash courts every day at noon.

Finally, I said, “Bill, this is ridiculous.

It takes too much time.” His reply was, “You find time to eat lunch,

don’t you?”

That remark embedded itself in my mind and encouraged my exercise behavior from then on. Many people say that they don’t have time to exercise. Yes they do. They simply have to make exercise a high-priority, regular part of their daily lives.

I never thought twice about joining Fitness Forum (formerly the Track and Racquet Club) in Fayetteville. I first played racquetball regularly there, and now, many years later, at age 78, I exercise there almost every day. I jog a third of a mile to warm up each day. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I jog, take an exercise class for “active older adults,” do a complete round of Nautilus training on the machines, and spend 10-15 minutes on a stepmaster machine. (I refer to the class as “aging older adults.”)

On Tuesdays, I jog and work out on aerobic machines. On Thursdays, I jog, take a class in yoga and do some more aerobic exercise.

Pat and I usually exercise at the club on Saturdays and Sundays, but sometimes, we simply rest our bodies on the weekend.

After each workout, I spend a few minutes in the steam room or sauna, and take a shower. That’s by far the most relaxing (and perhaps the most beneficial) part of the routine.

As we age, changes occur in our physical capacity. I used to run a 7-minute mile routinely. Now, I’m barely able to complete the mile in 13 minutes, if at all.

One day, I had finished my jogging around the track at Fitness Forum and Pat asked, “Why are you staggering around the track?” “I’m not staggering. That’s the way I run now.”

The track encircles the weighttraining and bicycle area. There is a 45-foot stretch where the area is open

to the track. I wait at the edge of the open area. When a speedster runner, like Michelle, reaches that edge, I race across the open span with her, and then resume my slow pace. This fooled many people. One individual asked, “Who’s Marv?” The reply was, “Oh. He’s the one who runs with Michelle.”

On another occasion, I was jogging on a road, and saw my daughter walking her dog toward me. As she got closer, she said, “ Dad, I thought you were running?” I was running.

My best running time was a 6:01 minute mile, many years ago.

Recently, I overheard someone in the locker room say, “Did you know that Marv did a 6:01 mile.” The response was, “How long did it take him?”

I’ve been lifting the same Nautilus weights for many years, and it still doesn’t get easier.

But exercise really is good for you. I never had large muscles; now I do. My stomach muscles went from a nine-pack to a seven-pack. I actually, can lift my garage door easily, and can carry the packed laundry basket down to the basement washing machine.

The most difficult part of the aging process is that I tend to think I’m 20 years younger, but my body tells me that I’m not. Physical decline has to be balanced by developing a mental toughness and maintaining a sense of humor. An exercise physiologist told me that physiological functions decline as we age, but they decline more slowly if we exercise. As we age, we are likely to get some physical deficiencies or illness that we don’t want, but exercise helps us cope with reality.

As my body declines with age, it seems that I exercise my jaw muscles a lot more as I exercise by talking a lot and interacting with people.

I am constantly yelling out jokes and wisecracks in the “active older adults” exercise class. This practice has sometimes backfired. One day in class, I yelled, “I have a cold today, so I can’t talk as much. That’s bad.”

A fellow classmate responded loudly, “That’s not bad for the rest of us.”

On another occasion in class, I yelled, “Today, I’m only going to make trivial remarks.” My classmate announced, “I thought that’s what

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they all were.”

On another day in class, I yelled out, “John, you’re awfully quiet today.” He quickly replied, “I only talk when I have something to say.”

Another time, one of the women in the exercise class was sitting on a chair holding her head. “Do you have a headache?” I asked. She replied, “I didn’t have one until I saw you coming.”

Another time, I was lying on my back on a mat lifting my spine from the floor and gently laying it back. I yelled to the class, “It’s hard to lift my butt while I keep my head on the mat.” A voice yelled, “Can you tell the difference?”

As we age, the social aspects of exercise seem to become even more important than the exercise itself.

Exercising in the company of peers is comforting, reassuring and fun.

I hope to continue this exercise practice for as long as possible.

Walking is splendid exercise for aging people and, as you might imagine, I always combine my walking with talking, and thinking of new ideas for articles in 55-Plus magazine.

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last

page

By Mary Beth Roach

Ed Brophy, 55 Heading the International Boxing Hall of Fame Q. What was the start?

A. In 1984, we held a press conference to announce that we would actively work on establishing an international boxing hall of fame in the village of Canastota.

Q. What was the reasoning behind that?

A. A few years prior to that, a group of community enthusiasts had gotten together, and we wanted to honor Canastota’s world champions Carmen Basilio and Billy Backus in a unique way. The idea was to build a boxing showcase with two statues and have some photos around it and raise $30,000 to do that. And that was accomplished between ’82 and ’84.

At the tail end of accomplishing that project, the group felt that Canastota — with its long history of boxing — perhaps should honor all of boxing in a unique way. And with that, the thought of establishing an International Boxing Hall of Fame seemed to be appropriate because nowhere in the world was there a boxing hall of fame similar to what baseball has in Cooperstown, football in Canton, Ohio, and what basketball has in Springfield, Mass. The village of Canastota and the town of Lenox were supportive by allowing the organization to have an office space in the municipal building. I became the executive director and started forming committees.

Q. Were you a boxer?

A. Because I was born and raised in the village of Canastota, I fell in love with boxing at a very young age.

I remember when I was about 7 or 8 years old, a flash of a pair of boxing gloves just appeared in front of me.

Whether it was a calling or a love of the sport, or what it was, from that moment on boxing seemed to be part of my life. I’ve always loved working on community projects and seeing good things happen to the village of Canastota. And I enjoy and have 50

55 PLUS - February / March 2012

gotten a kick out of trying to echo the name Canastota around the world.

Q. When was the first induction?

A. The first induction was in 1990 and included the likes of Muhammad Ali, Jake LaMotta, Billy Conn and Carmen Basilio. This year’s inductees are Tommy Hearns, Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson; non-boxers are ring announcer Michael Buffer, best known for “Let’s Get Ready To Rumble”; trainer Freddie Roach; broadcaster Al Bernstein and journalist Michael Katz.

Q. Your first class had Muhammad Ali. And excuse the pun, but you had some “heavy hitters.” How did you get them interested?

A. Canastota is a small blue-collar community. We don’t have the bright lights of New York or fast pace of Las Vegas or some of the great things some of the big cities have to offer. But come enjoy and feel the spirit of boxing and the hospitality of the small village of Canastota. That’s who we are and we hope that you enjoy us. They sense the true message and they wanted to experience what was said or what they had heard from others. And by the effort of organizations, by everyone who plays a part, the heroes came, believed, and now return often.

Q. When you started this, did you see this success?

A. All I can say is that I was always hopeful that I could play my part in accomplishing something big and I still feel it hasn’t fully been completed yet. There’s much more that has to be done. I would like to see the next phase of development happen and be completed. There are still more great things to happen.

Q. You have some amazing memorabilia. How do you come to accumulate all that?

A. All of the collection is donated.

We don’t purchase memorabilia or research items. We don’t have a budget for that. We prefer not to

Brophy: More than 20 years on the job. because we like when things are given from people who want to give a boxing artifact or research material through their kindness and it is their way of showing their appreciation of the sport to have it preserved.

We have received boxing robes from champions, and trunks and boxing shoes and championship belts, many items from the boxers themselves. But additionally, boxing historians who have collected books over the years have helped donate to our research department.

Q. What is your favorite?

A. I can’t put my finger on what is my favorite one. As I walk by different displays, different exhibits, each has a certain meaning to me. I can’t say that I could point to one particular item to say it is my particular favorite in some way—whether it’s the hand wraps worn by Joe Louis or the fist cast of Jack Johnson or the original mint-condition fight tickets of Rocky Marciano or Carmen Basilio’s championship belt.

But I do know that when I walk by the famous Madison Square Garden ring that was in the Garden from 1925 to 2007, there’s always a chill that goes through me, thinking that is the battlefield of the greatest fights of the sport.

We are so fortunate that Madison Square Garden thought of the village of Canastota to want that to be permanently displayed at the International Boxing Hall of Fame for us to allow the public to enjoy for many generations to come.

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