Cny55plus no59

Savvy Senior: Medicare Options for Retirees Who Travel Art Zimmer: Busy Life of a Retired Newspaper Publisher

55 PLUS Issue 59 October / November 2015

For Active Adults in the Central New York Area

Sen. John DeFrancisco From family man to politician to fitness advocate, John DeFrancisco does it all

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October / November 2015 - 55 PLUS

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55 PLUS

October / November 2015

PLUS Issue 59 October / November 2015

For Active Adults in the Central New York Area

55 PLUS

CONTENTS

Savvy Senior: Medicare Options for Retirees Who Travel Art Zimmer: Busy Life of a Retired Newspaper Publisher

Sen. John DeFrancisco From family man to politician to fitness advocate, John DeFrancisco does it all

Priceless

INSIDE: The Spiritual Chief of the Iroquois Nation

12

22

26

Savvy Senior 6 12 RETIREMENT Financial Health 8 • Art Zimmer: the busy life or a Gardening 10 My Turn 20

retired newspaper publisher, who just published his memoirs

16 Aging 36 WORKING • More baby boomers in the job Life After 55 40 market means more competition

Golden Years 42 22 Consumers Corner 45 PROFILE Druger’s Zoo 46 LAST PAGE Pat Killorin of Baldwinsville is a family caregiver volunteer with Hospice of Central New York.

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55 PLUS - October / November 2015

cny55.com

• Warren Linhart of Manlius has photographed some of the biggest names in music

26 PASSION

• Dan Ward of Erie Canal Museum rides 400 miles in eight days along Erie Canal

43

28 COVER

•The statesman of Syracuse: Sen. John DeFrancisco shares the experience he’s had representing the region in the state Senate

38 READING

• Like reading? Fall is a great time to start a book club —and local libraries are eager to help

43 PROFILE

• Native American spiritual leader is co-creator of the new Skanonh — Great Law of Peace Center, expected to open later this year in Liverpool

48 VISITS

• Ten things to do and see in Binghamgton (“Carousel Capital of the World”) and Broome County

October / November 2015 - 55 PLUS

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savvy senior

By Jim Miller

Medicare Options for Retirees Who Travel

T

he best Medicare options for retirees who travel extensively depends on your destination.

Let’s start with a review of the different coverage choices Medicare offers beneficiaries today.

One option is Original Medicare, which has been around since 1966, and covers (Part A) hospital services and (Part B) doctor’s visits and other medical services.

If you choose Original Medicare, you may also want to get a Medicare (Part D) prescription drug plan (if you don’t already have coverage) to cover your medication costs, and a Medicare supplemental (Medigap) policy to help pay for things that aren’t covered by Medicare like copayments, coinsurance and deductibles.

Or, you could get Medicare Advantage (Part C) plan, which is sold through private insurance companies, that covers everything Original Medicare covers, plus many plans also offer prescription drug coverage and extra services like vision, hearing and dental care all in one plan.

To help you evaluate your options, the National Council on Aging offers an online tool at MyMedicareMatters. org, and your State Heath Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) provides free Medicare counseling — call 800677-1116 for contact information.

You can also shop and compare Medicare health and drug plans and Medigap policies at Medicare.gov/ find-a-plan, or call 800-633-4227.

U.S. Travel If you and your husband are planning to travel domestically, Original Medicare provides coverage everywhere in the U.S. and its territories (this includes all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa) as long as the doctor or hospital accepts Medicare.

But if you have a Medicare 6

55 PLUS - October / November 2015

Advantage plan, your coverage may be restricted. This is because most Medicare Advantage plans (which are usually HMOs or PPOs) require you to use doctors, hospitals and pharmacies that are in the plan’s network within a service area or geographic region. So if you’re traveling outside that area, you may need to pay a higher fee, or your services may not be covered at all.

Before enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan, check the benefit details carefully to see what costs and rules apply when traveling outside your service area.

Traveling Abroad If you’re planning to travel abroad, Original Medicare does not provide coverage outside the U.S. including cruising, except in rare cases, and Medicare drug plans will not cover prescription drugs purchased outside the U.S. either.

But, there are some Medigap policies that do provide limited coverage abroad. Medigap C, D, F, G, M, and N plans will pay for 80 percent of medically necessary emergency care outside the U.S., but only for the first 60 days of the trip, and you have to meet an annual $250 deductible first. There’s also a lifetime maximum benefit of $50,000, so you’d need to cover any costs above that amount.

If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, your coverage outside the U.S. will depend on the plan. Some plans offer emergency care coverage while others don’t. You’ll need to check your plan for details.

If you want additional emergency medical coverage when traveling abroad, some good shopping sites are squaremouth. com and insuremytrip.com, which compare policies from major travelinsurance companies. Prices vary considerably, ranging from under $100 to several hundred dollars depending on your age, what they cover and how long you’ll be away.

55PLUS cny55.com Editor and Publisher Wagner Dotto

Associate Editor Lou Sorendo

Writers

Deborah J. Sergeant Aaron Gifford, Sandra Scott Matthew Liptak. Richard Palmer

Columnists

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

Advertising

Amy Gagliano Cassandra Lawson

Office Manager Alice Davis

Layout and Design Chris Crocker

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

Published at 185 E. Seneca St. PO Box 276 Oswego, NY 13126.

Subscription: $15 a year; $25 for two years © 2015 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@CNY55.com Editor@cnyhealth.com

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55 PLUS - October / November 2015

I

“All Set?”

hosted another workshop recently and I began as I always do, asking the audience, “What do you want to know?”

All types of questions came, including how to protect assets from nursing homes, what a trust is, the difference between revocable trusts and irrevocable trusts, how a power of attorney works, what is the difference between a healthcare proxy and a living will and, of course, the most asked question, “how do I qualify for Medicaid to pay if I need a nursing home?”

These are all great questions, but by the time we finished the workshop, the biggest realization of the participants was that they are not “all set.”

Most of the thousands of people I have seen over the years believe estate planning is as simple as having the right will, healthcare proxy, power of attorney and, if you have enough money, a trust.

This is far from true.

The reality is, the documents themselves only grant authority; they rarely provide the necessary instructions to yield the results actually intended. The key to an effective estate plan is to grant authority to the people you trust but, more importantly, to ensure your documents provide sufficient instructions to become your “voice” when you are unable to speak for yourself.

Too often, individuals are caught up in a quick fix after sitting with a lawyer and then feel better and think they are “all set.” They are not.

Let’s take a healthcare proxy for example. I ask attendees, “Where do people typically get healthcare proxies?” The overwhelming response is “the doctor,” or “the hospital.” I quickly respond, “Right. After the workshop, hang around, tell me your ailments, and I will write you a prescription.”

The audience laughs because they know it would be crazy (not to mention, illegal) for me, the lawyer, to write a prescription Then I ask, “Why would you go to a doctor or hospital for a legal document?” And reality hits them, especially when I spend the next 15 minutes explaining what a healthcare proxy is and, more importantly, why many fail when actually used.

Unfortunately, by the time my workshop is over, rarely do people feel all set. In fact, they usually feel frustrated because the true essence of estate planning was never really explained to them and they discover the documents they have are not their voice.

Another frustrating discovery for participants is learning the rules the state has in place that can significantly hamper their goals. Even when they have documents in place meant to avoid the government rules (legally), they rarely work because the “documents” are not integrated into the other areas of their lives. For example, they learn that having a trust is not enough even if you put your “voice” in it — it’s still not enough without integrating the legal plan with their financial assets and their appropriate family members.

All is required, or none of it works!

The good news is, when the participants finally understand how estate planning actually works, they are empowered to stay in control rather than have to rely on misinformation.

So, are you “all set?” To ensure you are, you need the correct legal documents, with your voice, and integration of the legal documents into the other areas of your life so your estate plan actually works.

David J. Zumpano is an attorney and a certified public accountant (CPA). He operates Estate Planning Law Center. He can be reached at 315-793-3622.

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gardening

By Jim Sollecito

Be Thou My Vision

T

here are two tangible things in my life that are a testament to my faith: planting and fishing.

They are tantamount to religion for me: a real affirmation that if we truly believe, it will probably happen. Although maybe not in the form we expected. Sometimes life just happens.

“If we concentrated on the really important things in life, there would be a shortage of fishing poles.” I ran into those words a while back and they’ve stuck with me ever since. It always seems to be about having time. We don’t find time; we have to make it.

This past May, some not-sorecently retired landscape clients were at my garden center looking over plants that we would install for them. They brought their dog and two

13-year-old Kiersten Hunter holdng a fish she just caught with Jim Sollecito.

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55 PLUS - October / November 2015

granddaughters. One was radically visually impaired. She seemed to enjoy the sensory experience of smelling and feeling the various plants, particularly those with textural contrast.

Before they left, my wife inquired if 13-year-old Kiersten Hunter had even been bass fishing. She said no, but she’d love to try. I called them that evening and we set a workable date for everyone in about a month. Then we went back to life as we know it in the springtime, selling trees and shrubs while sharing our plant knowledge and experience.

When the day came, I met them at our pond and was immediately struck by how the unaffected senses Kiersten possessed were strengthened. She literally could taste the wind as much as my red raspberries. She sensed the

water even before we ventured close, hearing the frogs and insects.

Heightened senses She listened to the fish rising and the swallows swooping to catch bugs.

She felt the wooden dock through her flip-flops. She reveled in things I had been pretty much taking for granted.

Tentative at first, she eagerly handled my 5-weight fly rod as I instructed, neither too loose nor too tight.

Ten o’clock to two o’clock, the rhythm of the fly cast is an art form.

Just like pruning. Her enthusiasm was contagious. I could feel it. Nothing great was ever accomplished without enthusiasm.

We cast together and she said she knew she would catch something because she had faith in me. And then it happened. She felt the tug of the line as the bass ran with the fly.

Immediately, she was hooked more than the fish was. As she raised it up for a photo, I noticed she smelled it and then gently stroked it before we released it back into the water. I think the 13-inch largemouth weighed maybe a pound. My smile weighed about five.

After she caught 15 pound bass, she asked if her 9-year-old sister Sydney could have a turn. True vision is a matter of the heart, not the eyes.

At the end of the evening, I learned that insight is greater than eyesight.

I gave, and received, a lesson. We are now friends.

As for the other part of my religion, the fall planting season, I can hardly wait to put a shovel in the ground.

The soil is warm. We get ample rains.

Shorter days mean we have a greater appreciation for the available light.

Landscape plants love being planted right now. Their roots continue to grow until the ground freezes.

I have faith that even shrubs that have dropped their leaves will flourish next spring. Hope does spring eternal, doesn’t it?

Planting and fishing had brought Kiersten and me together from the get-go. It was amazing the impact that summer evening had on me. She was blind, but now I see.

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.

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Syracuse Media Group columnist Sean Kirst writing at his laptop at his office in downtown Syracuse.

Pediatrician Neil Ackerman has been playing ping-pong for five decades — and he is still winning tournaments.

CORRECTION Because of a production error, two of our favorite stories in the last issue of 55 PLUS (August-September 2015) ended mid sentence. Three or four words of each story were cutoff at the very end of the pieces — the first on newspaper columnist Sean Kirst talking about turning 55; the second on pediatrician Neil Ackerman, who continues winning table tennis tournament after playing the game for more than five decades.

The full version of both stories have been corrected on our online edition. Readers can visit cny55.com and click on “Past Issues” to view the last issue and all other past issues we have published in the last 10 years.

We apologize for the mistake and thank the dozens of people who called or emailed to complain.

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retirement

Art Zimmer.

A Busy Retirement Life Legendary former publisher of Syracuse New Times working 40-hour weeks as a volunteer in various Madison County organizations. In early September, he launched his new memoirs sharing many stories about his life

By Aaron Gifford

A

thrift store is the last place you’d expect to see a man who enjoyed a long and p ro s p e ro u s c a re e r a s a newspaper publisher, neoclassic sports car company owner and entrepreneur.

But that store, Second Chance in Morrisville, is where Art Zimmer has volunteered many Saturday afternoons since he sold off the Syracuse New Times and other businesses nearly five years ago and relocated to his native Hamilton. On a sunny August afternoon, Zimmer wasn’t on a golf course, in a boat or cruising boulevards in an expensive convertible. Instead, he was hauling donated boxes of old clothing to a musty back room where they would be put on the shelves and

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sold to raise money for animal shelters in Madison County.

“I can’t be like a lot of retired people — sitting around, getting bored and then dying,” said Zimmer, 77, as he worked alongside his wife, Shirley.

“We said we’re going to give back to the community.”

Zimmer elaborated between “giving back this time versus giving back before.” As the owner and publisher of the New Times, a title he held from 1984 through 2010, Zimmer served on many Syracuse organizations as part of his marketing and networking efforts to stay in tune with the communities he covered. That time was business, he says, but this time is personal.

He’s become immersed in volunteer work to the point where the tasks easily exceed 40 hours per week.

Organizations include the Earlville Opera House, Hamilton Business Alliance, Southern Madison County Heritage Trust, the Palace Theater of Hamilton, the Smith Valley Cemetery in Randallsville and the Boy Scouts, where he continues to review Eagle Scout projects. Zimmer was awarded his own Eagle Scout badge more than 60 years ago.

He is also the director and sole member of the “Hamilton Chocolate Train Wreck Site Foundation.” Under that endeavor, Zimmer has purchased the actual site where the train wreck occurred (and Nestle chocolate

“I can’t be like a lot of retired people — sitting around, getting bored and then dying. We said we’re going to give back to the community.”

Art Zimmer products were subsequently spilled) in 1955. He has a five-year plan to restore the site, establish a historic park there and deed it over to the village.

Not a bad resume for a poor farm boy who probably shouldn’t have been given a high school diploma in the first place. Zimmer tells that story and many others in his new memoir, “Making it Count: From A to Z, the Life and Times of Art Zimmer.” The memoir, published by Log Cabin Books of Hamilton, was released Sept.

15. It is available in local book stores and can also be purchased through www.logcabinbooks.com.

“I think as I edited and laid out the book,” said Log Cabin Books owner Brian McDowell, “I was struck by what a self-made man Art is and how hard he worked at whatever pursuit he was involved in.”

In between helping customers at the thrift shop, Zimmer enjoyed describing the people he met over the years and his opinions — and there are many of them – about rock music, politicians, and why he wants to live in a vibrant community but not have any neighbors. He would stop abruptly to help customers, but the shoppers instead asked him to continue the tale. The magazine man known for wearing bright colored sport jackets still loves the attention that good stories command.

Here’s Zimmer’s take on a variety of topics

On his upbringing Zimmer was born and raised on a Hamilton farm. He usually skipped school in order to help with the chores at home. He did go to typing class, which he enjoyed because most of the other students were girls. He had never met a guidance counselor until senior year. When he was told he didn’t complete nearly enough school work to earn a diploma, Zimmer replied

that he was happy to come back for the next academic year. The district promptly declined Zimmer ’s offer, awarding him the diploma instead. He was given one piece of advice — your choices are stay on the farm, or enlist in the military.

On his military career Zimmer chose the latter option and joined the Army. This was during the peace time between the Korean and Vietnam wars. He called it an enjoyable experience. “It was like a vacation,” he said. “You got to sleep in until 5 a.m.

On the farm, I had to be up at 4.” And since he knew how to type, Zimmer was assigned to a desk detail when the other privates had to go on hikes and maneuvers. At one point he was a general’s personal assistant and was allowed to eat from the officer’s dining area kitchen instead of the mess hall.

Another highlight of his military time was the 3,000 mile-plus trek between different Army bases that he made on a Vespa motor scooter.

On his wife, Shirley They both grew up in very small communities in southern Madison County but never met until a blind date in 1987. She had worked as a Spanish teacher in the Cicero-North Syracuse school district for 17 years before working for Zimmer at the New Times. “It was a new career,” she said. “I kept my seat belt fastened and it’s been a great ride.”

Shirley’s resume of volunteer work rivals her husband’s and includes service with the Earlville Opera House, Hamilton Library and the Hamilton Food Cupboard.

and featured live music from his era there for nearly a decade.

On helping Jerry Lee Lewis Performer Jerry Lee Lewis contacted Zimmer several years ago with a request. Lewis wanted a red convertible Zimmer but could not afford it due to bankruptcy, so he offered to do commercials in exchange for the car. Zimmer automobiles sold for between $100,000 and $200,000, which was more than the car company owner’s entire advertising budget (Art Zimmer purchased the car company that coincidentally shared his last name, in 1997). Zimmer was unable to find a used one for Lewis at a price he could live with, so instead he sent the performer a large beautifully framed photo of the red convertible, and signed it – “To my good friend Jerry Lee Lewis, who deserves a car like this.”

On Uday Hussein, son of Saddam Hussein Zimmer sold a car to a wealthy Jordanian businessman. After U.S. troops stormed the grounds of Uday’s palace, the news footage

On rock music Although the New Times is considered the Central New York bible for listing, previewing and covering all types of live music shows i n t h e re g i o n , Z i m m e r has a strong distaste how popular music evolved after the British Invasion.

“There hasn’t been decent rock n’ roll since 1964,” he growled. “When the Beatles hit, it was the end of music.” Zimmer prefers music from the 1950s and early 60s, or what is labeled as “oldies” today. He established the New Times Theater at the Great New York State Fairgrounds

Zimmer just published his memoirs in September.

October / November 2015 - 55 PLUS

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retirement

showed that the dictator’s son owned two Zimmer automobiles. Zimmer recognized one of the cars as the one he sold to the Jordanian. News organizations from all over the world contacted him. “You know what they saw about Uday,” Zimmer said.

“When he saw anything he liked, he just took it. If anyone challenged it, he would just take out a gun and kill him. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s how he got it.”

On the concept of “alternative” publications: Zimmer believes the term became widespread during the counterculture of the late 1960s. He said he detested that counterculture and the overgeneralization that newspapers that were not considered mainstream or the primary news source in a community sympathizes with that culture. “It was alternative in that way when I bought it, but not now,” he said. “I nudged it more to the center. It became a community arts and entertainment alternative to the daily paper, and then it became the arts and

entertainment bible of Central New York.”

On why Art and Shirley moved back to Hamilton, NY Zimmer returned to his hometown a half century after he moved away.

He maintains that hometown pride had nothing to do with their decision to return to southern Madison County.

It just so happened that 10 acres of swampland became available there.

They cleared the trees and brush, drained the swamp and finally found a place that was in walking distance to everything they wanted without having neighbors.

“I have a five-minute walks to 16 restaurants, a three-screen movie theater and a two-stage performing arts center,” Zimmer said. “And if I break my leg, then it’s only a sevenminute crawl to the hospital.”

And on one of his favorite subjects, politics and politicians: While Zimmer enjoyed poking local, state and federal lawmakers from time to time at the

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Art Zimmer was featured in the Summer 2006 issue of 55 PLUS. New Times, he says he had a decent relationship with some and always strived to be fair and balanced. But, he cautions, years after retirement he still feels that lawmakers haven’t done enough to help small business owners in New York state.

“When you’re in business you can’t complain about it because they are so vindictive. Now that I’m retired and out of the business, they can’t hurt me anymore,” Zimmer said to the laughing thrift shop customers. “You want to know more? It’s in the book!”

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Symphoria: New York Connections November 7 @ 7:30pm The Oncenter Civic Center Theaters, Syracuse

Monet to Matisse: The Age of French Impressionism Closes November 29

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working

More People Working Later in Life With more baby boomers remaining in the workforce, competition for jobs is expected to become more intense

By Ken Little

C

entral New York residents are working later in life and delaying retirement longer than their parents.

Older Americans remain in the workforce for a variety of reasons.

As members of the baby boomer generation age past 65, that trend will likely continue, Jeffrey Grimshaw said.

Grimshaw was director of the SUNY-Oswego Office of Business and Community Relations until striking out on his own as a business consultant and entrepreneur. He made the move in August.

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“I do see people working later.

They are staying in the workforce but staying in the workforce differently, to follow their dreams,” the Fulton native said.

Older workers, Grimshaw said, “have a different understanding of what they want to do.”

According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, of workers delaying retirement, a total of 13 percent gave the reason of having “inadequate finances or can’t afford to retire.”

Another 6 percent gave the reason of “needing to make up for losses in the

stock market.”

The economy may be improving after the Great Recession of several years ago, but making ends meet motivates some workforce residents of Oswego and Onondaga counties to remain at full- or part-time jobs.

“There is the cost of living and fluctuations in the economy. Some people are not quite ready [to retire] at 65 or 62,” Grimshaw said.

About 44.7 million Americans were 65 or older in 2014, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

That total comprises 14.1 percent

of the total population. The labor force participation rate for men age 65 and older was 20.7 percent in 2011, higher than the 12.7 percent total for women.

Nationally, 44.3 percent of those 65 years and older who worked in 2011 worked full-time, year-round, Census Bureau figures show.

Those figures are consistent with Central New York, including Oswego and Onondaga counties.

Those with decades of job experience have more employment options than four or five years ago.

“New York State’s labor market continues to exhibit strength. Over the past two months, the state has added 67,800 private sector jobs, including a gain of 24,200 jobs in June 2015,” Bohdan M. Wynnyk, Deputy Director of the Division of Research and Statistics, said in a news release.

New York’s unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage points in June to reach its lowest level in seven years, Wynnyk said.

The Labor Force Participation Rate for those aged between 55 and 64 increased in Oswego and Onondaga counties between 2003 and 2013, the latest year available, said Karen Knapik-Scalzo, an associate economist with the New York State Department of Labor’s Division of Research and Statistics.

“There has also been more general information about previously retired, older baby boomers re-entering the labor force to help grow their retirement savings after the Great Recession,” Knapik-Scalzo said.

With more baby boomers born between 1945 and 1965 reaching t r a d i t i o n a l re t i re m e n t a g e b u t remaining in the workforce, the competition for jobs may become more intense.

The U.S. population is projected to grow older over the next several decades, with much of the aging due to the baby boom generation having moved into the ranks of the 65-andover population.

In 2011, the national labor force participation rate for those 65 years and older was 16.2 percent, compared with a labor force participation rate of 73.5 percent for 16- to 64-year-olds.

That same year, 49.1 percent of men 65 years and older worked fulltime, compared with 38.2 percent of women aged 65 years and older.

Working Later in Life Eight in 10 workers aged 60-plus plan to work past age 65 Among employed adults, 61 percent of workers in their 40s, 59 percent of workers in their 50s, and 82 percent of workers in their 60s and older plan to work past age 65 or do not plan to retire. In contrast, half of workers in their 20s and 30s expect to retire at age 65 or sooner, according to a 2015 survey by Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies. Retrieved from www. transamericacenter.org.

Labor force participation rates may vary by state for a number of reasons, such as a particular state’s demographic characteristics, including the age distribution within the population 65 years and older.

In addition, attractiveness to retirees, cost of living, and the desire and ability of residents 65 years and over to participate in the labor force could also impact rates within a particular state, according to the Census Bureau.

The state unemployment rate outside New York City was 5.1 percent in June, compared to 5.2 percent in May 2014 and 5.6 percent in July 2013.

According to the Pew Research Center, the share of Americans aged 65 to 74 in the nation’s workforce is expected to break the 30 percent mark in 2022.

“It’s a lot. I’ve talked to people who want to contribute to the community and do things they believe they have a passion for,” Grimshaw said. “There will always (also) be some economic component to it, to supplement their income as they get a little older.”

Many employers value the experience and dependability older workers contribute from a lifetime in the workplace.

“They find the skills valuable from their own perspective,” Grimshaw said. “You have experienced workers who add value to an organization that maybe younger people can’t.”

Many boomers are fully committed to post-retirement jobs.

“They’re involved,” Grimshaw said. “They say, ‘I’m going to do something because it has some

meaning to it.’”

“Some people look back on their careers and asked themselves, ‘What do I have to show for it?’” Grimshaw said. “You see that a lot with the baby boomers. There’s a big influx of people who have retired but still want to be useful in the world.”

The traditional mindset “of retire and get out of the way for younger people” doesn’t necessarily apply in 2015, he said.

“Older adults have some sort of value to the community. That’s a very old model they have to get rid of,” Grimshaw said.

An aging America will continue to present challenges for future generations.

The projected population of people 65 and older in 2060 is 98.2 million. People in that age group would comprise nearly one in four U.S. residents at that time. Of that number, 19.7 million would be 85 or older.

But for now, and particularly among millions of baby boomers who typically have led independent and sometimes unconventional lives, working past retirement age is more of a challenge than a requirement.

“As they get older, they don’t have kids in school. There are less (responsibilities),” Grimshaw said.

“They have more meaningful skills they developed over a lifetime.”

The evidence is clear in Oswego and Onondaga counties.

“The baby boomers have brought a different perspective,” Grimshaw said. “Part of enjoying life is being a part of a community and being useful to the community.”

October / November 2015 - 55 PLUS

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my turn

By Bruce Frassinelli Email: bruce@cny55.com

What Else is There?

A columnist contemplates what’s beyond retirement

A

s I tiptoe through my golden years, I increasingly realize I am no longer on the fast track. Actually, like it or not, I am on the periphery of life’s action.

With few exceptions, our youthful culture sees me as a fossil who has had my time in the sun and expects me to step back graciously into the shadows.

I had an incredibly successful and satisfying career as a journalist, rising to the top of my profession as a newspaper publisher, but I retired 17 years ago. Past glories are played out in my mind and through plaques on the Wall of Fame in my office. I am grateful to be able to continue writing columns, which keeps me connected and, hopefully, relevant.

I also continue to teach four college-level courses a year — two in the classroom and two online.

One of my students paid me the ultimate compliment at the end of the spring semester this year: “You know, Mr. Frassinelli, for an old dude, you’re pretty cool.”

Family members and friends ask me how long I plan to teach. The answer is simple: “As long as I feel I am making contributions to my students.”

I find myself hopelessly trying to slow down the hands of time, because I know that one day my mind and body will whisper to me, “That’s all she wrote, my friend.”

It is amazing to still feel relevant so deep into retirement, that I am helping young people gain knowledge

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and understanding of complex subjects. I am helping them learn ethical behavior in a world which is becoming shockingly less ethical. In the other course I teach, I encourage involvement in their communities as they learn about state and local government.

A student in the state and local government course told me earlier this year that she had zero interest in the subject when the course started.

When it ended, she says she is now considering running for public office in a few years. “I was turned on to the importance of voting, making my voice heard and getting off the sidelines and into the game,” she told me.

When I hear testimonials such as these, I know that I am still making a difference. Realistically, however, I must prepare myself for life after teaching, life after writing, just as I had prepared myself for life after being a newspaper publisher.

So, what else is there?

I do enjoy my leisure time now, but only as a counterpoint to the teaching and writing. The leisure time serves as a reward of sorts for having worked hard during the college semesters and writing columns such as these.

I can’t even imagine what a life of total leisure might be like, even if I am healthy enough to enjoy it.

A close boyhood friend, who lives in Delaware, and I got together recently and were discussing our mortality the night before he went on a skiing trip.

We were speculating about how many “good years” we might have left. He and I are both in pretty good shape, the same age, 76, and comfortably well off.

We a g r e e d t h a t making it to 85 without any major infirmities or life-threatening illnesses would be a reasonable goal, and anything beyond that would put us into bonus land.

Aside from my students, I find I have a strange relationship with the young people whom I encounter. Some are deferential, holding open the door for me and saying, “After you, sir.” Others border on the disrespectful. When I had breakfast the other day at McDonald’s, the server alternately called me “pops” and “bub.” I seethed,

“I find myself hopelessly trying to slow down the hands of time, because I know that one day my mind and body will whisper to me, ‘That’s all she wrote, my friend.’” considered talking to his manager, then decided that I shouldn’t be so thin-skinned.

Then there is the issue of solitude and loneliness. Marie, my wife of 23 years died earlier this year, a victim of ovarian cancer, so I expect to make the latter part of my journey through life as a widower. (I found that some forms that I fill out now do not give “widower” as an option for “marital status.” In those cases, I must check the “single” box, which really feels odd and creepy.)

By having kept busy with the college and writing tasks, I have for the most part fended off loneliness.

I do enjoy solitude, which allows me the pleasures of reading, listening to music and contemplating content for my courses and my columns.

See, this is my point. My life still revolves around my work, just as it did when I was working my way up the corporate ladder, first as a reporter, then various editor positions, general manager, and, finally, publisher.

Now, however, work is no longer mandatory for supporting my family or me, but I find that work is still mandatory in my life, for my mental health and well-being.

I find my relationship with my grown children so much more rewarding now, and I enjoy my time with them, but they have their families and their careers, and I don’t ever want to overstay my welcome to where my kids wonder, “When the heck is Dad going home?”

When the time comes to leave the classroom for that final time; when the time comes to write that last column, will I stare into the abyss and wonder, “What else is there?”

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profile

A Photographer’s Portfolio Warren Linhart marries passion for music and photography. The result? Great shots of some of the biggest names in music, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, you name it...

By Aaron Gifford

W

arren Linhart owned his first camera at the age of 8. That gift, a Kodak Instamatic 100, provided him with more than just an artistic outlet.

The Long Island native and Manlius resident got the shutter bug immediately after he tried the device for the first time, shooting family portraits, trip photos and action shots at the World’s Fair. He stuck with it through high school, joining the photography club and the yearbook staff. Then his love for popular music in the 60s and 70s solidified his desire to obtain more images of his favorite performers.

“I’ve been lucky,” he said, “to combine two passions.”

Linhart, now 60, has a portfolio that would make photo enthusiasts a n d ro c k ’ n ro l l f a n s s a l i v a t e .

It includes concert images of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Yes, Genesis, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and countless others. He’s also photographed classical, jazz, folk and blues performers.

Graduate school at Syracuse University brought Linhart to Central New York in the 1970s. His academic work prepared him for a career in television news production; he’s worked at NewsChannel 9 for 37 years now, overseeing the quality of audio, lighting and camera work. While at

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Ray Charles, 1988.

Linhart with Stevie Ray Vaughan, 1985.

SU, Linhart took a few photography courses under the direction of Prof.

Tom Richards.

“I never really lost the photography thing,” he said. “You are always learning. And Tom Richards made it so enjoyable. Everyone liked the guy. He was so encouraging. He was always positive and would point out things to help you.”

To maintain his skills as a photographer, and to establish a portfolio that would eventually lead

Linhart and Doors’ drummer, John Densmore.

Justin Hayward, 2014. to paid work, Linhart volunteered to shoot meetings, executive portraits and catalogs for a variety of community organizations that depended on him to get the job done.

Outside of work, he went to concerts and photographed his favorite bands. It was a very exciting time for Linhart because high-speed color negative (400 speed) had just become widely available, and many rock bands were out touring the best albums of their careers, including Fleetwood

Mac’s “Rumors” and the Eagles “Hotel California.”

“What makes your hair stand up is there’s nothing like being in Madison Square Garden when they have the hottest band playing there just before they get onstage. The lights go out…..and the roar of the crowd is unbelievable,” he said.

As a young adult, Linhart remembers scrolling through the Sunday New York Times entertainment section, page 2 (where the ads were), October / November 2015 - 55 PLUS

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Mick Jagger, 1981.

Freddie Mercury, 1980.

Tina Turner, 1987.

Phil Collins, 1992.

Linhart with with The Moody Blues, 1986.

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to find out what big acts were coming to Madison Square Garden or Nassau Coliseum. He still remembers that feeling of anticipation, counting down the days for the next great show.

After graduate school, Linhart secured some paid photography with a few Central New York publications.

Later on, his work appeared in a tour book for blues legend B.B. King. Then record companies hired him to get shots of their artists. Linhart has also been fortunate enough to meet some of the performers he’s photographed.

One of his favorites was Phil Collins, lead singer and drummer of Genesis, whom he calls “immensely talented and very sharp.”

The onset of digital cameras was a godsend to lightsmiths like Linhart. He certainly does not miss the smell of the chemicals in the dark room, the time it took to develop film or the worries over protecting negatives. But from an artistic perspective, he still enjoys shooting with black and white film from time to time.

That’s not to say this modern era of photography is without its challenges, Linhart explains. He always carries two cameras in case one crashes. There are still many precautionary steps to take ahead of time, and properly archiving and backing up a portfolio can be time consuming. Even the technology has improved leaps and bounds since digital cameras became widely available around the turn of the century, the time it takes to get images off the flash card and into the computer is still frustratingly slow for Linhart.

“I’d like it to be instant,” he said.

Linhart has also had his share of bad days in the photo pit. He remembers the time when some overzealous security — “four goons” — physically removed him from a building because they mistakenly thought he didn’t have the correct pass. When their boss verified his credentials, “they said, sir, we’re sorry, come right back in,” he explained.

Linhart said there are unwritten rules, or a code of etiquette, among photographers to work in tight spaces without encroaching on another ’s ability to get good shots.

“I have respect for what the pros are there to do,” he said. “I don’t like being in a photo pit that’s already crowded with people who don’t know what they’re doing.”

The rules for photographers vary

Carlos Santana, 2014. at different event centers. Often, they are limited to three songs or less. If Linhart is shooting for the band, he enjoys “carte blanche” opportunities to collect images.

“But most of the time,” he says, “I am under a time gun. You get it, or you don’t.”

He’s enjoyed a certain flair for getting through dense crowds. At Simon and Garfunkel’s performance at New York’s Central Park in 1981 — a free show that drew 500,000 fans — Linhart was about 125 feet from the stage.

Certain subjects are naturally drawn to the camera and make the job easier. For Linhart, that list included Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bruce Springsteen, Freddie Mercury of Queen, just to name a few.

“I like people who engage photographers, who are dynamic, who have personality — who get a crowd going,” he said.

While Linhart enjoys the energy of a large crowd, he has a special interest in shooting more intimate venues as well. One of his favorite performers is Paul Kelly, an Australian singer who has been compared to Bob Dylan.

Linhart made trips to Woodstock and Toronto to catch Kelly’s show on short notice.

“People were packed into the club like sardines, and the guy was great!” he said.

Linhart’s favorite three concerts

Joni Mitchell, 1995.

Little Richard, 1997.

Led Zeppelin, 1977. of all time — Bruce Springsteen’s 1980 performance in Rochester, Elton John’s 1974 show at Nassau Coliseum during the “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” tour, and Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” show at Nassau Coliseum in 1980, where he was only 13 rows from the stage.

Linhart is married with a son who has gone with him to see a zydeco show as well as a Moody Blues concert.

While he used to compare being at a concert without a camera to “wearing a strait jacket,” Linhart says stepping back and seeing the show through his son’s eyes is a fresh and exciting experience for him.

“He really likes the fact that all the people around him are having a good time,” he said.

Outside of work and photography, Linhart enjoys gardening, listening to music— and especially “gardening while listening to music.” He has a huge collection. Rock will always be his favorite, though the classic vinyl fan does not deny that if you leaf through the thousands of albums he owns you’ll find pop, folk and maybe even a few old disco records here and there.

“I can’t go a day without music,” he said. “I’m always listening to music.

This has been my life passion.”

October / November 2015 - 55 PLUS

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passion

For Dan Ward, curator of the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse, “Cycle the Erie Canal” is on-the-job training.

Here he is shown at the 400-mile finish line in Albany. The event, held in July, kicks off in downtown Buffalo.

About 600 people of all ages — some even in their 70s and 80s — participated

A Ride With History Erie Canal Museum Curator Dan Ward has passion for historic passageway — rides 400 miles in eight days along Erie Canal, from Buffalo to Albany

By Richard Palmer

W

hen many people go home at night, they leave their work behind.

Not Dan Ward, 62, curator of the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse. During the day he may be creating new exhibits, supervising interns or conducting tours.

For the past three years, he has been one of several hundred participants in the annual 400-mile, eight-day “Cycle the Erie Canal” bike

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tour sponsored by Parks and Trails New York, an advocacy organization based in Albany.

The event, held in July, kicks off in downtown Buffalo. About 600 people of all ages — some even in their 70s and 80s — participated.

For Ward, it’s on-the-job training.

He said reading books about the canal is one thing, “but getting out there is quite another. Every year I see something new I didn’t notice before.

It’s a great educational experience.

“Most everyone knows of the vital role the canal played in American history. But cycling it gives you a new perspective on the tremendous effort made in creating the canal.”

Overnight stops are made at Medina, Fairport, Seneca Falls, Syracuse, Rome, Canajoharie and Schenectady, where the cyclists create continued on page 39

Smart Giving Forever

Catherine Winger at home with her dog, Jolie.

After my retirement, I longed for a deeper connection to my community and the nonprofits that interested me. I spent many hours volunteering for several organizations that focus on the arts. I enjoyed my time so much that it seemed natural to find a way to continue giving to those organizations beyond my lifetime. That opportunity came when my attorney suggested developing a charitable plan at the Community Foundation that could be implemented when I passed away.

Community Foundation staff helped me identify and document the charitable focus for the portion of my estate that is set aside for charity. Though I hope it is many years before the plan is implemented, it feels good to have my estate plan complete. I also have the flexibility to adjust the charitable plan over time, which can be done easily without disrupting my formal estate documents.

I feel so fortunate to be able to create a charitable fund that will provide for the community. I am proud that my hard work will reap benefits for the many amazing local arts organizations, hardworking animal charities, and deserving students seeking scholarships in Central New York. The Community Foundation helped make that possible, making it Where the Smart Money Gives.

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October / November 2015 - 55 PLUS

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cover

The Statesman of Syracuse From family man to politician, John DeFrancisco does it all

By Aaron Gifford

J

ohn DeFrancisco is living proof that it’s never too late to do what you love.

T h e s t a t e s e n a t o r f ro m Syracuse was well into his middle ages when he took up the saxophone and eventually gained enough confidence to perform a solo with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra.

And last year — nearly a half century after his collegiate athletic career concluded — he was “drafted” to play ball in a major league stadium.

So it’s no surprise that a guy pushing 70 does not see himself at the twilight of his career.

“I feel great and I really enjoy all that I get to do,” DeFrancisco, 68, said in a recent interview from his Syracuse office. “Why stop now?”

An animated figure known for his political tenacity, the 22-year member of the Senate and chairman of its finance committee loves a heated contest, especially when it comes to legislative spending talks where department heads appear before the lawmakers to defend their budgets.

“I enjoy questioning them,” he says.

“These things go from 9:30 a.m. until 28

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late at night, and I always like the fight.”

Competition shaped the senator’s personality early on. Raised in Syracuse’s Italian-American, bluecollar north side, DeFrancisco spent much of his youth playing baseball and basketball. He graduated from Christian Brothers Academy and to this day remains one of the institution’s most active alumni.

In between semesters at Syracuse University, DeFrancisco helped his father, a painter, at work. The younger DeFrancisco did most of the gritty jobs — sanding, scraping, and tearing off wallpaper.

“He told me that I was not going to get to paint until I was closer to graduation,” DeFrancisco recalled.

“He worked seven days a week. All he ever did was work. His thought was he didn’t want me to like it. That way, I’d want to get an education.”

The ploy worked. DeFrancisco enjoyed college, and not just playing on the baseball team. He initially studied engineering — a vocation that his uncles inspired him to look into — but headed in a different direction after

taking some legal studies electives.

He got hooked on law and earned an academic scholarship to Duke University for post-graduate courses.

But early on, law school proved to be tougher than he imagined. In his first moot court competition, a one-on-one activity where students argue a case, DeFrancisco lost. “I was mortified,” he said. “I vowed at that time never to try cases.”

That changed over time, and three years later the law school graduate found himself not just trying cases, but also serving as a judge and a defense attorney. As part of his ROTC commitment, DeFrancisco served stateside in the southeastern states as a U.S. Air Force court marshall, dealing with cases that ranged from marijuana possession charges, to armed robberies and various violent felonies. Back then the military court system was set up so its attorneys rotated roles often.

“You could end up being the judge one day, the prosecutor one day and the defense attorney another day — all before the same jury,” he said.

The regulations for military courts eventually changed, and DeFrancisco

Sen. DeFrancisco photographed on a recent Sunday at Sedgwick Farm Tennis Club in Syracuse.

This a ritual he follows most Sundays during the summer months. Tennis is just one of his passions. He plays several other sports depending on the season and where he is.

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DeFrancisco is a 22-year member of NYS Senate and chairman of its finance committee. He is shown on the Senate floor during a recent session. spent his last two years in the service handling defense cases, an experience he called liberating and exciting. He networked with other young lawyers but declined an invitation to practice on Wall Street in favor of opening an office in Florida with a good friend.

But he got homesick and returned to Syracuse to work for the Onondaga County District Attorney’s office.

He worked under former DA John Holcomb and said the office was a solid institution of excellent and professional lawyers.

“Maybe Wall Street might have been lucrative,” he said, “but I couldn’t see raising a family there. Here, I have a big family and a lot of friends.”

After gaining some valuable experience, DeFrancisco opened his own firm, specializing in criminal defense. Around that time he also moved to a home in Syracuse’s Sedgwick neighborhood where he still lives today. He established a reputation for being one of the top defense attorneys in the region by winning 30

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acquittals in two murder trials. After one of them, a case where two parents were found not guilty in the death of their 15-month-old child, DeFrancisco wrote a book.

“There was an incredible public outcry, especially because it was around the holidays. I got upset about it, and tried my best to get all of the information out there,” he said of the 1989 book, “What Happened to This Child? The Golden Murder Case.”

The world of politics DeFrancisco’s first taste of politics came when his children were young. Upset about the Syracuse City School District’s redistricting plan that changed the boundaries of neighborhood elementary schools, he ran for the board, winning the third available spot in a contest of seven candidates, most of which were Democrats. Ironically, a new superintendent came aboard before the election and scrapped the redistricting plan.

“When we started campaigning,

the issue was done,” the Republican senator said. “We didn’t have much to debate about.”

Then he set his sights on municipal government, winning a spot as councilor at large on the Syracuse Common Council. He served two terms, one as council president. By then he had diversified his law practice to include a malpractice specialty and representation of construction contractors. Also around that time his children, John, Jeffery and Jennifer, were excelling in school and participating in sports and the arts.

John went on to become a physician in the Albany area, Jeffery eventually took over his father’s Syracuse law practice, and Jennifer became an actress in Hollywood, where her resume includes a role in “The Bucket List,” with Jack Nicholson. John and Linda DeFrancisco have eight grandchildren.

DeFrancisco says his wife Linda did a fantastic job keeping their three children “on the straight and narrow,”

making sure they remained active in a variety of activities so they didn’t have any time to get into trouble.

“They were all totally different kids — different sports, different arts,” he said. “But all of them are deeply committed to exercising.”

Initially, DeFrancisco had no intentions of holding an office beyond city hall. But when 50th Senate District seat became available, Republican Committee members talked him into running. Their strongest selling point was that the position was a part-time job that would allow him to continue his law practice. Still, the longtime Syracuse resident did not appear to have enough political support in the suburbs to win. It was a close contest decided on by only a handful of votes.

But in the end it was DeFrancisco’s colleagues in the District Attorney’s office that rallied others to support him, the senator said.

As a senator, DeFrancisco split time between Albany and Syracuse, and organized his schedule to finish court depositions twice a week, with more time to do trial work in the summer. “It was clearly two full-time jobs,” he said.

Fitness King Tennis, weight lifting, baseball, golf, basketball: DeFrancisco does it all

E

ven though he’s pushing 70, John DeFrancisco exercises like a guy who is barely middle aged.

During the warmer months, he plays tennis at Sedgwick Tennis Farm every Sunday. He lifts weights at home regularly and plays golf often — here and in Florida in the winter. Plus there’s some occasional time on the court to prepare for the annual CBS alumni hoop’s game, and his recent stint with a senior baseball club in Florida.

In fact, fitness is so central to the Syracuse senator that he took it to the legislature, sponsoring a 2015 bill that established a statewide physical fitness and activity education campaign.

“The campaign will increase public awareness through the use

of social media, including Internet, radio and print advertising to promote this message. The campaign will also identify and recruit individuals to serve as visible, public ambassadors to promote this message. Such ambassadors may include professional and amateur athletes, fitness experts and celebrity advocates from media, music and other entertainment mediums,” the bills reads.

The campaign will be state-wide, and focus on promoting physical fitness and activity for the following populations: seniors, youth and other high-risk populations.”

T h e b i l l p a s s e d t h ro u g h committee and both houses but was vetoed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo is August.

Making things happen DeFrancisco played a key role in the delivery of several on-time state budgets. As a member of the judiciary committee, he led efforts to improve town and village courts across the state. He has also worked on crime reduction, welfare reform, tax reduction and job creation, and advocated laws that protect property owners by limiting the use of eminent domain, according to his bio on the New York State Senate Web page.

Locally, DeFrancisco is credited with fighting to keep Hutchings Psychiatric Home open when it was scheduled to close, and with establishing a respite home for children with severe medical disabilities. He successfully sponsored legislation that established a residential property tax exemption in Syracuse and subsequently decreased the number of vacant homes there.

He also championed a series of anti-crime bills that increased the penalties against persistent drunk drivers and was part of the team that established the Amber Alert and Gold Alert systems for locating missing children and missing vulnerable

DeFrancisco is shown with his Syracuse University baseball team in his senior year. He is in the middle of front row.

With old timers baseball team DeFrancisco played on in summer of 2014 in Ft. Myers, Fla. He is also in the middle of the front row.

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55+ adults.

Early in his Senate career, in 1998, DeFrancisco played a leading role in the adoption of Jenna’s Law to eliminate parole for violent felons.

A decade later, he introduced the “Erin’s Law” bill that is aimed at better protecting children from abuse and neglect .He was also involved with reforming New York’s Rockefeller Drug Law, which for decades has been criticized as the mechanism that put thousands of non-violent drug offenders in prison.

With that resume, DeFrancisco became a major player in the state legislature and was up for consideration as the Senate majority leader this May after Dean Skelos, R-Rockville Center, was arrested on public corruption charges. During a closed door meeting with a select group of legislators, another senator from Long Island, John Flanagan, was selected instead. DeFrancisco then supported Flanagan’s bid in the Republican caucus that followed, reportedly maintaining that the Republican Party needed to remain unified.

DeFrancisco said his biggest pet peeve in Albany is people who are so deeply committed to their own agenda that they intentionally block bills from getting out of committee and refuse to work with others “because of petty differences.”

He also thinks efforts to make the lawmakers more transparent have gone too far.

“Every asset you own has to be disclosed in great detail,” he said.

“Clients that lawyers have must be disclosed. What about client confidentiality? As some point there should be a limit on what you should have to disclose.”

At a recent breakfast meeting in Albany with a public library support group, a committee person on ethical conduct posted a sign that said participants should choose between one Danish or one cup of coffee to avoid the appearance of being influenced by gifts.

“Are you kidding me?”

DeFrancisco said. “It’s to the point of absurdity.”

Despite the political battles and 32

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Lifelines Age: 68 Place of residence: Syracuse Favorite restaurants: Joey’s in Carrier Circle and Francesca’s Cucina on North Salina Street Favorite dishes? “Anything that has sauce on it.”

Favorite music: Jazz. He’s seen many shows in Syracuse over the years and had his picture taken with Al Jarreau and Dave Brubeck.

Describe something about Albany that you think most people don’t know: The notion that most of the important decisions are made by “three men in a room” (the governor, senate majority leader and speaker of the assembly). “It’s such a misconception,” DeFrancisco says. “There are 150 Assembly members and 63 senators. No, you can’t get that many people in one room to negotiate. But it’s discussed with everyone and you eventually go with the will of the majority.” the stress, DeFrancisco has maintained a sense of humor. In this year ’s annual Legislative Correspondents Association annual “rebuttal” dinner, a follies-like event for Albany brass, the Syracuse senator pretended to smoke marijuana, kiss one of his legislative rivals and delivered a comedic monolog where he took shots at other state lawmakers, past and present.

When he’s not working, DeFrancisco enjoys spending time with family, exercising, vacationing in

Florida, and playing tennis and golf.

He played pick-up basketball regularly into his mid-60s, but now his time on the court is mostly limited to the CBA annual alumni game.

Last year, he came out of baseball retirement by posting himself as a free agent on a draft board in southwest Florida for seniors looking to play in a league.

A team of 65-to 70-year-olds chose DeFrancisco. One of the games was at a major league baseball spring training stadium in Fort Myers.

“My body wasn’t as quick and my arm not as strong, but the fielding came back,” he said with a laugh.

“I had a ball. It was like being a kid again.”

Playing saxophone is another activity that keeps him feeling young.

The jazz fan took it up at age 50. “But I wanted to wait five years to go public with it,” he joked, “because Bill Clinton played the sax — so there was that stigma.”

DeFrancisco went very public with it, performing with the Syracuse Symphony in Armory Square. He recalled that the conductor told audience members that he had a special surprise for them. The senator turned soloist, dressed in a tuxedo and holding his instrument, quipped — “The surprise is, I can’t play!” And yet, with a few squeaks and misplayed notes, DeFrancisco still belted out his jazz rendition of “Body and Soul.”

“I was awful,” he recalled, “but I got through it. But I still love the sax.

It relaxes me.”

Buddy Wlekinski, CBA’s athletic director, said DeFrancisco regularly steals the show at the school’s annual alumni basketball game, where the senator in recent years has been the oldest player on the court and competes against hoop-sters young enough to be his grandchildren.

“We love the fact that he comes back every year — I mean every year.

He never misses it,” Wlekinski said.

“He’s by far the most senior member, but he’s very competitive and still plays well. He still hustles, he still defends, and he still scores. And off the court he’s very cordial and nice to everyone. He’s still a crowd favorite.”

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Social Security

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Q&A

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aging

By Marilyn L. Pinsky

Love Story

T

Dan Smith and Coy Ludwig: together for 50 years and two months

hough gay marriage has only recently become legal, longterm gay relationships have been around forever. This is the first in a series of just a few couples in Upstate New York in long-term gay relationships.

In a love story for the ages, Coy Ludwig and Dan Smith celebrated 50 wonderful years together before illness took Dan’s life. The relationship spanned a time in history that ended with something they never thought would happen in their lifetimes — their legal marriage.

“We fell in love pretty fast,” says Coy. “From the first month, we always knew we had something special.”

“When we met, Dan was 7 years

older — 35 to my 27. Not only were we dealing with issues around being in a relationship, but also with society’s issues about same-sex couples.

However, we knew many gay men in strong relationships who stayed together until the end of their lives, and they made you realize that it was possible.”

Maintaining two careers was not always easy, but they managed. Coy retired after 24 years as a professor in the department of art at SUNY Oswego where he taught museum studies and was also the director of the Tyler Art Gallery; Dan retired after 35 years as a professor in religion at Syracuse University where he specialized in the teaching of hinduism.

Dan Smith and Coy Ludwig lived as a couple for more than 50 years until Smith’s death in 2009. Ludwig talks about living as a gay couple at the time where they hid their relationship from others.

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“One year I studied in Florence for six months,” relates Coy, “and Dan was in India doing research, or there were years when we were each working in different parts of this country, but wherever the other one was, was always home.”

A number of years ago Dan participated on a panel discussing “Intimacy in Long-Term Relationships.”

He left his notes for Coy to find after his passing. To paraphrase: “Coy and I are more surprised than anyone to be here talking about long-term relationships. We met in a bar! Ours was a classic ‘pick-up.’ Not an auspicious beginning. Nowadays many, more likely places exist for menlooking-for-long-term-relationships than to connect in a smoke-filled barroom. But that was ‘then’ and this is ‘now.’ We just happened to be incredibly lucky. What’s more, we were each ready for a relationship.”

“In certain ways, we could not be more different,” Dan’s notes continued. “We like different movies, music, books, the thermostat at 70 vs. mid 60s, a night vs. a morning person, one likes to keep things ‘just in case,’ the other has to be restrained in periodic binges of consigning things to the trash bin. But those are the ‘little things’ and we managed to negotiate them away by the simple expedient of being considerate. For my own part, the qualities of character one looks for in a partner are honesty, decency, intelligence, heart, and dedication to excellence in one’s job. Honoring and recognizing those characteristics are what will create a long-term commitment to another person in your life.”

And Dan concluded.... “a longterm relationship implies staying with your partner to the farthest reaches of human experience — not only the good

Their relationship spanned a time in history that ended with something they never thought would happen in their lifetimes — their legal marriage. times and the initial joy-ride of getting to know one another, but also the slow (and ever so gentle) easing into old age with all it’s vicissitudes and possibilities-for-continuing-growth that implies.”

Coy says: “In the early years we didn’t say anything about our relationship to anyone except close friends. We were roommates and it just wasn’t talked about. It is amazing what people don’t see if you don’t put a name to it. In long-term relationships in those days it was difficult to even be together publically, let alone adopt children. There were no weddings, no showers, no anniversary parties, all the celebratory things to help keep a heterosexual couple together.”

“Of course there were major concerns about our careers, as two men living together didn’t fit into the social norm and were more likely to be overlooked professionally. Neither of us was public about our relationship until the SUNY trustees and the SU senate established protections for GLBT people.”

“It’s really a profound experience to grow old with somebody. To get older and see frailties coming into play, you love them even more,” Coy says. “We never really wanted to get married because our situation suited us fine, but then you start putting together documents for end of life issues, advance directives, and finally a “control of remains” document — that’s when our lawyer advised us we’d be safer if it was all legal and suggested that we get married.”

On May 29, 2009, when Coy was 73 and Dan was 80, they got married in Massachusetts. “The judge looked at us and said, “I guess you’re old enough to know what you’re doing.”

Coy and Dan were together for 50 years and two months.

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reading

Like to Read?

Start a Book Club

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

I

f you love a good book — and talking about it with others — consider starting up a book club.

“Book clubs are a great way to build a community of readers,” said Marilyn Smith, branch manager at Petit Branch Library in Syracuse, part of the Onondaga County Public Library (OCPL) system. “They turn the usually solitary pursuit of reading into a social and fun activity and provide a platform for discussion of issues that matter to people.”

You don’t have to be particularly academic or read deep books. All you need to form a book club is a few other friends who like books and a plan.

Start with a core of one or two close friends who are diehard readers — the kind who always have a book in hand — and see if they can ask a couple of friends who also enjoy reading to join.

Keep the number below 15 because too many members can make it tough to discuss the titles.

“It’s a good idea to take a look at some guidelines and tips for starting and running a book club, as well as how to select books,”

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Smith said. “But consider them suggestions, not requirements.

Successful, enduring book clubs vary greatly in their logistics — do whatever works for your group.”

Decide what types of books you would like to read. Mary Ann Donahue, library clerk, has been involved with the reading club at Oswego Public Library for most of its 13 years.

She said that twice a year, the club holds a party to vote on the next selections.

“The criteria we have is the member has to have read the selection the person has suggested,” Donahue said. “The member has to put forth reasons we should read it. Some books can be really good reads, but not books that lend themselves to an interesting discussion.”

Your group could choose one genre, such as biographies or alternate types, such as Westerns, romance, current events and so on. You don’t have to buy books to read.

“We have a lot of book clubs around the area that borrow books

here,” said Mark McClave, library aide at Fulton Public Library. “Throughout our system, people borrow for book clubs all the time.”

Make sure it’s the same edition so you’re all “on the same page” when you meet to discuss.

Agree on how often you’ll meet, when and where. Monthly will probably work right for most groups.

Plan to socialize for the first half hour — as you become closer to members, you’ll need the time to chat — and discuss the book afterward.

Most clubs offer food. Readers who also love cooking may want to whip up a meal for the group that relates to the title you’ve read. Others who hate tying on the apron would rather serve just drinks and snacks or a store-bought dessert with tea and coffee. There’s no “right” answer, as long as everyone’s prepared.

Alternate meeting among group members’ homes. Or choose to meet at neutral locations such as a coffee shop or park to relieve the pressure of hosting.

Stay in touch via group email or group texts.

I d e a l l y,

Riding 400 Miles in Eight Days Along Erie Canal, from Buffalo to Albany from page 26

Onondaga Public Library allows patrons to check out book club kits like this as a way to encourage the formation of book clubs in the area. “[Book clubs] turn the usually solitary pursuit of reading into a social and fun activity and provide a platform for discussion of issues that matter to people," says Marilyn Smith, branch manager at Petit Branch Library in Syracuse, part of the Onondaga County Public Library (OCPL) system. before your first meeting, choose how you will run your meetings. As its founder, will you lead each meeting?

Or will a different member lead?

Perhaps each meeting’s leader could direct the discussion on the title you have just read. Or he or she could email questions to the group in advance, but avoid plot spoilers.

Yes/no type of questions result in dead-end conversation. Replace, “Did you like it?” with “How did you feel after reading the book?”

Ask specific questions, too, such as, “Why did the main character alienate himself from his son even though the boy longed for his father’s love and attention?”

Some libraries offer assistance in starting a book club, and even kits.

These usually include multiple copies of the book, author information and discussion questions to help get the ball rolling.

colorful tent cities. They also stop at museums and historic sites.

Wa r d s a i d c a m p i n g accommodations every evening included showers and toilet facilities.

Some campsites include pools or lakes for swimming.

Local communities provided hearty breakfasts and dinners and there were refreshment stops made along the way. There is medical support if needed, and mechanical support to keep the bikes operating smoothly.

Although many people wander off on nearby roads, “I try to stay on the canal as much as possible,” Ward said.

He noted this event is held during the hottest week of the year. “So the faster you go, you create wind to keep you cool,” he noted.

Ward said he covered about 50 miles a day on safe, mostly flat terrain.

Since the Canalway Trail is only about 75 percent complete, much of the route is on parallel roads, such as Route 31 across central and western New York, and Route 5 in the Mohawk Valley.

Ward said the Mohawk Valley route has some long, gradual climbs. Being mostly out in direct sunlight, Ward said he drank many gallons of water.

Training sessions Ward said when the time comes around for the bike tour, “I have to reset my days. I go to bed and get up earlier.” He gets in shape for these events by riding his bike back and forth between DeWitt, just east of Syracuse, to Rome, about a distance of 35 miles, along the canal park. “As I’m traveling along, I think of how incredible it was that this canal was built in so short of a period of time,” he said.

He said another fun part is meeting like-minded people who enjoy the canal experience as much as he does.

The event attracts riders of all ages and abilities, from beginners and families to experienced cyclists, he said.

The cyclists come well prepared for the trek, with the latest and finest in bicycles made to endure both smooth

roads and rough terrain. Most carry along tools to make minor repairs like flat tires, and their own overnight accommodations in the form of tents.

Generally, equipment today is very compact and lightweight. Most cyclists bring along their communication gadgets such as cell phones and I-phones, as well as GPS tracking devices. Ward rides a hybrid mountain bike.

While in Syracuse on the third day, the cyclists encamped at Burnet Park.

Many visited the Burnet Park Zoo and Ward conducted tours of the Canal Museum. Many visitors purchased canal-related items there and the museum mailed them free of charge to their homes so they didn’t have to carry them along.

Ward said progress is being made especially in Syracuse to establish more appropriate and safe routing since the canal no longer passes through the city. “We’re the only maritime museum in the country that isn’t on water,” Ward said. Originally the canal passed through the center of Syracuse. But this was abandoned when the Barge Canal, following the Seneca and Oneida rivers, was opened in 1917.

Ward is very much a part of the Syracuse scene, aside from his position at the Erie Canal Museum. He has been involved in the Connective Corridor initiative. He lectures extensively on canal history topics throughout the region, and is on the board of directors of the New York State Canal Society.

His goal is to keep the heritage of the canal alive.

In 2012, he helped organize the two-day Erie Canal Music Celebration, a two-day event devoted exclusively to the rich musical heritage of the canal.

His original idea was: “What if we gathered together all of the performers and researchers of Erie Canal music in the same place?” The event was considered a great success.

His motto is: “The Erie Canal is gone, but long live the Erie Canal.”

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life after 55

By Michele Reed michele@cny55.com

‘Some Refreshment Required’ and Other House-hunting Terms

B

efore leaving France this March, we were determined to have a serious look at some property, with the eye to buying a little place we could call our own.

We had become enamored enough of life in France to know that we wanted to experience more of it. But with the place we had rented for two winters for sale at nearly $400,000, and rentals going for $1,000 a week in the summer vacation months, when the French and other Europeans take at least a month of holiday, we knew the only way we could afford to return in

warmer weather was with our own “pied a terre” (literally, a foot on the ground, used to mean a small home or apartment as a base of operations).

But first, we had to find a house.

We quickly learned there are two kinds of realtors in France — those who sell to the French people (their ads are in French and they mainly only speak the native tongue) and those who cater to expats, especially the growing number of British and Dutch who settle in the sunny south. That’s rule No. 1: Find a realtor who speaks your language and can lead you through the maze of house-hunting and buying in France.

Editor’s Note: Oswego residents Michele and Bill Reed are back in the South of France exploring the possibility of retiring abroad. In a series of articles, they take readers along on their journey, sharing the ups and down of senior expat living.

Languedoc-Roussillon is home to the largest and oldest wine-growing region in the world. This view from a church terrace at the top of a small village shows pretty village houses overlooking the vineyards, olive groves and, in the distance, the Black Mountains at the edge of the Massif Central. Photo By Bill Reed.

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Bérangère Guyen of realestatelanguedoc.com sifts through keys to properties for sale.

Photo By Bill Reed.

The process is incredibly different from that in the States and can be a minefield for foreigners who don’t know the ins and outs.

Searching for properties online, Bill found a website in English, with several properties in our price range.

He put in an inquiry on one, and got a quick reply from the realtor, Freddy Rueda of realestatelanguedoc.com.

That’s what resulted in the adventure of a week in a gite (zheet), described in my last article.

To be truthful, I didn’t think we would find a house, but I was up for a week in the largest and oldest wine-growing region of the world and the excitement of looking at French houses. We figured at least it would be a learning experience, something we could use for continuing our house hunt next winter.

The week began early on Monday, when at 10 a.m. We met Bérangère Guyen, Freddy’s colleague, at the café for a cup of coffee and to look at the book of properties. How we laughed

when she literally dumped out on the table a gym bag full of keys attached to silly key chains and started to sift through to find the ones for houses she wanted to show us.

We saw several houses, and learned a lot about differences between French and American houses. As anyone who watches “House Hunters International” on HGTV knows, European properties can be quite different from our sprawling American abodes. We had targeted “maisons de village,” basically what we in the States would call a brownstone or row house.

These traditional houses, bounded on two or three sides by neighbors and with very narrow facades, are a good buy because the French seek more spacious villas with garages and yards on the outskirts of town. These MDVs for short are prime targets for expats seeking a vacation home and an easy to lock and leave base in France. But they are tiny by American standards, and are often one or two rooms wide but several stories high. In one house, the stairs were so steep, with a rope railing screwed into the wall, that it was like the church bell tower we climbed last winter — that had been a fun challenge, but you wouldn’t want to live there.

“Refreshment required” is a French real estate term that can mean anything from a house that needs some paint, to one that needs a full kitchen and finishing some interior walls. In fact the kitchen is the biggest shocker for most American house hunters. In France, as in much of Europe, people can take their kitchen appliances with them when they sell the house.

Sometimes, they also take the cabinets.

So the first move in buying many houses is to fully equip the kitchen, sometimes furnished with only a water hook-up and the electrical outlets. We learned to look for real estate ads that listed “cuisine equipee,” or equipped kitchen, or “cuisine Americaine,” one open to the lounge area.

Bathrooms are another puzzle for foreign buyers. There are three types of bathrooms available: “salle de bain,” or bath room, which includes a bathtub; “salle d’eau,” literally water room, which includes a sink and shower; and WC, which stands for water closet and is literally a little room with just a toilet. Sometimes your shower and sink are in one place and toilet in a separate room, possibly even on a

separate floor.

Bedrooms are much smaller in Europe and they are not equipped with American-style closets. You would have to furnish an armoire or cupboard of some kind. Dressers are also rare, and you usually hang your clothes in the armoire and put folded items on its shelves.

Building materials are a major difference, too. At least in the South of France, lumber is not as readily available as in the Northeastern United States. The houses are not made of wood and sheetrock, but walls are plaster and exteriors are stucco and stone with terra cotta roofs. This has the added advantage of keeping the homes cooler in summer and holding the heat in winter.

“Vis-à-vis” is another French real estate term to be aware of. In cities and villages all over France, the streets can be narrow and you are sometimes just feet from your neighbor across the street. Your windows look into his windows, hence the vis-à-vis, literally, you are face to face. It’s just a difference one needs to get over if looking at houses in France.

Along with the vis-à-vis comes the reality that most French village houses are built right up to the sidewalk: no front yards and often no back yards. A balcony or rooftop terrace is an amenity much sought after. But rooftop terraces need a special permit to build, or you can be forced to cover them back up, so it’s important to seek a home with one already built.

Spoiler alert: I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. With Freddy and Bérangère’s help, we did find a house, and will lead you through our process in future articles.

NEXT ISSUE: We become French homeowners Michele Reed retired after a career spanning four decades in public relations, advertising, journalism and higher education. She now writes travel articles, book reviews, haiku poetry and fiction. Bill Reed retired after four decades in social services with the County of Oswego, and now works at travel photography and photojournalism, along with writing book reviews.

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golden years

By Harold Miller hal@cny55.com

Are We Alone on This Pale Blue Dot? Search for other life in our galaxy is ultimate win-win endeavor

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lthough America still leads the space race, government funding for this vital program has been cut to

the bone.

Fifty-five years ago, President John F. Kennedy sponsored a program to put a man on the moon. That act enhanced the exploration of outer space. Our country is still benefitting from the results — all the way from national security, to medical research, to the advancement of human life.

On the other hand, 65 years ago, oceanographer Roger Revelle began the research that raised the possibility of carbon dioxide creating a “greenhouse effect” that would cause atmospheric warming over time. This in turn generated the “science” of global warming, which in turn created an industry for which the United States has invested billions upon billions of our tax dollars over the years.

To date, the theory that man-made carbon dioxide emissions have caused climate-change has not been proven.

Recently, Lamar Smith, chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, published an editorial in The Wall Street Journal entitled, “The Climate-Change Religion.” In an excerpt from that piece, he states: “For the past decade and a half, global-temperature increases have been negligible and that the worsening storms scenario has been widely debunked. The pronouncements from the Obama administration sound more like scare tactics than fact-based declarations.”

Meanwhile, a distinguished group of scientists and celebrities, including Steven Hawking, and the director of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University, sponsored a full-page advertisement in the July 21 edition

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of The Wall Street Journal titled, “Are We Alone?”

An excerpt from the text: “In 1990 Voyager 1 swiveled its camera and captured the ‘Pale Blue Dot’ — an image of Earth from 6 billion kilometers away. It was a mirror held up to our planet — home of water, life and minds. It’s a reminder that we share something precious and rare.

But how rare exactly? The only life?

The only minds?

“For the last half-century, small groups of scientists have listened valiantly for signs of life in the vast silence. But for government, academia, and industry, cosmic questions are far down the list of priorities. And that

lengthens the odds of finding answers.

It is hard enough to comb the universe from the edge of the Milky Way and harder still from the edge of public consciousness.

“Today, we have search tools far surpassing those of previous generations. Telescopes can pick out planets across thousands of light years. The magic of Moore’s law lets our computers sift data orders of magnitude faster than older mainframes and even quicker each year. These tools are now reaping a harvest of discoveries.

“In the past five years, astronomers and the Kepler Mission have discovered thousands of planets beyond our solar system. It now appears that most stars host a planetary system. Many of them have a planet similar in size to our own, basking in the ‘habitable zone’ where the temperature permits liquid water. There are likely billions of earth-like worlds in our galaxy alone. And with instruments now or soon available, we have a chance of finding out if any of these planets are true Pale Blue Dots — home to water, life, even minds. That means that the search for life is the ultimate ‘winwin’ endeavor. All we have to do is take part.”

Obviously, this enticing report from the scientific community is a message to our government to rampup the all-but-dormant space program.

Our hard-earned tax dollars are better invested in the future of our planet than over reacting to the yet-to-be proven theory of global warming.

While it is highly unlikely that the existing government administration will react in their twilight hours, a revitalized space program might be something that the next president would put on his (or her) to-do list.

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profile

Tadodaho Sid Hill, 64, is the spiritual leader of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) people, part of the Onondaga Nation.

Meet Tadodaho Sid Hill Native American spiritual leader is co-creator of the new Skanonh — Great Law of Peace Center, expected to open later this year in Liverpool Py Matthew Liptak

P

hil Arnold is an associate professor at Syracuse University. He is also a friend and colleague of Sidney Hill. Hill is today’s Tadodaho.

Together Arnold and Hill have worked to create Skanonh — Great Law of Peace Center, right across the road from Onondaga Lake Park. It is at the former St. Marie Among the Iroquois facility.

The new center is designed to show the history and culture of the area from the Haudenosaunee perspective. It will continue to incorporate parts of the older facility too and is expected to be open late this year or early in 2016.

“Tadodaho” is not a word many Central New York people may be familiar with even though they live right next to the man who carries that title.

It is a position given to a chief of the Onondaga Nation who is the spiritual leader of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, also known as the Iroquois Nations. The Tadodaho can also call together a grand council of the confederacy and confirm its decisions.

The Tadodaho has existed for hundreds if not thousands of years.

Arnold, the director of Skanonh, said he has learned much from Hill. He said the Tadodaho is

humble, but proud and enjoys the “human delights” like good food, music and humor.

“Just a warm and caring person,” Arnold said. “He’s someone whose opinion matters greatly to me. Not only is he, you could say, a resident expert in the Haudenosaunee traditions, someone who is engaged in trying to promote the understanding of ideas of the Haudenosaunee, but he is someone who is also engaged with the outside world as well.”

Sidney Hill, 64, is a retired ironworker. He took on the lifetime role of Tadodaho after his uncle, Leon Shenandoah, died. He has many October / November 2015 - 55 PLUS

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duties, including presiding over ceremonies, helping to preserve his people’s culture and providing a voice from the Haudenosaunee point of view to the wider world.

It’s a lot to do. At a time when some are slowing down in their lives, Hill is juggling being a husband and father of a young boy and carrying out his duties as Tadodaho.

“It’s tough on families sometimes — leadership, responsibility,” Hill said. “Having the ceremonies and meetings. We’re always trying to educate people about ourselves.

It’s real busy. It can be stressful.”

He said one major focus is preserving the language of the

Onondaga. Speaking the native tongue was forbidden by boarding schools his ancestors attended. When they grew up and had families, these grandfathers and grandmothers didn’t teach the language to their children, Hill said. They feared the kids would be punished in school like their parents had.

Now it has to be taught as a second language to new generations of the Onondaga Nation. Classes are held for those Onondagas who want to learn.

Growing up as a child, Hill was confronted by many of the stereotypes portrayed in the media about Native Americans.

The Forming of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy “When our people were a w a r r i n g p e o p l e , t h e re w a s cannibalism and war and people were hiding from all the dangers that were going on. This message of peace came to this young boy (the Peacemaker). He had a special mission. That was to bring peace to these small nations who were fighting all the time.

He first went to the east and had heard about the people fighting there. That happened to be the Mohawk people. From the Mohawks he went westward to the Oneidas, the Onondagas spreading this word of peace. He came to the Onondagas.

There was this one very powerful leader (the Tadodaho). He had power and people were scared of him. He pretty much controlled the area for the Onondagas. He would not accept that message of peace and was doing his best not to have it come here because he already had power and didn’t need any power.

So the Peacemaker went on from the Onondagas to the Cayugas and the Senecas. He convinced these leaders to come back and approach the Tadodaho.

There was a main village, probably on the northeast side of Onondaga 44

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Lake. The Tadodaho was living in this area. In order for the message of peace to be accepted amongst the five nations that the Peacemaker went to, they had to convince the Tadodaho to accept the message of peace.

In their attempt to approach him, they used song and good words. The name Tadodaho means “entangled,” which meant that his mind was so corrupt, so evil that there were snakes in his hair. The story is that he was a cannibal, he had a lot of power and people were afraid of him.

When they approached him, they started singing and speaking to him. His body started to straighten out and they said the snakes were falling from his hair. His mind was accepting what they had. In order to convince him, they had to make a deal with the Tadodaho that he would have special duties and that Onondaga would be the capital of the five nations.

Any problem that was facing the five nations, he would call them and they would all come and he would preside over the meetings.

He accepted this as part of the deal.

This is why Onondaga Lake is so important in our history.”

— Tadodaho Sidney Hill

“Growing up, I always watched cowboys and Indians and you see the stereotypes that are there,” he said.

“You go to ceremonies and realize that you’re the Indian that’s always getting killed — the bad guy on the TV. It’s kind of confusing — Why we would be the bad guy? As you learn, it’s tough trying to protect what we had and maintaining who we are.”

Other than encouraging the culture of the Onondaga and Haudenosaunee to thrive, Hill, like many other Native Americans, shares a strong concern about the environment, particularly Onondaga Lake, which is sacred to the Onondaga and the other Haudenosaunee nations, the Oneida, the Seneca, the Cayuga and the Mohawk.

It is where the leaders of the five nations came together to form the confederacy hundreds of years before white settlers came to this region.

Concern about climate change In June, Hill presided over a prayer service at Onondaga Lake Park that was attended by people from both inside and outside the nation. He called attention to the sacredness of the waters and, along with faith keeper Oren Lyons, raised concern about climate change.

“Whether we contribute much to climate change or not, the fact is it is changing,” he said. “The ice is melting and the weather is going through extremes. I don’t know if it’s debatable or not. We just have to be prepared for this change as much as we can. We don’t know how fast things are going to change.”

Tadodaho Sidney Hill is one in a long line of Onondaga chiefs who have carried his title. It could be an imposing burden. But he doesn’t dwell on that. Instead he’s determined to promote the welfare of his people day by day.

His focus and message to his people is clear and present.

“Keeping the ceremonies going, not to forget who they are,” he said.

“Not to lose sight as to who we are and what our ancestors sacrificed for what we have now. I hope the younger people realize this. Despite all the (efforts) to try to destroy us as a people, our grandparents managed to keep the ceremonies going.”

consumers corner

By Eva Briggs, M.D.

Treatments for Atrial Fibrilation

O

ne of the most common heart arrhythmias is atrial fibrillation. It affects about 2.5 million people in the United States. It becomes more common as people age. Your heart has four chambers. There are two ventricles, the main pumping chambers. The right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs to pick up oxygen, and the left ventricle pumps the oxygenated blood to the body. There are two atria, which can be thought of as filling chambers for the two ventricles.

In a normal heart, the atria contract first, and then the ventricles contract.

Your heart’s natural pacemaker and electrical system ensures that this happens in an orderly fashion.

Sometimes things run amok and the atria, instead of beating in a nice orderly fashion, start to quiver like a bowl of Jell-O. That’s atrial fibrillation (AF). The ventricles no longer receive orderly instructions, and start to beat in a random fashion. If you listen with a stethoscope, instead of a nice regular beat, you’ll hear an unpredictable irregular pattern. It’s what doctors call an irregularly irregular rhythm.

AF causes several problems. First, AF is often causes the ventricles to beat too rapidly. This wears out and weakens the heart muscle. And without normal atrial contractions to fill up the ventricles, each heartbeat might not pump out enough blood to meet the body’s needs. Some of the blood in the malfunctioning atria can swirl around aimlessly, causing blood clots that may break off and cause problems, like strokes. So people with AF have a greater risk of death and disability.

AF may be symptomatic, causing palpitations that feel like a fluttering in the chest, shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness and fainting. Some people, especially those over 65 years

of age, have no symptoms at all.

W h a t makes AF happen? The problem can be a disruption in the heart’s electrical system or it can be due to an abnormal heart structure.

Conditions like an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) or lung disease may cause AF. Treating these illnesses might resolve the AF. Other risk factors for AF include high blood pressure, obesity and obstructive sleep apnea. Treating those problems may not cure AF, but often make AF easier to control and reduce the chance of recurrence.

One way to classify AF is by how long the episode(s) last. Paroxysmal AF lasts less than seven days, and persistent AF lasts longer than seven days. Long standing AF lasts more than a year. Permanent AF occurs when it’s not possible to restore the heart’s normal rhythm.

There are three broad approaches to treating AF: rhythm control (trying to restore the a normal heart rhythm), rate control and preventing stroke.

Antiarrhythmic drugs are one approach to rhythm control.

Medications can’t always stop all episodes of AF. But reducing the frequency and duration of AF episodes can still produce big improvements for symptomatic patients. Cardiac ablation is another treatment to help restore a normal rhythm. A catheter is threaded through the veins into the heart, and abnormal bits of heart tissue are destroyed (ablated).

Rate control is used when the heart can’t be returned to its normal rhythm, and to slow the heart during spells of AF. Even patients who don’t have any

symptoms require rate control to keep their heart muscle from wearing out.

Just as your leg muscles would tire out if you were forced to run indefinitely, the heart muscle can poop out and fail if your heart keeps ticking along at a sprinter’s pace. Sometimes a pacemaker is also helpful in the treatment of AF, when attempts at restoring the heart’s rhythm or rate slow the heart down too much, or otherwise interfere with return to a normal rhythm.

The good news is that both rate control and rhythm control seem to be similarly effective in preventing death from cardiovascular disease in patients.

Many patients with AF will require blood thinners — anticoagulants — to reduce the chance of stroke. A doctor will balance the risk of stroke against the risk of bleeding complications to determine when to treat with anticoagulants. The risk of stroke increases with factors such as age, gender, diabetes, previous stroke and vascular disease. On the other hand, factors that increase the risk of bleeding from blood thinners include falling, ulcers, and recent surgery.

As you can see, the best treatment for AF requires a cardiologist or other doctor familiar with the available drugs and other treatments, and knowledge of the risks and benefits to individualize treatment for each AF patient.

Eva Briggs is a medical doctor who works at two urgent care centers (Central Square and Fulton) operated by Oswego Health.

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druger’s zoo

By Marvin Druger

The Profundity of Life

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Take time to ponder life’s complex mysteries

daptation is a major feature of all living things. All living things are structurally and functionally suited to survive and reproduce in their habitats. I observed many examples of this phenomenon and made other observations of living things during the summer months.

Flowers and trees scatter their seeds to assure the existence of the next generation. Bees flit from flower to flower, gathering pollen. Fish move from a stream where they bred, to the deeper, more nutrient-rich depths of the lake. Spiders build intricate silk webs to capture insects for food.

I observed one spider located in the center of its web, eagerly awaiting the signal that some insect had accidentally hit the web and stuck to it.

Then, the spider would bite the insect and immobilize it with its venom, and wrap it in a protective cover of silk to store it as future food.

I saw baby ducks trailing behind their mother, as she offered protection and security for them. I saw a mother deer entering a driveway in the city, seeking food, with three smaller, baby deer close behind. I saw different species of birds feeding at the bird feeder in my back yard. Each bird landed on the porch railing to look around for danger before flying to the feeder.

It was interesting to watch how some single birds would bully a competing bird and chase it from the feeder. Blue jays would eat the seeds while hovering over the feeder’s edge, since they were too large to actually land on the feeder.

A pair of mourning doves was on the ground eating seeds that were spilled from the feeder by other birds.

Squirrels ate seeds on the ground, and there was no indication that squirrels or birds were afraid of each other.

Occasionally, a chipmunk would join

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in the feast at the base of the feeder.

Ants are fascinating to watch. One day, my kitchen counter was covered with a swarm of tiny ants. Before I had time to panic, they were gone, and they never attempted to eat from the boxes of cereals that stood on the counter.

I overturned a log lying on the beach. Immediately, countless numbers of ants were scurrying back and forth carrying little white eggs. They seemed to be trying to save the eggs from exposure and they attempted to hide them once more.

Oftentimes, I would observe an

isolated ant or other insect simply wandering about, as if it were lost.

Other times, I would overturn soil and watch revealed earthworms seek cover.

All of these observations and more made me realize the complexity of behaviors and the adaptations of all living things. These observations made me seem insignificant. There are so many other worlds of life and worlds within worlds that exist.

I thought about the behavior of humans that I observed — A lady pushing her invalid mother in a

wheelchair; the fitness trainer lifting weights and grunting at the health club; the charitable acts performed by so many people of different sizes, shapes, cultures and religions; the cyclists who seem intent on bicycling forever to the ends of the earth; the men who collect the garbage on my street each week; the teacher trying to help children learn and grow in the classroom; the firemen rushing to the scene of a fire in my garage.

The uniqueness of man I became overwhelmed by the realization that each of these individuals has a separate life, like all of the other living creatures. Each person is unique and has special characteristics. Indeed, no two living things on earth are exactly the same.

Even identical twins — who have the same heredity — develop in different environments and are different. So, someone can be taller, stronger, richer and smarter than someone else, but nobody is better than anyone else.

Our uniqueness means that each individual can do something special that others cannot do. So, we should all show respect and admiration for each living thing.

One of the characteristic features of humankind seems to be war. Humans are regularly intent upon fighting each other. Yet, warring nations often become friends many years after the conflicts. The United States fought bitterly against Japan and Germany in World War II. Yet, these nations are now our allies. So, why bother having the war in the first place, and lose so Savvy Seni

Art Zimm er:

many precious, unique lives?

Reproduction and survival of the species are the essence of adaptation.

Many species have become extinct, and extinction seems to be a general rule of evolution. Humans have been responsible for the extinction of many species.

For example, passenger pigeons once numbered in the billions. Humans hunted and killed them and destroyed their habitats until one passenger pigeon remained, Martha. She was the last passenger pigeon on earth and died in the Cincinnati zoo on Sept.

1, 1914. In other extinctions, humans changed habitats such that particular species could no longer survive.

N o w, h u m a n s h a v e m a d e progress in exploring other planets and structures in our solar system.

Robots are gathering data on Mars.

A spacecraft has landed on a comet for the first time to gather data. A spacecraft was launched in 2006 that traveled 3 billion miles (4.8 billion kilometers) in nine years to get close enough to Pluto to gather intimate data about it.

I won’t even attempt to contemplate the trillions of stars, planets and structures that exist in outer space. It is incomprehensible.

One feature that all living things have in common is death. Every living thing eventually dies, no matter how well suited it is for its habitat. To me, death is the greatest mystery of living things. We can’t explain it, so we have to adjust to it. Religions can help cope with this reality, but they don’t adequately explain why all living

or: Medicar

e Optio

ns for Retir ees Who Tr Busy Life avel of a Retir ed New spaper Pu blisher

55

The Magazine PLUS For Active Adults in the CNY Area Sen. John October

Issue 59 / Novemb er

2015 For in the CenActive Adults tral New Yor k Area

DeFrancis

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things die.

What is the point of the rambling observations in this article? Where is the usual humor? I decided to express these thoughts, because I believe it is helpful for all of us to contemplate who we are and what we are doing in life.

When I was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Sidney in Australia, I did research under the mentorship of a prominent geneticist. My mentor was tall, thin, pale and slow moving.

He looked like he had never been exposed to sunlight. As an enthusiastic post-doc, I endlessly spent my time viewing fruit flies under a microscope.

I made an interesting observation that I wanted to tell my mentor about.

In Australia, much time is spent in the tea room. I asked where my mentor was. “Oh, he’s in the tea room,” I was told. (I should have known). I rushed upstairs to the tea room. My mentor was stretched out on a sofa, lying completely still, with his arms folded across his chest. I became alarmed, thinking that my mentor was ill. “Are you OK?” I asked. My mentor didn’t move at all, but said profoundly, “I’m pondering the definition of fitness.”

This incident taught me a valuable lesson in life. Instead of racing around madly in thoughtless activity, it’s sometimes a good idea to stop and “ponder.” What are we doing? Why? What’s really important in life? Where do we go from here? So, the point of this article is to encourage readers to “ponder.” This may help us gain valuable perspectives on the enormous complexity that constitutes the world of life.

From fam ily advocate, man to politician to John DeFr ancisco do fitness es it all INSIDE: Th e Spiritual Chief of th e Iroquois Nation

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visits

10 Things to Do in Broome County

The Binghamton area has been dubbed the Carousel Capital of the World because out of only 150 antique carousels remaining in the United States and Canada, six are in the Greater Binghamton area. All six are on the New York State Historic Register and the National Register of Historic Places.

B

roome County, named in honor of John Broome, the lieutenant governor in 1806 when the county was established, is located on the Chenango River. At one time the Chenango River was connected to the Erie Canal by the 97mile long Chenango Canal. It spurred growth in population and industry.

The area was known as the “Valley of Opportunity” and was home to IBM and other major corporations.

Today the county is a destination for those interested in art, museums and outdoor fun. The county is part of New York State’s Susquehanna Heritage Area.

Carousels: There is something magical about a carousel or a merry-go-round that appeals to all age groups. The Binghamton area has been dubbed the Carousel Capital of the World because out of

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only 150 antique carousels remaining in the United States and Canada, six are in the Greater Binghamton area. All six are on the New York State Historic Register and the National Register of Historic Places. They are located in C. Fred Johnson Park in Johnson City, the George W. Johnson Park in Endicott, Highland Park in Endwell, Ross Park in Binghamton, West Endicott Park in Endicott, and Recreation Park in Binghamton. Each is unique. The one in Recreation Park has 60 jumping horses, chariots and the original tworoll WurliTzer Military Band Organ with bells. All the carousels were made by the Allan Herschell Company in North Tonawanda in what is called the “country fair” style.

Roberson Museum and Science Center: The Roberson features 19th and 20th century art, history, folk life, science

2

and natural history. As part of the 60th anniversary celebration they added a new natural history exhibit, “Journey from our Prehistoric Past’ with the Randolph Mammoth skull as a centerpiece, the most complete mammoth specimen found in NYS. There are a variety of displays to interest visitors, including the model railroad that depicts what Binghamton, Johnson City, Owego and Endicott looked like in the 1950s. Connected to the museum is the historic 1904 Roberson Mansion with a sweeping grand staircase.

Bundy Museum: Learn about the beginnings of IBM at the Bundy Museum. The Bundy brothers opened a time recording clock company. Time recording clocks allowed workers to “clock” in and out. The company flourished and eventually grew into

3

IBM. The house is a testament to the elegance and beauty of the Victorian age; however, there is much more to see in the annex, including a fascinating exhibit dealing with one of their “favorite sons,” Rod Serling, creator of the Twilight Zone.

Cutler Botanic Garden: It is one of about 360 gardens in the United States designated as a display garden for AllAmerican Selection plants. Each year the staff previews the AAS winners that will be available commercially the following year. The garden paths twist around gardens of perennials, wild flowers, herbs and more. The garden has a truly unique trail: The Shakespeare Trail. Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Shakespeare Dramatic Club of Binghamton have created a trail that identifies plants that are cited in the Bard’s works along with the associated quotation.

Arts: The arts are alive and well in Broome County. The University of Binghamton with several galleries featuring works of art drawn from their permanent collection of 3,000 objects as well as those on loan in regularly rotated exhibits. Anthony Brunelli Fine Arts Gallery has hands-on art classes for all ages and is one of several small galleries with changing exhibits.

During First Friday Walks dozens of venues in downtown Binghamton and the city’s neighborhoods open with no admission costs. Those interested in the performing arts will enjoy Broadway shows at the Forum Theater where the Binghamton Philharmonic and the Tri-

Cities Opera perform.

The University of B i n g h a m t o n o ff e r s m a n y p ro d u c t i o n s as do several smaller theaters.

Antique Row: Clinton Street in Binghamton has been designated as antique row. All the shops are different and unique. The Old, Odd, and Unique is true to its name selling an array of “stuff” such as old cameras, tools and hunting items. The Mad Hatter Learn about the beginnings of IBM at the Bundy Antiques has three Museum. The Bundy brothers opened a time floors chock-a-block recording clock company. Time recording clocks full of antiques, one-of- allowed workers to “clock” in and out. The company a-kind furnishings and flourished and eventually grew into IBM. collectables. Yesteryear Antiques and Collectables offers Sports: Binghamton is home antique furniture and glass collectibles. to the Double-A minor league There are several stores where potential affiliate of the New York Mets. buyers, and or sellers, can browse.

They play 71 home games each Candyland: If you can’t find year. The Binghamton Senators is a your favorite candy then head top development team for the NHL, to Candyland in nearby Port Ottawa Senators and the American Crane. It is called the “The Hockey League. Golfers can “Play Sweetest Place on Earth” where there Where the Pro’s Play,” at En-Joie Golf are a plethora of hard-to-find “retro” Club in Endicott or one of the many candies. Candyland is part of the other golf courses. Hear the engines Windy Hill Candle Factory where they roar at Five-Mile Point Speedway in make their own candles, including Kirkwood. long tapers and floating votive candles.

Spiedies: No visit to Broome There are candles with every scent County is complete without imaginable including ones that emit enjoying their local specialty, the luscious smell of apple pie and spiedies. A spiedie consists of cinnamon buns. cubes of chicken, pork, lamb, veal, or beef that has been marinated overnight in a special spiedie marinade then grilled on spits. Each year Binghamton celebrates with a Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally with an annual spiedie cook-off. Lupo’s claims to be the home of the original spiedie. Bottles of marinade can be purchased to enjoy at home.

All seasons: Broome County is an all-season destination. Chenango Valley State Park is just one place visitors may swim, rent boats, hike, fish and golf; when winter comes there is ice skating, sledding, and cross-country skiing. Kayaking in the summer and snowmobiling in Kayaking on the Chenango River. At one time it was connected to the the winter are very popular. It is an Erie Canal by the 97-mile long Chenango Canal. all-season fun destination.

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By Matthew Liptak

Pat Killorin, 71 Finding rewards in volunteering for the hospice Q. How did you get involved with Hospice of Central New York?

A. “I’ve always been fascinated with older people. When I was a young boy, one of my best friends across the street was a gentleman that was like 60 years old. We used to sit and listen to Yankee games together and enjoy each other. At the end of his life he had people who were there helping him. I noticed that and embedded it in my thinking in the future. I always wanted to join hospice and I just never knew how to do it. Then one day my boss in Syracuse called and he was already a caregiver and asked me if I would be interested and I said sure. So we went over there and I went through the training program. It’s just been a wonderful, wonderful adventure.

Q. Isn’t that tough to work with end of life people and their families?

A. “It’s not work actually. It’s a pleasure. I think all of the family caregivers will tell you the same thing. It’s not really work. It’s basically the fact that you’re giving back. The good Lord’s been good to me in my life and I enjoy being with people. I’ve made a lot of great friendships through hospice. Even though some of them were short term I still maintain friendships with the family afterward. It’s just been a blessing to me. It’s the best feeling to be able to give of yourself to other people and help them in times that they need help.

It’s pretty much that simple. It’s important to give back in life.

Q. What kind of relationships have you made through volunteering?

A. “I’ve had a lot of great relationships I could tell you about. One of those relationships 50

55 PLUS - October / November 2015

was with an African-American gentleman down on the South Side of Syracuse. What I like to do when I meet the hospice patients is find out what their likes are and find out what any issues they may have and try to talk with them about those likes and try to help them through their issues.

This gentleman and I got along.

He liked sports and being a former football player we talked a lot of things about sports. The biggest thing he liked was blues music.

I went home after the first time I met him and made up four or five CDs of blues music. Every time I saw him we’d play a little blues music, talk a little about what his philosophy of life was at the time.

Q. What’s the tough part of the work?

A. It’s always tough when you lose a patient. That’s really the hard part of it. But I guess it in your belief system...whether you think it’s the next journey in another life that you were striving to attain. That’s more or less my belief. I try to do as much as I can for other people. I call them God’s children, so it will be better for me when I get on the other side. That’s pretty much what it’s all about. But I think the toughest part is when we lose people, but you keep their memory. That’s the important thing. And you keep the friendships with the family.

Q. What’s something that people don’t generally realize about volunteering with hospice?

A. “If I’ve discussed anything with people about hospice is that they don’t feel comfortable with the dying part of it...but it’s much more than that. I think they’d all tell you the friendships they’ve gotten is

an important thing and the ability to make the final days of a patient as good as you possibly can get for them. It’s a great thing. Hospice is a wonderful organization. People should look into it more. They really should. They’re very compassionate.

The nurses are wonderful. They train the volunteers very well.

They’re always there for volunteers.

I can’t give you any negative.

Q. How long do you think you’ll be doing this?

A. “As long as I possibly can.

I’ve been doing for probably 12 to 14 years. It’s been a great journey for me. I just can’t tell you how much I’ve grown in a lot of areas just by being with people in hard times and hearing them and talking to them.

Pat Killorin of Baldwinsville is a family caregiver volunteer with Hospice of Central New York.

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