VSTYLE Magazine, January 2018

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F e at u r i n g

6 A memory book Preserving family history for many generations.

Plus

10 A curable cancer A simple test or an effective vaccine can beat cervical cancer.

12 Curious charms A man learns about his wife’s past after her death.

* MVESEtT yAlVeI L L A G E R

V I TA L

S TAT

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Born and raised in New York City.

Graduated from Fordham University with a degree in marketing communications.

Reached the rank of captain while serving in the Air Force from 1962-1967.

Writes a monthly column for Village Style magazine.

The village voice Joe Angione speaks out and sings out.

STORY: CHRIS GERBASI // PHOTO: FRED LOPEZ

What do you like about writing? I like the teaching aspect of journalism. I believe I have a mission to improve America’s understanding of government, society, the military, religion, and other aspects of life.

What’s your writing background? I have been interested in writing from my high school days. I won creative writing (short story) competitions

while in the Air Force stationed in West Germany.

I spent 35 years publishing magazines for various businesses and professions, including food retailing, restaurant management, cable television, human resources management, and for a broad spectrum of medical practitioners.

I now publish my own internet newsletter, The Conservative Way, that has received an overwhelming response from conservatives locally and across Florida.

What are your favorite activities in The Villages?

I don’t have many, except for physical training (keeping fit), writing, singing and performing onstage. From 1998 until 2006, I produced and performed in a concert series called “Sentimental Journey” that filled the Savannah Center for more than 25 performances and raised thousands of dollars for charities.

I still sing on Sundays at the Hacienda Hills Country Club’s afternoon karaoke performances.

What issues are on the minds of Villagers?

Good government is one; financial resources

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is another. So is finding enough to do to fill their retirement days. Of course, many play lots of golf.

But for those who don’t play, it can be tough to find meaningful things to do. But most important is what Villagers think about their health. They probably think too much about the down side of getting old and the afflictions that they, their friends, and neighbors suffer.

Favorite food? A good homemade hamburger, an authentic New York-style pizza, a tender New York strip steak.

Favorite performer?

Probably Tony Bennett.

People say my singing voice is like his.

Favorite TV show? “Blue Bloods.” It’s far and away the best series on television. It displays all of the good, solid, faithbased family values that I grew up with. In my mind, Tom Selleck is the personification of what an NYPD commissioner—or any official of any city— should be. We’ve lost the qualities portrayed by Selleck in our community leaders, and the nation is the worse for it.

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Michael Monteith Financial Planning Specialist Portfolio Manager Vice President Financial Advisor michael.monteith@ morganstanley.com

832 Lake Sumter Landing The Villages, FL 32162 352-751-7845 • 800-447-6036 fa.morganstanley.com/lakesumter Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Clients should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trust and estate planning and other legal matters.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP,® CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and federally registered CFP (with flame design) in the US. © 2017 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC. CRC1875964 MAR013 09/17 CS 9068657 10/17

* IVNSTtHyE lV eI L L A G E S

You are your most precious gift The new year is an opportunity to give more of yourself.

STORY: JOE ANGIONE

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A precious gift isn’t from a wallet or a fancy store. A precious gift is one that comes from one’s self.

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e’ve survived another Christmas season perhaps a bit heavier and a bit poorer after spending money on gifts for kids, grandkids, spouses, friends, and relatives.

I used to think as my wife and I got older, we would spend less on holiday gifts. After all, our children are grown, and our grandchildren, too. That meant no more expensive toys or sports items that we’d get a hug for on Christmas morning and might be broken or lost not long after New Year’s Day. But today, these gifts are replaced by high-priced cellphones and other electronic “geegaws” that become obsolete so fast that what you bought last year must be replaced this year with something far more expensive.

I never regarded any Christmas item we gave anyone as a “precious” gift.

They were things that pleased and brought a “thank you” and a hug. Even something that was urgently needed—a winter coat, braces for a grandchild’s teeth, or a helping hand to pay college tuition—didn’t rate as “precious.”

A precious gift isn’t from a wallet or a fancy store. A precious gift is one that comes from one’s self. As human beings,

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we have an immense capacity to love and to show love. But as gift-givers, we give things far more often than we give love. Love is your most precious gift. Giving love is the greatest offering you make.

It seems so clear, as the old song says: “Love, sweet love, that’s the only thing that there’s just so little of….” And that’s because we don’t truly give love. We give substitutes or symbols of it.

The world needs love—we all need love—and we need it in its most usable, most valuable, and purest form: caring, time, and attention given to one another.

Devoting time and attention to loved ones isn’t easy in a world that makes incessant demands on our lives. It’s usually much easier to bestow things than to sit together to talk, reminisce, and share hopes and dreams. But, in the final analysis, most, if not all of us, will remember most fondly the good times spent together, the wonderful things done together, not the material things.

It’s the loving relationships long gone, not the objects, that nearly always comprise our fondest, precious memories. Try to make 2018 the year you give more of yourself, and your time, to your loved ones.

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DOUG AND CLAUDETTE “MITCH” THARP

The story of their lives A young writer preserves the family history of a Villager whose wife no longer can recall a lifetime of memories.

STORY: CHRIS GERBASI

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or writers, coming up with an ending often is the most difficult task for any story.

Doug Tharp has lived a 60-year love story with his college sweetheart, Claudette, or “Mitch” as he calls her because of her maiden name, Mitchell.

After moving in 2000 to The Villages, the couple enjoyed dining out, spending evenings at the town squares, and indulging their love of travel by taking daytrips around Central Florida.

But their story comes with a cruel plot twist: Those memories now elude Mitch, who was diagnosed in 2013 with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and since fall 2016 has resided at a memory care assisted-living facility.

Instead of accepting a bleak ending, however, Doug decided he wanted to complete his longtime goal of documenting the couple’s story in a family history book. Doug, who turns 83 in January, teamed up on the writing project with a seemingly unlikely partner: Olivia Savoie, a 23-year-old English and history graduate from Lafayette, Louisiana. Olivia was inspired by her grandmother to write the story of their family history, and now she puts the finishing touches on people’s lives and loves as a writer.

Together, they produced “Mitch and Doug’s Life Travels” for the Tharps’ four children, eight grandchildren, and generations to come. Part travelogue and part memoir, the 80-page book includes numerous family photos, as well as the stories of Mitch and Doug’s life together.

Of course, Doug had always hoped to include Mitch’s input before that became impossible. For Mitch, it’s day when it’s light and night when it’s dark, but she has little awareness of much else, Doug says.

Still, he visits her every day and now he has one tool the caregivers do not have.

Doug plans to read the family history to Mitch. It’s a page right out of “The Notebook,” the Nicholas Sparks book and later film in which a man writes and relates his love story to his wife, who has

Alzheimer’s. But Doug doesn’t expect any Hollywood-style miracles.

“I don’t think she’ll understand what I’m saying,” he says. “My guess is that she’ll just sit there and stare at me and probably won’t comprehend what this is—even some of the pictures I don’t know that she’ll remember—but I’m going to try.”

Doug will revisit the many places they traveled during his eight years in the Navy and long career as an engineer primarily in the missile defense and railway industries: Hawaii, the Marshall Islands, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Europe, California, Texas, Colorado, back home to their native Pennsylvania, and then retirement in The Villages. He will show Mitch the photos of their adopted children, daughters Catherine and Elizabeth, and sons Ben and Bruce. A fifth adopted child died young.

“Because we’ve had such a varied background and been to so many places, a lot of them before the children were born, I thought it would be nice to document, because once you’re gone, that’s all gone,” Doug says. “And I thought it would be nice if it were in writing. I had always thought that I would do it. But I could not have imagined anything that I would do would turn out to be something like this [book]. She’s just done a marvelous job.”

Olivia started her business, Raconteur Story Writing Services, in 2016 after graduating from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She built her business around her love of history and writing. She also writes love stories for wedding anniversaries and tribute books for families who have lost a loved one, but the memoirs are her favorite genre.

“I saw my grandmother try for 20 years to write her life story and never really put the whole story together, and that’s what gave me the idea to do this,” Olivia says.

“I sat down with her for four hours and within four weeks gave her a book that was published, and after I saw what it did for my family, I just love doing that for other people and their families.”

Doug plans to read the family history to Mitch. It’s a page right out of “The Notebook,” the Nicholas Sparks book and later film in which a man writes and relates his love story to his wife,

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on a Hawaiian island in 1969, he had a role in the Apollo 11 moon landing by keeping the transmission frequencies clear. Later, he worked in Colorado at the Transportation Test Center, which tested highspeed trains.

Mitch, who encouraged Doug to adopt, spent much of her time raising the children and later taught home economics. Before her illness, she was an excellent teacher, avid reader, politically astute, a lover of travel, and a giver who always wanted to help other people, Doug says.

The couple came full circle by returning to Pennsylvania, where they both took jobs at PSU, Mitch running food kitchens and assisting at-risk children in outreach programs in the College of Agriculture, and Doug assisting small businesses with technology in the College of Engineering.

After retiring to The Villages, Doug spent a couple of years as a boat captain cracking corny jokes on the Jungle Cruise in Disney’s Magic Kingdom, and he has worked for many years in The Villages’ golf division. Doug and Mitch served as neighborhood representatives for The Villages Homeowners Association, and Doug rose to president. Mitch also worked in the Sumter County supervisor of elections office.

The circumstances of life took the couple on an adventure that wasn’t planned, Doug says.

“Our fondest memory was being together and being able to see some of the wonders of the world,” he says.

“We’ve had a wonderful life.”

Meeting recently at Doug’s Village of Polo Ridge home, Olivia brought him a bound edition of the finished manuscript. Mitch and Doug’s son Bruce designed the cover with passport stamps representing all the places the couple lived and visited.

“It was so exciting to be able to bring you your book today,” Olivia says. “It’s so important to leave a family heirloom and to capture your story because, like [Doug] said, when you’re gone, you’re gone. You have to get your story out while you can, but not everyone is a writer and capable of doing that or at least not capable of doing that without a lot of years of heartache and years [spent] on it.”

While Doug and Mitch’s story is not over, the family history book completes another chapter for Doug.

“I’ve already gotten something out of it,” he says.

“Just seeing a dream that I had come true is very gratifying to me.”

And even though the memories have faded for Mitch, her life story with Doug doesn’t change. It’s written in Doug’s memory, and now it’s written on the page.

Photo: Fred Lopez

She and her husband, Joshua, moved in June 2017 to the Orlando area, unaware that a treasure trove of potential stories awaited her nearby in The Villages.

Olivia had not heard of the 55-plus community but she wanted to move to Florida because of her affection for seniors, not usually a trait of the stereotypical millennial.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I adored older people and I loved volunteering at retirement communities and I ran out of them in my town,” Olivia says. “So when my husband was looking for a job and wanted an adventure, I wanted Florida. I just wanted to be around older people and with what I do, that worked well, of course.”

She put an ad in a local paper, and Doug saw it—one in search of a story, the other searching for someone to finish his story.

Olivia spent two three-hour sessions with Doug, using a 150-question list as a guideline and typing every word as he spoke. She spent another couple of hours organizing photos and numerous hours writing, completing the project in about two months.

She writes in first person from the point of view of the storyteller.

“When I saw the first draft,” Doug says, “I got the distinct feeling when I was reading it that I was talking. She had a knack to put me right in the middle of this. I think when my kids read this, this is going to be Dad talking.”

“The whole point is, 100 years from now, you want your great-great-grandchildren to know this is how he told it and this is his story and this is him talking,” Olivia adds. “It’s personal, getting in his head and writing.”

The couple’s journey began in Pennsylvania when Doug, from Shamokin, and Mitch, from Verona, met at Penn State University and became sweethearts.

Doug joined the Navy, and they married in 1957 while he was in training in Pensacola to pilot helicopters.

His naval stops included San Diego in an antisubmarine warfare squadron, and Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands, where he tested missile defense systems that were forerunners for the Patriot missile used years later in Iraq.

After leaving Kwajalein and the Navy in the mid1960s, the couple took a two-month pleasure trip to Europe, sailed on cruises and visited the Panama Canal, and traveled to national parks in the western United States.

Doug went on to work for companies that developed missile defense systems—some projects were “very, very top secret,” he says—and as a NASA contractor

OLIVIA SAVOIE AND DOUG THARP

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* LVI VSItNyG lHeE A L T H Y

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Things you should know about cervical cancer Cervical cancer, which most often is caused by a sexually transmitted virus, is very curable when treated early.

STORY: LEIGH NEELY

The best way to screen for cervical cancer is a Pap test. It can be done quickly and painlessly in your doctor’s office during a routine physical.

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here has been a lot of information in the news, in public service ads, and most likely from your doctor about the importance of being aware of cervical cancer. In fact, January is Cervical Cancer Month and is set aside to create more awareness of the disease. The truth is, cervical cancer is the easiest gynecological cancer to prevent with regular testing and a vaccine and to cure.

The cervix is the lower, narrow part of the uterus and that’s why it’s so easy for the human papillomavirus (HPV) to be passed between sexual partners.

According to Beth Jernigan, cancer center administrator for Central Florida Health Alliance, the American Cancer Society has recommendations regarding the vaccine for HPV. Beth has a master’s of science degree in nursing and is a registered nurse,

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an oncology certified nurse, and a certified tumor registrar.

“Routine HPV vaccinations for girls and boys should be started at age 11 or 12,” Beth says, “though it can be started as early as age 9.”

The vaccinations also are recommended for females 13 to 26 years old and for males 13 to 21 years old who have not started the vaccines or who started but did not complete the series. Males 22 to 26 years old also may get vaccinated. It is important to know for those 22 to 26 years old, however, that vaccination is less effective in lowering cancer risk at older ages.

HPV vaccinations also are recommended through age 26 for men who have male partners or for people with weakened immune systems or HIV infection if they have not previously been vaccinated.

Cer v gyn ical ca ecol nce wit h re ogical r is the c vac cine gular t ancer easies and estin to pr t g e to c ure and a vent .

Here are seven things you should know to avoid and treat cervical cancer: 1

Around 12,000 women in the United States get cervical cancer every year. This occurs most often in women 30 years old or older. However, all women are at risk.

suggest more tests. If you are between 30 and 65, you also should get the HPV test to determine if the virus is present. The HPV test is not recommended for women under 30.

2

Like other cancers, several factors put women 5 at risk to get cervical cancer. HPV is a virus that is easily passed from person to person through sexual intercourse (vaginal, anal, or oral sex). It causes an infection that, if left untreated, can lead to cervical cancer. Other risks if you have HPV include smoking, taking birth control pills for longer than five years, or giving birth to three or more children. However, a vaccine is available for those ages 11 to 26 that aids in preventing cancer.

It is licensed, safe, and effective.

3

Symptoms of cervical cancer usually do not appear until the disease is in advanced stages.

These include bleeding or discharge from the vagina. Of course, these are also symptoms of many other problems, but should always be checked by your doctor.

How often should you get a Pap test? Between ages 21 and 29, every three years; between ages 30 and 64, get a Pap test and HPV test together every five years, or a Pap test alone every three years; after age 65, ask your doctor if you still need a Pap test. If you have had a hysterectomy with removal of the cervix, no Pap tests are needed. If you had a hysterectomy because of an abnormal Pap test, do not stop getting tests until you have received three normal results. Though it’s not common, if you have a hysterectomy and keep your cervix, have regular Pap tests until age 65.

4

The best way to screen for cervical cancer is a Pap test. It can be done quickly and painlessly in your doctor’s office during a routine physical.

Screening should begin at age 21. If the Pap test reveals changes in your cervix, the doctor may

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To protect yourself from HPV, always use a condom when having sexual intercourse. The best way to prevent catching HPV is to be monogamous or abstain.

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For more information, see womenshealth.gov/ cancer/cervical-cancer, which also provides other resources. You also can get information from the American Cancer Society at cancer.org/cancer/ cervical-cancer.

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* BVOSOtK yR lE VeI E W

‘The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper’

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How we remember things is a significant element of the book.

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By Phaedra Patrick. A poignant tale of true love.

STORY: DIANE DEAN

H

ow many of you have a charm bracelet? Is it a reflection of your interests and activities in your youth? Those questions initiated the discussion facilitated

by Ann Schooley at the Bookworm Book Club in The Villages. “The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper,” by Phaedra Patrick, uses a charm bracelet to take readers on a journey.

A year after the death of his wife, Miriam, Arthur continues his rigid routine of rising at the same time each day, wearing the same outfit, and watering his plant named Frederica. Even the interruptions by his friendly neighbor Bernadette bringing casseroles are unwanted and often ignored.

When Arthur discovers Miriam’s charm bracelet, he sets off on a journey to discover Miriam’s life before they met, one he had absolutely no idea existed. During her youth, she traveled to India, France, and London. Travel itself is foreign to Arthur until he follows the chain of experiences and adventures of the characters that peppered Miriam’s life. He meets tiger lover Lord Graystock; a caring homeless man; and a French wedding boutique owner, Sylvie, who shockingly labels Miriam a murderess. There’s also a novelist Francois, a possible lover; illegal immigrant Sebastian; and an Indian doctor.

The more Arthur encounters these unique men and women from Miriam’s youth, the more he reconnects with his children, his neighbors, and friends and opens himself to new clothing and adventures. Miriam’s love of art creates a situation where Arthur poses nude for an art class, which is totally out of character for him.

How we remember things is a significant element of the book.

Arthur does not see himself as a very good husband or father.

However, he begins to see himself in a more positive light as the book progresses. He ventures beyond his patterns of sameness and steps out of his comfort zone.

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Fiction Bestsellers As of December 20

The question of why Miriam never revealed her colorful past to him was answered by book club readers with the thought that she wanted to let him be who he was, or possibly to protect him from feeling inadequate. Miriam’s change of lifestyle showed her love for him. Many other forms of love, including sibling, friend to friend, neighborly, and parent to child, emerge in the book.

Change and growth occur throughout our lives. Arthur’s journey, following the charms on the bracelet, ignites his journey of development at age 69. At a time when many people are settling in,

he is welcoming new adventures. He also recognizes some of his strengths as a comforter, a guider, and a supporter for others.

The author paints effective pictures of scenes, places, and characters as the story keeps the reader moving along, eager to discover the significance of the next charm. The book club found it an enjoyable read and an interesting discussion.

I wonder how many of its readers pulled out their own charm bracelet and took a trip down the memory lane of their lives?

1 The Rooster

Bar

BY JOHN GRISHAM

2 Origin

BY DAN BROWN

3 The People

vs. Alex Cross

BY JAMES PATTERSON

4 End Game

BY DAVID BALDACCI

About the author

5 The Midnight

This is Phaedra Patrick’s first novel, released in 2016. It is optioned to Hollywood for a movie. Her second novel, “Rise and Shine Benedict Stone,” came out last year. She prefers to write about “characters undergoing transformation.” Then she introduces obstacles on the journey to make it more interesting. Her website under her name has a list of writing tips for authors and information about her books. Her Facebook page features a video of her in her British home.

A delightful story of a lonely man who discovers a charm bracelet belonging to his deceased wife, Miriam. This sets him on a journey leaving his regimented life to spread his wings and discover the secrets of Miriam’s former life. If you like charm bracelets and the stories behind each charm, this is the book for you.

—Gail Feind, Pennecamp

BY LEE CHILD

6 Artemis

BY ANDY WEIR

7 Year One

Member comments: After despondent widower Arthur Pepper discovers a charm bracelet belonging to his late wife, he not only discovers the surprising life his wife led before marrying him, he also learns a great deal about himself. A delightful, charming coming-of-age story.

—Shari Greifner, Bonnybrook

Line

BY NORA ROBERTS

The clever deconstruction of the novel by the facilitator, Ann Schooley, resulted in an outstanding conversation that was truly enjoyable. I wonder what would be on my or even my husband’s charm bracelet?

—Marilyn Fleming, Sanibel If you like touching love stories replete with a few quirky characters and some very interesting albeit unlikely scenarios, then you will devour this novel. You will delight in the laugh-out-loud portions of the novel and find yourself shedding a tear or two for Arthur at other times. This is a charming debut novel, and I eagerly look forward to more from this talented British author.

—Kathy Porter, Rio Ponderosa

8 Tom Clancy

Power and Empire

BY MARC CAMERON

9 Uncommon

Type: Some Stories

BY TOM HANKS

10 Two Kinds

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of Truth

BY MICHAEL CONNELLY

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