August 2020 Fifty Plus Advocate Central Edition

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Central Edition | Vol. 46 | No. 8 | August 2020

The beat goes on for Boston drummer Joe ‘Pet’ Petruzzelli page

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Randy Price Retired news anchor cherishes community service page

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Alone and afraid, our family members are dying in nursing homes

By Mike Festa, State Director AARP Massachusetts

basic procedures like handwashing before an outbreak, they stood no chance of keeping residents safe from he COVID-19 death toll in nursthe coronavirus. ing homes and other long-term Families and the public need care facilities is a national disgrace. the facts about their loved ones and More than the facilities where they live. Con50,000 Amergress must demand that nursing icans have homes and other long-term care fadied—alone cilities publicly report the number of and afraid, ofCOVID-19 cases and deaths among ten without a residents and staff daily. Complete single famitransparency will help public health ly member by officials direct resources and allow their side. residents, prospective residents, and Mike Festa The numtheir families to make informed debers are shockcisions about their lives. ing, and the stories are gut wrenching.

We also need to keep families No state has managed this crisis well. connected during this challenging Of the 7,874 COVID-19 deaths in time. Congress must require nursing Massachusetts, 4,956 were nursing homes and other long-term care fahome residents. cilities to make available and facilitate Our elected leaders should have virtual visits between residents and seen this coming. The first matheir families—even as some facilijor outbreak of ties begin to allow COVID-19 on limited in-person Families and the U.S. soil was in a visits. Loved ones nursing home— serve as additionpublic need the first reported Febal eyes and ears in ruary 29 in Washfacts about their facilities and are ington State. It often the first to loved ones and the spot changes in a was immediately clear long-term physical facilities where they resident’s care facilities or mental health. would be a hotbed Virtual visits can live. for the virus, weeks help fill these gaps before states began and reduce the isolocking down. lation residents face while visitors are Right now, no state is doing banned or not allowed to visit reguenough to stop the spread in nursing larly. homes and other long-term care facilLastly, Congress must stop efities. Now it is time for Congress to act. forts to provide long-term care faTo keep residents of nursing cilities with immunity related to homes and other long-term care faCOVID-19. Long-term care providcilities safe and their families coners must remain responsible for any nected, Congress must ensure that all negligent actions that fail to protect facilities: regularly test residents and the health—and lives—of residents staff; have and correctly use personal and staff. Litigation is an option of protective equipment (PPE); publicly last resort, and no family member report COVID-19 cases and deaths who has lost a loved one due to nedaily; and facilitate virtual visits beglect or abuse pursues this course of tween residents and their families. action lightly. Now is not the time Understanding and containing to strip nursing home residents and the spread of COVID-19 requires families of their rights—and to let ongoing, regular testing of all longnursing homes off the hook for abuse, term care residents and workers. neglect, and even death.

With rigorous testing, nursing homes Even as Massachusetts begins can identify cases and prevent the to reopen, COVID-19 remains a spread of the virus. real threat in our nursing homes and Congress must also ensure all other long-term care facilities. Resfacilities have a sufficient supply of idents are scared and isolated, and PPE, like masks, gowns, gloves, and too many families remain in the dark. face shields, to protect workers and Our leaders in Washington must step residents. And, facilities must stiffen up for Massachusetts’ long-term care protocols for infection control. A reresidents, staff, and families before cent Government Accountability Ofmore lives are lost. fice report found more than 80 perMike Festa is the State Director for cent of nursing homes were cited for AARP Massachusetts. For more infection prevention failures—before articles visit www.fiftyplusadvocate. the pandemic. If facilities ignored com.

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The beat goes on for Boston drummer Joe ‘Pet’ Petruzzelli

By Ed Karvoski Jr. Culture Editor BOSTON - Joe “Pet” Petruzzelli of Boston has accumulated musical memories spanning multiple decades as a drummer and vocalist with popular bands. Now, he’s also creating memories for others as the event deejay and master of ceremonies for his own entertainment business.

His fascination with drumming began as a child when he and his grandfather viewed Memorial Day parades from outside the Massachusetts Statehouse. There, drum and bugle corps would stop to play songs.

“I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in drumming since I was 6,” Petruzzelli shared.

Soon after graduating from high school in 1969, he and friends played in a band that worked a three-week gig as opening act for The Happenings, whose 1960s hits included covers of “See You in September,” “Go Away Little Girl,” “I Got Rhythm,” and “Why Do Fools Fall in Love?”

The gig led to a two-and-a-halfyear job for Petruzzelli as The Happenings’ drummer and vocalist. He performed on The Happenings’ 1971 recording of their interpretation of Mama Cass Elliot’s “Make Your Own Kind of Music.” While touring the East Coast and Midwest, they performed mostly at colleges as headliner or billed alongside the era’s other popular acts.

“I was blown away,” Petruzzelli acknowledged. “I went from playing local dives to having the world open up to me. Some of these college auditoriums were 10,000 to 15,000 seats. That’s when I really took playing drums seriously as a career.”

Another couple bands later in 1978, he was referred to audition for singer-songwriter-keyboardist Rick Berlin’s band Luna. Petruzzelli was immediately impressed and got the job. He also adopted the stage name Joe Pet. “Luna was in the progressive rockwith-vocals category of Yes and Journey,” he raved. “It was one of the most intense musical and vocal experiences of my life.”

In 1981, most of the Luna musicians, including Petruzzelli, became a new band known as Berlin Airlift. The band achieved two hit singles on Boston radio stations, “Don’t Stop Me from Crying” and “Over the Hill,” released from their self-titled 1982 album.

Beginning in December 1982, Berlin Airlift opened for the J. Geils Band holiday tour with arena concerts in New Haven; Providence; Portland, Maine; and culminating with shows on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day 1983 at Centrum in Worcester (now

Joe “Pet” Petruzzelli

Joe “Pet” Petruzzelli in “Boston Legends” at Paramount Theatre in Rutland, Vt., in 2011

PHOTO/NANCY NUTILE-MCMENEMY

Joe Perry and Joe “Pet” Petruzzelli in 1983

DCU Center).

The musicians partied late after the New Year’s Eve show. For the New Year’s Day performance, Berlin Airlift extended its opening set with Rick Berlin guiding their improvised playlist.

Petruzzelli explained, “The stage manager ran up to us onstage and said, ‘Listen, you guys, keep playing – Geils isn’t even in the venue yet!’ Rick started calling off new tunes including a song that I did a drum solo in. It was amazing!”

Local and out-of-state gigs continued when Petruzzelli joined the Joe Perry Project in 1983 and performed on its album “Once a Rocker, Always a Rocker.” Venues ranged from Boston’s nightclub The Channel with an official 1,700 capacity, to Pennsylvania’s 40,000-plus seat Pocono Raceway where they shared the bill with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Cheap Trick and Foghat.

In the memoir “Rocks: My Life in

Petruzelli | Page 4

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The beat goes on for Boston drummer Joe ‘Pet’ Petruzzelli Petruzelli | From page 3 and out of Aerosmith,” guitarist Perry reminisces about working with his Joe Perry Project’s third lineup: drummer Petruzzelli, lead singer Cowboy Mach Bell, and bassist Danny Hargrove. Perry wrote, “Without a doubt, the wildest and most fun guys I have ever played with. It was rocking as close to the edge as I will ever get.”

Petruzzelli appreciated that the band consisted of only three instruments.

“There was plenty of room for me to move on the drums,” he noted. “I didn’t need to just play a simple part to hold the time down; I got to play anything that I wanted to play.”

In 1999, Petruzzelli drew upon decades of experience as a professional entertainer and opened A Beat Away Entertainment, for which he deejays and emcees events.

“I started playing music that I like and it just clicked,” he noted. “That’s detracted me from seriously getting back into playing drums again.”

Yet, he still periodically freelances as a drummer.

In 2011, he toured New England in “Boston Legends.” Among the show’s other performers were J Geils,

Luna, circa 1979 (l to r): Rick Berlin, Joe “Pet” Petruzzelli, Chet Cahill, Steven Paul Perry and Rob Bradshaw

Magic Dick and Danny Klein ( J. Geils Band), Jon Butcher ( Jon Butcher Axis), Charlie Farren ( Joe Perry Project, Farrenheit), David Hill (Aerosmith, Joe Perry Project), and The Uptown Horns.

“I want to keep my chops up,” Petruzzelli said of his periodic returns to drumming.

For more information, visit abeataway.com and facebook.com/DrummerJoePet.

Right: Joe “Pet” Petruzzelli drumming at Luna’s 1981 gig at the Blue Wall nightclub on the UMass Amherst campus PHOTO/NANCY NUTILE-MCMENEMY

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The Joe Perry Project, 1983 (l to r): Cowboy Mach Bell, Joe Perry, Danny Hargrove and Joe “Pet” Petruzzelli

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Milford native digs deep into family past for new book

and the historic context of my family’s lives from about 1870 through 1940.

It was really a rich time in Milford history,” she noted. “Nicola Sacco, of Sacco and Vanzetti fame, lived there many years, and he is part of my story. There were violent labor strikes in the nineteen-teens, and there was the Spanish flu.”

And unlike many ordinary novels, Marenghi will use a historically accurate framework.

“The ‘bones’ of my story – names, dates, places, events – will be factual,” she said. “But the connective tissue between those bones – the characters’ stories, dialogue, and personality traits – will be, of necessity, almost entirely imagined.”

Her research has taken her all the way from Internet searches on her laptop to Italy.

“I subscribed to Ancestry.com for years, but its records on Italy were very spotty,” she recalled. “It was only after I launched my book Glad Farm at the Milford Town Library in 2016 that I met a wonderful family, the Volpicellis, cousins of mine by marriage, and they knew exactly where my family originated.”

By Brett Peruzzi Contributing Writer MILFORD/WAREHAM - Catherine Marenghi’s first book, Glad Farm, was a searing memoir of her years growing impoverished on the outskirts of Milford, in a one-room ramshackle house built by her father, that had no indoor plumbing and was heated only by a wood stove.

The 65-year-old author’s latest book delves deeper into her family roots, but this time, it will be a historical novel.

“Initially my intent was to write a prequel to my memoir, to tell more of the story of my Italian immigrant family,” she explained. “I soon realized how little I really know about their lives. I decided to choose the historic fiction form to tell a universal story of immigrants to America, but not as a pedantic history. I wanted to tell stories, interesting stories, about real people—most of whom died before I was born.”

Marenghi has dedicated countless hours to learn more about those family members who came before her.

“I have done, and continue to do, extensive research on family genealogy

Above: Ship’s manifest from 1895 when Catherine Marenghi’s grandfather Stefano arrived in the United States at Ellis Island.

Right: Catherine Marenghi

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Milford native digs deep into family past for new book Marenghi | From page 5 “They came from the same town and have maintained ties to the place.

With their guidance, I was able to go to the village of Metti di Bore, province of Parma, a little village in the Apennine Mountains, in April of 2019,” Marenghi explained. “There I was allowed to look at the ancient record books at the church of San Leonardo Abate. Huge books with yellowed pages, written entirely by hand in Latin. And would you believe the first page I opened to was the January 1870 record of my grandfather Stefano Marenghi?”

“I was also fortunate to visit the tiny frazione or hamlet of Pereto, part of Metti, and to find that the old house of my great uncle Pietro, my grandfather’s older brother, was still standing. My grandfather’s house, long destroyed, would have been nearby,” she noted. “It was so important to see this village, a physical place I could not have imagined, to bring my story to life.”

“My research is not complete as of yet,” Marenghi, who divides her time between San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and the town of Wareham

Baptism document in Latin from 1870 for her grandfather Stefano that Catherine Marenghi located in his hometown in Italy.

on Cape Cod, emphasized. “My hope to spend more time in the Milford Town Library, specifically to research old newspaper articles, has been put on hold due to the coronavirus. My research has also included many books, online searches, and conversations with descendants of Italian immigrants in my home town. Their stories have helped me add color and richness to my story.”

The result, she said, will be a book that is a series of first-person narratives, each told in the voice of a differ-

ent ancestor.

“My hope is that people will see, and be sympathetic to, the universal immigrant story in my book,” she said.

“I see something in common among all immigrants, anywhere on earth, at any time in history – they are all people who just want a better life for their children.”

Earlier this year, Marenghi, who is also a long-time poet, published her first book of poems, Breaking Bread, which, like her prose, focuses on themes of life, loss, and longing in the

context of family relationships.

“I consider myself a poet at heart, and I approach everything through the lens of poetry,” she reflected. “I try to use lyrical language to bring vivid images to all my work, because imagery is where you connect with readers.”

Marenghi offered this advice for other older creative writers, especially those who are trying to begin or increase their commitment to their craft in their later years.

“I would recommend taking writing workshops and classes, joining writers’ groups, and attending conferences to learn more about the world of writing and publishing, including the various options for publishing – self, traditional, and hybrid – and to get inspiration from other writers,” she advised. “It is so important to share your work with other writers, for learning and encouragement as well as continual improvement.

“And don’t be discouraged if you submit your work for publication and it gets rejected. Don’t be afraid of rejections,” she said emphatically. “And keep on trying!”

More information about Catherine Marenghi and her writing can be found at https://www.marenghi.com.

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Computer professional uses experience to help others grow

By Peg Lopata Contributing Writer BOSTON - A common belief is that people into computers are too nerdy to be sociable and awkward with others.

Adam Frost, 59, is the reality Adam Frost that blows that myth to pieces.

With his easy grin, patience with those with learning disabilities, and organizer of a teaching-oriented community program, it’s easy to see he’s no stereotype.

For starters, Frost runs his own business, Computer Care and Learning, in Boston. He was motivated not only by his interest in machines. He came up with the idea to create this business for more important reasons.

“I had worked as a typewriter repairman and love helping people with their most important office tool,” said Frost. “When typewriters gave way to computers, I became a computer repairman.”

In 1989 he founded his company using start-up funding from his job as a computer helper and waiter. Again,

Frost doesn’t talk too much about how he was going to grow a business and become successful in any conventional sense. His first client gave him another kind of satisfaction.

“I was very pleased to help this customer address his issues,” said Frost.

Frost admits he saw right off he had a lot to learn. To make his company successful he watched how people worked at other kinds of jobs, such as health care professionals and drew on his own experiences.

“I drew on my experience as a waiter to meet people’s needs under stressful circumstances where I could not control the whole environment,” he said.

Today, his business employs several part-time co-workers and includes lots of partnerships. However, his company does more than fix computers for home users, the homeless, nonprofits and corporations.

“We’re one of the few computer companies in Boston that provide encouragement and support for customers to take care of their own computer systems,” he explained.

He’s still motivated some three decades later to helping people, which also includes helping others to enter the computer business.

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that people like ownership of their own projects, so you don’t feel like a cog in a wheel in the process: volunteers fix the computer they work on from beginning to end. This clinic serves the community not only by providing free computers to those who cannot afford them otherwise, but as Frost explained, “This computer clinic also acts as one of Boston’s only field training clinics for computer professionals.”

Last, but not least, Frost co-coordinates the Waterlow Maturity Conference which has been held annually since 2012. This conference honors one of Frost’s high school teachers, Charlotte Waterlow. One of the conference’s themes for 2020 will be, as it always is, how participants are helping the world become a mature place. Frost’s company website explains the conference’s purpose is to “nurture our efforts to help the world grow up and not blow up. These efforts can be part of paid, professional work, or part of one’s personal or volunteer life. Our goal has been to share this work with each other, get encouragement and constructive suggestions, and see how our work fits together.” (Editor’s note – this conference is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 17-18 2020; visit www.computercareandlearning.com or call Frost at 617522-1049 for up-to-date information.)

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in Frost’s life.

Not surprising he’s inspired by Herbert Kohl, progressive educator, social activist, and author of more than 40 books, including the bestseller, 36 Children. Frost describes Kohl as a wonderful schoolteacher. It’s clear that it’s not only Kohl’s renown as a teacher that inspires Frost, because this particular educator is equally known for his advocacy on behalf of society’s most neglected people. The spirit of both serving others in need and being a good teacher is evident in Frost’s life.

It’s easy to see that teaching is just as important as fixing computers to Frost when one attends the computer clinics he runs for Adbar Ethiopian Women’s Alliance in Cambridge, a support organization for Ethiopian women and other women and families in need in the greater Boston and Cambridge area. On behalf of this nonprofit, Frost co-leads groups of people every Wednesday evening in a church basement in Cambridge fixing computers. These castoff machines are put back in working order and then given to those in need.

The environment is part workshop, part classroom as the volunteers trade tips and give instructions to one another. Every week you work on “your” computer. Frost is smart enough to know

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Retired news anchor Randy Price cherishes community service

By Ed Karvoski Jr. Culture Editor

T

PHOTO/WCVB-TV

elevision viewers got to know Randy Price throughout four decades as a news anchor on three Boston stations. Along the way, he personally interacted with many of them while helping civic and charitable organizations whose missions are dear to him.

Price’s final sign-off was May 20 on WCVB-TV’s “NewsCenter 5 EyeOpener.”

“Channel 5 is the most renowned community-minded station,” he declared. “They not only got behind me and the causes that I cherish, I was able to get behind causes that they support.

It was a dream come true and a treat to be there.”

His television broadcasting career began with the American Forces Radio and Television Service while serving in the U.S. Air Force, followed by anchoring TV news at stations in California and Ohio.

When Price was hired by WBZTV in 1982, he and his now-husband Mark Steffen relocated to Boston. In addition to anchoring WBZ’s morning news, Price hosted afternoon and evening programs. He also began raising

The “NewsCenter 5 EyeOpener” team: (l to r) Cindy Fitzgibbon, Randy Price, Antoinette Antonio, Doug Meehan and Katie Thompson

funds and awareness for organizations of Boston’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

“When Mark and I first moved to Boston, we were very fortunate to meet pioneers of the LGBT movement and to be inspired by them,” he said. “These pioneers believed in getting the ear of public figures who were in power and

they got their support. It was empowering to insist on being heard as everyone should be.”

A far-reaching audience heard Price after he spoke as an openly gay man in a 1990 interview for a Boston LGBT newspaper. The story prompted mainstream media coverage nationwide. At the time, Joan Rivers hosted

a nationally-syndicated daytime talk show and he declined her invitation to appear as a guest to discuss secrets.

“It had never been a secret,” he emphasized. “Back then, there just wasn’t an opportunity to talk about it. Times were changing. For the most part, people were very positive and respectful.”

Price left WBZ-TV in 1995 due to his second drunk driving offense.

In recovery, he has done speaking engagements for substance abuse prevention organizations and volunteered with Victory Programs, a nonprofit that assists individuals and families facing various challenges including addiction.

“I was unemployed for over a year and wondering if I would ever work again,” he acknowledged. “Although I was slow in getting to it, I don’t even consider drinking as an option now.

Everything has been a progression of betterment since that chapter.”

He started working as a WHDH-TV reporter in 1996 and ultimately as anchor.

On Jan. 3, 2007, Price and Steffen celebrated their 30th anniversary by getting married outside the Massachusetts Statehouse. It was the day after a proposed ban on same-sex marriage

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www.fiftyplusadvocate.com + AUGUST 2020 + fiftyplus advocate advanced in the state legislature, as well as the outgoing go ver nor ’s final day in office. “ W e loved the juxtaposition of events: Mitt Romney is leaving and we’re getting married,” Price recounted.

“Mitt RomRandy Price is ney was a foe honored at the of gay marriage, despite all the claims MSPCA’s fall he had made when he ran for office.”

2019 gala for Soon after Price ended his 13-year Branding Concepts his longtime stint at WHDH in 2009, he began commitment to Group Family Dental anchoring WCVB’s “EyeOpener,” a the cause as comfortable setting for him to promote he receives a causes. plaque from the The couple had bred and shown organization’s Concept 2 | Revised then-President cocker spaniels, which led to advocatMain Logo: Carter Luke, who ing for several animal welfare organizaretired from the tions. For as long as Price had worked position after in Boston media, he volunteered with serving 34 years. the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and emceed its Raise the Woof gala. MSPCA

Representing WCVB employees on Veterans Day 2019, General Manager Bill Fine (left) along with anchor and U.S. Air Force veteran Randy Price (right) present a donation to retired Brig. Gen. Jack Hammond, executive director of Home Base.

PHOTOS/WCVB-TV

Family

honored him at its fall 2019 gala for his longstanding commitment to the organization.

A Vietnam-era veteran, Price established a longtime bond with Home Base, a philanthropic partnership between the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital.

On Veterans Day 2019, Price hosted WCVB’s “Project CommUNITY: Helping Veterans Heal,” a telethon that raised over $300,000 to support Home Base’s clinical programs to treat veterans of all eras, service members and military families at no cost.

“My relationship with Home Base grew with Channel 5,” Price noted.

“They carved out time on Veterans Day and we raised a lot of money for them.”

Each weekday morning after Price’s retirement announcement May 6 up to his final broadcast May 20, “EyeOpener” featured messages from numerous organizations’ representatives sharing their gratitude for the retiring anchor’s efforts.

“I’ve developed relationships with a lot of people from these organizations and I’m very moved to be hearing from them,” he said. “After a while, you’re not going to their events as a celebrity guest; they become your family.”

Price and Steffen divided their time between homes in Maine and South Carolina in 2019. Now, South Carolina is their primary residence.

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Red Tent facilitator connects social-distancing women online

By Ed Karvoski Jr. Culture Editor HUDSON – Nancy Rogers experienced a notably productive three-year period starting in 2009. She began attending women empowerment events, became aware of the Red Tent movement, became a member of the Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson (UCMH), and founded Hudson MA Red Tent in 2011.

Since then, she has facilitated Women’s Red Tent gatherings every few months at UCMH, 80 Main St. in Hudson. Adapting to social distancing measures during the coronavirus outbreak, the gatherings are now known as Women’s Web Tents and scheduled weekly online via Zoom.

“We’re going to get through this crisis together online,” Rogers shared.

“A lot of us are feeling very jangled, but knowing that we have a place to connect

Nancy Rogers on Women’s Web Tent via Zoom

A lot of us are feeling very jangled, but knowing that we have a place to connect helps us to feel not so alone. helps us to feel not so alone. Doing it weekly serves as a check-in.”

The Red Tent is a grassroots movement officially launched in 2007 by ALisa Starkweather, who drew inspiration from bestselling author Anita Diamant’s novel of the same name, published in 1997.

“The book inspired ALisa as a model of women sharing elements of life together in the community,” Rogers explained. “It occurred to me how much of a game changer it would have been in my life if I had that inclusive space with women of all backgrounds – all ages, faiths, heritages, sexual orientations and socio-economic levels.”

Soon after Rogers learned about the Red Tent movement, she became a member and ultimately lay leader of UCMH. She was particularly attracted to its Spiritual Growth and Community Center, an outreach program open to the community at large.

Supported by the outreach program, Rogers got help from other women to construct the tent that has been used for gatherings at UCMH since 2011. For the web gatherings, she creates a facsimile in lieu of the tent in her home.

“When people call in, they see the red space behind me,” she explained.

“I do what I can to visually create that restorative red space to help them get through all this chaos. It can transport them a little bit away from everyday life.

That’s the purpose of the physical tent:

Hudson MA Red Tent at Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson

to create a restorative space.”

Each gathering—web or in-person —averages about 15 to 20 participants.

Rogers was determined to continue gatherings remotely and increase frequency during the coronavirus outbreak.

The first weekly web gathering was March 20.

“We’re all being called upon to literally isolate from one another,” she noted. “We’re all struggling with the different emotions and logistics of this crisis – whether it’s feeling anxiety, grief, or so much uncertainty if our jobs are affected.”

Rogers was comforted by participants of a web gathering as she mourned the loss of a relative.

“Grieving a beloved family member is when you need people the most – and yet we can’t be together physically, we can’t give hugs,” she shared. “It’s emotionally rugged right now. Indeed, it’s a time to feel, to deal and to heal.”

While Rogers currently facilitates web gatherings, she’s considering the future possibility to offer both online and in-person gatherings when the pandemic restrictions are lifted.

“The Red Tent always lives in my heart,” she said. “It’s an event as much as a resource. It’s a force unto itself that I can put into the world.”

For more information and updates about Hudson MA Red Tent, visit ucmh.org and facebook.com/HudsonMARedTent.

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Marisa McCoy – a love for all things horticulture

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McCoy is a nationally accredited Master Flower Judge, overseer of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, frequent exhibitor in Art in Bloom and the Boston Garden and Flower Show, Senior Associate of the Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Floral Design Course Educator, floral designer, exhibitor at the Tower Hill Botanical Garden’s Flora in Winter, member of garden clubs and more.

She retired from almost 30 years of teaching English and Humanities from Wellesley High School in 1995. She fondly recalls a course that she taught there on “Seminar Day” in which students got to select an elective.

“The first year that I offered one workshop called, ‘Flower Arranging.’ It was so well attended that after that year, I offered two sessions instead of one. When Wellesley High School held their dedication of the new building, I was asked to do the flowers for the stage, cafeteria and lobby. I have created arrangements for so many organizations and former students over the years. The creativity and artistic side is so appealing and rewarding to me,” she noted.

In the past, she has taught workshop connected to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, “Preparing to Exhibit In A Flower Show and Enjoying It.” “The purpose of this course is for anyone signing up to participate in the annual Boston Garden and Flower Show to take away the intimidation,” said McCoy. She has also participated for the past 25 years in the Art In Bloom exhibit held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

(Both events were cancelled this year due to the pandemic).

McCoy has taken her gardening at home to a major scale and cannot walk by any flower without fully noticing them, she said. She reads catalogues in late winter and, as a flower show judge, she has learned a lot about botany.

As a member of Trinity Church in Boston she has won state, regional and national awards for maintaining a church garden (Cloister Garden).

Her passion with flowers and plants stems from being creative. She loves using her imagination, working within the guidelines of each project and delivering something above and beyond what is expected.

McCoy added that she has met so many others that share the same passion for flowers and plants. Many that she has come in contact with have now become lifelong friends.

“I love what I do and although I have had to take a step back a bit, I am still very involved in creating arrangements, teaching and more. Most of my best friends have been made through my love of flowers and I have been blessed,” she said.

The power of touch

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• 13

By Marianne Delorey, Ph.D. Executive Director, Colony Retirement Homes

Touch comes before sight, before speech.

It is the first language, and the last, and it always tells the truth.

– Margaret Atwood

W

hen COVID-19 first came our way, we were all full of fear – we feared the virus, getting sick, dying, and exposing those we loved. We feared we would be unable to take care of our families and that nobody would help take care of us.

Many of those fears were legitimate.

Our safety nets did not work as intended.

Many people died alone. Essential workers had to care for others leaving their families alone to take care of themselves.

Now, we are moving into an era in which COVID-19 is part of the fabric of our lives. We have developed tools to cope – social distancing and masks have saved lives. Zoom and Facetime have helped keep us connected. Favorite tools like humor, faith, and stubbornness have seen us through tough times before and will help some people get through this, too. Two of my favorite tools, especially to deal with fear, are writing and touch. Both of these tools help me feel connected and calm.

COVID-19 took away touch as a tool to help assuage our fears and the fears of those we care for.

During the height of the surge, my sons were with their father and I did not see them for several weeks.

We all felt they were safer there because I was an essential worker and I did not want to risk any more exposures than necessary. Twice, I saw my sons from a safe distance. Although it sounds dramatic, it physically hurt to see my boys and not hug them.

We are gregarious creatures by nature. The need to belong is built into the very cells of our body. Good touch reduces blood pressure and heart rate and keeps us healthy; it also releases several hormones that

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make us feel good. Touch also makes us feel connected to the ones we love by affirming our place, our sense of belonging, to family and society.

I consider myself lucky. Not only did I get time with my boys after the surge, but I have a husband and two cats whose touch kept me physically grounded. One of my cats, Dusty, is

Favorite tools like humor, faith, and stubbornness have seen us through tough times before and will help some people get through this, too. not very trusting, so having her nearby demanding attention made me feel more connected, more complete.

I have always felt that touch was an important part of communicating with my elders. So many people recoil at the sight of people who are sick or sad, and a pat on a shoulder or holding someone’s hand can go a long way in letting someone know they are treasured. Now, I don’t dare get within 6 feet of people, and I am imagining that most family members are doing the same.

I know that social distancing is going to keep our elders safe. I fear that our elders will suffer the most from loss of touch. I hope that they are resilient enough to get through. I also hope that those who are suffering most consider fostering or adopting a pet. Neither cats nor dogs are afraid of COVID-19. And caring for a pet gives us perspective and hope in the face of fear. May we all feel as grounded as a cat in her castle.

Marianne Delorey, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of Colony Retirement Homes. She can be reached at 508-755-0444 or mdelorey@colonyretirement.com and www.colonyretirementhomes.com. Archives of articles from previous issues can be read at www.fiftyplusadvocate.com

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money matters

Reverse mortgages – Get the facts

By Alain Valles, CRMP, CSA, MS, MBA Nonprofit Charitable Managing Director

As Managing Director of the self-funded nonprofit charitable mortgage company, Helping Hands Community Partners, our mission is to educate people about housing options and, when appropriate, we may arrange reverse mortgages.

Reverse Mortgage

Get accurate information The first step regarding “reverse mortgages” is to get accurate information. Reverse mortgages are a government insured home loan program that allows qualified senior homeowners the ability to access cash whenever needed in the form of lump sum cash, a month-

ly amount, and/or a line of credit that grows if you need cash in the future.

For thousands of people, this has been an excellent approach to having extra cashflow, paying off an existing mortgage, home repairs, credit cards, medical expenses, or just peace of mind knowing money is available if needed during these stressful times.

Key benefits for qualified homeowners • No monthly mortgage payments are required. That means you can increase your monthly cash flow by paying off a current mortgage with a reverse mortgage • Receive monthly cash for life or a specific time period • Unlike a bank home equity line, ability to have a line of credit that grows over time with no monthly interest payments required • Option to shield your home from Medicaid recapture with a properly structured irrevocable trust

prepayment penalty.

• The government takes your home and you lose your equity. False.

When the home is sold, any remaining equity would go to you or your estate.

• My family would be responsible if the home is worth less than any remaining mortgage balance. False.

Unlike traditional bank loans, you or your estate is not personally responsible to pay back the loan. This is called nonrecourse.

• Reverse mortgages are expensive.

Depends is the correct answer.

Based on your current situation, a reverse mortgage may be more expensive than a traditional loan but almost always much less expensive than moving. Call to get a detailed quote.

• You must pay the real estate taxes, insurance, and any other property charges such as condo fees. That one is true. You must meet all loan guidelines.

Debunking the top myths • You lose title or control of your home. False. You own your home.

Just like a conventional mortgage, you may sell your home with no

How do I qualify for a reverse mortgage?

The following are the initial questions that we ask to determine if you qualify:

• Age (one homeowner must be at least 62 years old) • Estimated home value (must be your primary residence) • Current mortgage balance, if any (property does not have to be free and clear) • Have the real estate taxes and insurance been paid on time for the past two years (if not, you may still qualify) • Amount of monthly income • We are then able to calculate the amount of money that will be available to you Top uses The first step is to call or email us.

We’ll review your personal situation, goals, and • Increase monthly cash flow • Lump sum of cash • Pay off a current mortgage or home equity line • Payoff credit cards • Complete needed home repairs or desired improvements • Finalize divorce situations • Install a new septic system • Purchase a new or used car

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viewpoint

Slump, buckle, and grunt

By Janice Lindsay

A

ugust is the season for slump, buckle, and grunt. And for crumble, roly poly, flummery, fool, duff, puff, fluff, strum, and shrub. Not to mention trifle, betty, crisp, and pandowdy.

People who read cookbooks, as well as those people who actually cook, know that these are all names for traditional dishes made with blueberries. Blueberries are very much in season now and second only to strawberries in the hearts and mouths of American eaters.

I don’t know why English-speakers have chosen such common and sometimes unflattering names for some of our tastiest treats. But the blueberry is such a pleasant, sweet, and friendly little creature that you may call the

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dishes anything you like. The blueberry will understand that you do it with affection, and will forgive you. (Would anyone dare to make a dessert with blueberry’s acerbic, stand-offish cousin and call it “cranberry grunt?”)

North America enjoys countless varieties of native and cultivated blueberries, some high-bush, some lowbush, some offering berries in clusters, some in singles. Wild blueberries were first canned during the Civil War for Union soldiers, and we’ve been buying them ever since. Cultivated varieties have been available in quantities since the 1930s.

Who doesn’t have sweet, warm, teeth-staining memories? That pie oozing blue juice, those blueberry pancakes spongy with maple syrup, that hot muffin, butter melting into blue holes.

I had a blueberry-picking-deprived childhood. My mother, as a child, had been dragged berrying by her mother at ever picking opportunity. My mother hated it. So she took my sister and me blueberry-picking only once, probably out of a sense that she would otherwise deprive us of a proper New

England upbringing. I don’t remember the picking experience. But I remember that our supper that night was fresh berries in a bowl with sweet, thick common crackers crumbled and soaked in milk. Does life get any better?

I enjoyed my grown-up blueberry-picking experience at the Marlborough house that my husband I bought when we were first married. He grew seven generous bushes, some that he had bought and some that he transplanted from the neglected meadow at the end of our road. The berries ranged from tiny black ones, unfailingly sweet, to cultivated meaty blues that sometimes grew as broad as his thumbnail.

They included a pale berry with a slight minty taste and others that tasted almost spicy.

We covered the bushes with netting; the birds and squirrels knew when the berries were ripe as well as we did.

It was a fine, in-touch-with-nature-and-your-ancestors, feeling under the opened net late on a warm summer

• 15

afternoon, hearing only the plop, plop of berries in the bottom of the bucket and the mew of the watchful catbird wishing you’d go away so she could have a taste.

For the record: To make slump, bake seasoned berries in the oven, top with a sweet biscuit-like batter, and bake some more. Buckle is a blueberry cake, often with cinnamon sugar topping. Grunt is syrup cooked on top of the stove, with dumplings.

Flummery is a thick syrup strained and served cold.

Crumble, fool, and strum involve baking berries with bread in various forms. For roly poly, you role a berry mixture in dough like a jellyroll, slice, and bake the pieces in a brown sugar syrup. Duff and puff are streamed puddings, fluff is a whipped pudding, and shrub is a blended drink that includes vinegar and sugar.

Now I’ve made myself hungry.

Lucky for me, blueberries wait in my refrigerator.

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Legacy of service includes two stints in Peace Corps

By Bonnie Adams Managing Editor REGION - As a young woman, Judith Fleming, who grew up in Chicago, joined the Peace Corps in 1967, serving in Tonga and Western Samoa.

“It was still new then,” she said of the organization. “The experience really framed how I saw the world.”

That experience had made such an impact on her, that nearly 50 years later, on a whim fueled by a desire to help others, Fleming, who was then 70, decided to sign up a second stint with the group.

A successful business executive After returning to the United States from her first time with the Peace Corps, Fleming had a successful career working as a staff assistant for the city of Worcester and then for Allmerica Financial/Hanover Insurance, where she rose to the positions of Vice President, Corporate Services and Vice President, Class Action Administration at Allmerica Financial/ Hanover Insurance.

She also became the mother of a son and a daughter and the grandmother to three.

When Fleming chose to accept an early retirement in 2001, she also “took a deep breath and thought what else do I want to do?’”

An opportunity arose for her to work part-time with Easter Seals of Massachusetts as the director of Special Projects for 14 years, where she managed all Human Resources policies and practices.

“I really loved working there,” she recalled.

A second chapter with the Peace Corps At age 70, Fleming felt she was “a mature healthy woman,” who still felt she had the passion and energy to take on a significant challenge “So I decided,” she said, “to just go onto the Peace Corps website to check it out. I had always wanted to go to Africa.”

She decided to apply, but was not really thinking that she would be accepted. But much to her surprise, she found out that indeed she was – and that she would be assigned to serve in Uganda.

“I said to myself, ‘Oh no, what have I done?’” she laughed.

Judith Fleming holds some of the bananas chip made by young employees

After 12 weeks of extensive training, learning about the language, culture, economic and community development, Fleming left with a group of approximately 50 others to serve a two year commitment in southwest Uganda.

There, over the course of her service, she used her extensive business skills to oversee three different projects.

The first project, Agape Nykiabale , was to obtain funds to construct two wash and sanitary facilities for girls at upper and lower primary schools. She helped conduct training for 140 girls and 40 teachers in the making of RUMPS (Reusable Menstrual Pads). She also helped to acquired outside private donations for the purchase of six sewing machines to develop an income generating

Answers to Super Crossword (puzzle on page 14

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PHOTOS/JUDITH FLEMING

Judith Fleming (far right) with some of the girls she worked with on a project in Uganda

project for the making and selling of machine-sewn RUMPS. “This was so important because it was about keeping girls in school, by giving them a way to have sanitary supplies each month,” she said.

The second project, Nybikukuuku Women in Development (NUWID), was also an income generating project, this time for a local rural women’s group. Fleming helped to secure a grant that would be used to purchase 750 chickens which were then distributed among 25 women who would raise them for egg production, which they could then sell.

As part of the initiative, the women were also required to participate in three days of training on financial literacy, recordkeeping and social em-

powerment.

The third project, The Purple Ray, was a youth- centric organization focusing on youth development initiatives, life skills training, and camps. Through a Peace Corps grant, Fleming helped to oversee a business that produced and sold banana chips. The project also included the construction of a storage facility and dehydration stations for producing, packing and storing materials.

“These projects create a model for sustainability and income opportunity, which helps to empower the people there,” she said.

After her service was complete in Uganda, Fleming then spent nine months as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer in the country of Georgia,

where she was assigned to the Women Wellness Care Alliance HERA as a Fundraising/Networking Specialist.

Once back in the United States, it was “definitely a bit of a culture shock,” she said. “I was really struck by the excess and waste. But I had missed my family so I was happy to be back with them, especially my grandchildren.” (A fourth had been born when she was in Uganda.)

Girls Inc. As a longtime member of the board of directors for the Worcester branch of the national nonprofit Girls Inc., Fleming knew how much

• 17

that organization meant to so many young women in need. So when CEO Victoria Waterman offered her a part-time position as Human Resources liaison, she decided to accept.

“It really made sense as to where I was in that time of my life,” she said.

“I love working here and seeing the difference this organization makes in the lives of these girls.”

And although she is now 74 years old, she is not quite ready to say “never” to other volunteer opportunities.

“I always said ‘My book wasn’t finished yet – there were still a lot of chapters left’,” she said. “So we’ll see!”

Heat & Hot Water Included in the Rent Hardwood Floors Ceiling Fans Laundry Room on Each Floor Lounge Areas Smoke Free Community Sitkowski School Apartments is a 66 unit, 55+ affordable rental community that offers a safe convenient location in the historic Sitkowski School in the commercial center of Webster. The new Webster Senior Center is located in the former gymnasium which will provide an active, vibrant place for seniors to enjoy.

To request an application please call 508.943.3406 TDD 800.439.2370 Must Meet Income Requirements Rents Starting at $650 • Section 8 Accepted

Reverse mortgage- get the facts Mortgage | from page 14

• Estate and financial planning purposes • Cash reserves for unforeseen emergency life events • Home accessibility improvements • The option of receiving a lump sum of cash, a monthly distribution, a line of credit or a combination of the three – all tax free • Peace of mind knowing that cash is available if needed

The key point is a reverse mortgage is a very flexible financial tool that can achieve varied goals. The first step is to obtain accurate information.

What is the first step in the process?

The first step is to call or email us.

We’ll review your personal situation, goals, and discuss if you qualify. If you’re

interested in more information, we will review, the cost, benefits, guidelines, forms, counseling requirements, and different options to receiving the cash.

Our goal is to share information with you so that you may make a fully educated decision if a reverse mortgage is right for you.

Is there anything you can mail me?

Yes. A great place to get information is the free “How to Use Your Home to Stay at Home” 36-page book. This is the official reverse mortgage consumer booklet approved by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development and published by the National Council on Aging.

Please give me a call 781-724-6221 or email reversemortgageinfo@hhcp. org with your questions and to receive your free copy of “Use Your Home to Stay at Home.” We’re here to help.

Alain Valles is a managing director of Helping Hands Community Partners, Inc. and was the first designated Certified Reverse Mortgage Professional in New England.

He obtained a master of science from the M.I.T. Center for Real Estate, an MBA from the Wharton School, and graduated summa cum laude from UMass Amherst. He can be reached directly at 781-724-6221 or by email at av@hhcp.org.

Archives of articles from previous issues can be read at www.fiftyplusadvocate.com.

Estate Planning Elder Law Long Term Care Planning Masshealth Applications Corporate & Business Planning ❖ Real Estate ❖ Powers of Attorney ❖ Guardian/Conservator Issues ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖

Josephine L. Veglia, Esq.

ATTORNEYS AT LAW 275 R Main Street | Oxford, MA 01540 | 508-987-3981 | Fax 508-987-1317 www.durbinandveglia.com

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Philip Bundman: A life ‘gone to the dogs’

By Peg Lopata Contributing Writer BELMONT - Do you want to make your life more fun? That was the dilemma Philip Bundman, a former laser physicist, once faced. He realized that although being a scientist was very intellectually stimulating, he wasn’t having much fun.

“I recalled reading those essays by people who had just turned 106.

None of Philip Bundman them said, ‘I wish I had been more serious’. I wanted to have more fun before I died. I thought I’d better get started,” said Bundman.

The next career he chose? Photographing dogs!

It began accidentally while taking a walk.

He explained, “I stumbled on a dogpark. It was a nice social setting. I began stopping by regularly and on a whim one day brought a camera. I’d

follow dogs around the dogpark, trying to make a nice picture or two, then email them to the owners. After a few trips to the park, camera in hand, I found that I just could not stop doing it!”

So Bundman learned about dogs, photography, and running a business.

“I learned that there is a deep satisfaction upon watching a person Noble Nola smile broadly and maybe brush back a tear as they opened and saw for the first time, of all things, their new dog portrait. Who would have thought? Not the physicist, surely,” he said.

Over these past eight years, Bundman has developed the artist’s eye for his subject matter and learned that being a dog photographer is not just about dogs.

“I see now that it’s never a dog in front of my camera. It’s their dog and this distinction makes all the difference,”

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PHOTOS/PHILIP BUNDMAN

A gentle dog’s eyes say love

he said. “My favorite thing is to photograph dogs with their people and make the dog the star.”

However, it’s not just about the art. He feels what he does is also a service to others, especially for customers who ask him to photograph a dog who is dying. Bundman feels honored when making these last portraits of a beloved dog.

“I feel called to do my best work,” he said.

The name of his company “Dog Eared Photography” explains his philosophy about photographing dogs.

“Because I want the photographs I make to mark a Cat’s intense gaze captured spot, like folding down the corschool and as an undergraduate, I dener of a magazine page so you signed scenery and lighting for our dracan return to that place,” he said. “The ma clubs. No surprise--- the lighting places I want to mark are temporal and was my favorite part. That experience emotional—a moment in the lives of serves me well today.” dog and person and how they each felt, However, according to Bundman, at that instant. I hope people return to the creation of a great photograph is not my photographs over and over again to only how you use lights and a camera: it return to what they feel for and treasure also comes from a skillful use of editing about their dog.” tools.

Though Bundman is no longer “Photoshop and many other edworking as a laser physicist, he’s still iting tools are an essential component laser-like. Seeing keenly is just who of making professional photographs. he is.

This is where the magic happens,” said He reflected, “I was a science-oriBundman. ented kid, fascinated by glowing obFrom satellites in the night sky he jects.” gazed at as a child, to stage lighting, to No wonder it’s a dog’s eyes that he many years of higher education, to a job considers most important in creating a at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexgood photo of a dog. ington, Mass., Bundman is now doing He said, “If they are lit appropriatesomething that makes him truly happy. ly, dog’s eyes glow.”

He now also photographs cats, horses But Bundman is more than an artand landscapes. But dogs? They are ist, he’s still a scientist using his skills of pretty special for Bundman. intense observation, careful control of “I’m pretty much in love with whatlight, and perfectionism. ever dog is in front of me at the moment.

“Photography is an outlet for the There is just something extra-cool about part of me that wants to get things just nearly every dog. right. Thanks to my physics training, I See more photos and learn more understand technical aspects of light about Bundman at www.DogEaredand illumination in a deeper way than Photography.com. many photographers,” he said. “In high

ic serv

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27 Mount Vernon Street, Worcester, MA • Office Open Daily 8:00am - 4:30pm To receive an application please call 508-755-6062 TDD# 508-755-0228 Now accepting applications for 62 years of age and older and those who are under 62 years of age and are permanently disabled.

Applicants must meet HUD annual low income guidelines. Preference is given to individuals 62 and older.

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