October 2020 Fifty Plus Advocate Central Edition

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FREE | Published monthly

Central Edition | Vol. 47 | No. 10 | October 2020

How a positive attitude pulled writer through a health crisis and changed her life

advocate

Julia Fox Garrison | page11

Right: Greg Sullivan goofs around with his Popeye vinyl art figure.

Below: Moose Hannon tempts customers at the first BATCC sponsored Pop Culture and Toy Show.

PHOTOS/COURTESY GREG SULLIVAN

PHOTO/COURTESY TY LIGHTNER

Club members Andy Evans and Dave Crocker share a joke at the first BATCC sponsored Pop Culture and Toy Show.

‘Toy Story’ Enthusiasts share information, form bonds in club for collectors

By Susan Gonsalves Contributing Writer

Scott Burke shows off his Spider-Man Hot Wheels vehicle.

S

Norwood -

tephen Lanzilla’s favorite childhood toy, discovered in a new display at his then-downtown Woolworths, is a metallic copper painted 1966 Husky Model #26 Sunbeam Alpine Convertible, the first small die cast car he ever saw. In addition to its stylish features, Lanzilla admired the fact that the steering wheel was on the opposite side because the real car was made in Great Britain as well.

It wasn’t the first time, as a kid, that Lanzilla displayed an interest in knowing about the world. He liked collecting postage stamps and coins from other countries and learning a bit about their history.

As years past, and he moved to Randolph, his job in sales and marketing for the predecessor companies to Sprint took him to 66 countries and involved Toy story | page16

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Build a strong long-term care system

By Mike Festa, State Director AARP Massachusetts

A

WE MAY BE APART, WE MAY BE APART, BUT WE'RE NOT ALONE BUT WE'RE NOT ALONE

SOMEONE WHO CARES IS JUST A PHONE CALL AWAY. SOMEONE WHO CARES IS JUST A PHONE CALL AWAY. If you or someone you love is feeling isolated or anxious in these a friendly phone call may help. That's If you challenging or someone times, you love is feeling isolated or anxious in why created thetimes, AARPa Friendly Voice program—a trained, thesewe challenging friendly phone call may help.

That's caring of volunteers standingVoice by ready to chat, listen, or why wegroup created the AARP Friendly program—a trained, just saygroup hello. of volunteers standing by ready to chat, listen, or caring just say hello.

It's easy. Request a call by dialing AARP at 1-888-281-0145 for or 1-888-497-4108 for Spanish, 9 a.m.

It's English easy. Request a call by dialing AARP atbetween 1-888-281-0145 and 5 p.m. local time. for English or 1-888-497-4108 for Spanish, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. local time.

merica’s long-term care system is not just broken — it doesn’t exist.

Americans 50-plus and others in need of longterm care face a patchwork of public and private services, costly institutional care, and Mike Festa unpaid family caregivers. Today, many are often pushed into costly nursing homes — the only form of long-term care automatically covered

by Medicaid — even though the vast majority of seniors would prefer to live independently in their homes and communities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised alarms about the safety and quality of institutional care. More than 70,000 residents and staff of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities have died, accounting for more than 40 percent of all U.S. COVID-19 deaths. Even before the pandemic, the Government Accountability Office found more than 80 percent of nursing homes were cited for infection control deficiencies.

In Massachusetts, nursing home residents and staff account for 65.7 percent of all probable or confirmed deaths. As of August 31, there were 8,827 deaths among confirmed cases.

Probable or confirmed COVID-19 deaths reported in long-term care facilities currently stands at 5,802.

Unfortunately, options like home and community services are often unaffordable and not available through many state Medicaid programs.

While unpaid family caregivers allow millions of seniors to live safely at home, instead of in costly nursing homes, these family members need more support.

Challenges ahead The age 85+ population—those most likely to need assistance with daily activities—is projected to more than triple between 2015 and 2050, making the need for an effective long-term care system even more important.

Our elected leaders must rethink institutional care to improve the safety and quality of nursing homes and

Our elected leaders must rethink institutional care to improve the safety and quality of nursing homes. other long-term care facilities and protect residents against sickness, neglect and isolation. COVID-19 has shown that few facilities are prepared with adequate staffing, resources and proper infection control.

At the same time, state and federal officials must increase access to the home and community care seniors prefer. They also must do more to support the 48 million unpaid family caregivers who make it possible for their older parents, spouses and other loved ones to live at home.

AARP guiding principles As you consider a candidate, keep in mind AARP’s priorities for longterm care. AARP is asking Congress and state lawmakers to: Improve care in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic by: • Ensuring regular, ongoing testing and adequate personal protective equipment (PPE).

• Creating transparency through public reporting of cases and deaths in facilities, discharges and transfers, and the spending of federal funds.

• Requiring access to virtual visitation.

• Improving residential care through adequate staffing, oversight, and access to ombudsmen.

• Stopping attempts to provide blanket immunity for longterm care facilities related to COVID-19.

• Expand access to home and community services that allow seniors to live at home, reducing the need for costly taxpayer-funded nursing home care.

• Provide greater support to unpaid family caregivers to make it easier for seniors to remain in their homes and communities.

For more information on how you can vote safely and make your voice heard, visit www.aarp.org/mavotes and www.aarp.org/vote.

Mike Festa is the State Director for AARP Massachusetts. For more articles visit www.fiftyplusadvocate.com

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Jimmy Jay shares musical memories on relaunched WMEX-AM 1510

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By Ed Karvoski Jr. Culture Editor

tooting whistles.”

While working at Orange’s WCAT-AM, Jay covered the summer of 1969’s Woodstock music festival. It was a productive gig for the teenage broadcaster. However, he was faced with challenges in the pre-digital camera era.

“I brought my recorder, but figured I’d get film and batteries for my camera when I got there,” he said.

REGION – Jimmy Jay of Weymouth began his radio career at Fitchburg’s WEIM-AM on his 19th birthday, Jan. 11, 1969. Since then, he has worked at several New England stations, hosts a weekly internationally-syndicated show and continues to interview numerous musical legends.

Additional l y, Jay now broadcasts on a favorite station since his youth: WMEX-AM 1510.

He’s deejaying on the relaunched station Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“Back in 1969, I was young and having fun,” he recalled. “In 2020, I’m now part of the new WMEX and feel like I’m a kid again.”

As a child Jimmy Jay and Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats growing up in Quincy, his par“Obviously, I never got film or batents would bring him to the WMEX teries. I got no pictures, but lots of station. There, Jay peered through a memories and interviews with tons window to see deejays who he’d ulof stars.” timately emulate: Arnie “Woo Woo” Among his Woodstock interGinsburg, Melvin X. Melvin and viewees were Jimi Hendrix, CreeFenway. dence Clearwater Revival, Sly and “I’d watch these guys for hours,” the Family Stone, Jerry Garcia of the he relayed. “I saw Arnie Ginsburg having a blast – blowing horns and Jimmy Jay | Page 18

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Steve Blackwood lives the Hollywood dream

By Elizabeth Rose Contributing Writer

PHOTO/LORENZO VIGIL

NEWBURYPORT - In the late nineties, Steve Blackwood was hunting acting work in Hollywood when he had several one-day temporary parts on Days of Our Lives, a popular NBC daytime drama. He played a florist and a bank teller.

But Blackwood was determined to find a steady acting job. Years before, as an undergraduate at Oakland University in Detroit he had taken his first acting class and gotten hooked. “ They Steve Blackwood applauded, and I got hooked, like a drug.”

In 1997, Blackwood was called in again to Days for a three-day role as the Italian henchman, “Bart Beiderbecke”, to archvillain, “Stefano DiMera”. He arrived with a plan.

Left: Steve Blackwood (center) appears in a scene in Days of Our Lives in 2003 with Thaao Penghlis (left, “Tony DiMera”) and Josh Reynolds (right, “Roman Brady”).

“In acting, the main thing is to know what your type is. My type was not an Italian henchman. I leveraged what I knew about myself.”

He demonstrated that he had talent and appeal.

“Your talent can be hidden if you don’t play to your strengths, and my strength was comedy. I made him a funny Peter Sellers bumbling type of character, not the sharpest knife in the drawer.”

Bart Beiderbecke added laughter.

The audience posted fan mail and the producers listened.

“So, I went from temp to permanent and did 10 years on the show.”

Days of Our Lives is one of the longest running daytime dramas on television now completing its 56th season. Blackwood’s name appeared on 716-episode credits.

In 2007, Blackwood learned from producer Steve Wyman that his char-

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Below: “Private,” Steve Blackwood’s latest short film noir was released on YouTube on September 1, 2020. The film was written and produced by Steve Blackwood of Blackwood Productions during COVID-19.

acter was about to have a final exit.

“Steve came into my dressing room and said, ‘Steve, I’ve got great news. It’s sweeps week coming up (one of four annually recurring weeks when Nielson ratings determine a show’s future on the network), and you are going to be an integral part of it. There’s going to be a knife fight and you’re going to be caught in the middle.”

Wyman confirmed that it meant the end of Bart Beiderbecke..

“Steve said, ‘Yes, isn’t it great? All the magazines will be calling you for interviews.’”

Blackwood recalls that his response was quick and honest.

“I said to him, and I was so proud of myself, ‘No matter where you go, and I don’t think it’s going to be for long with this show, you’ve got to learn people skills because you have zero.’ And he left.”

Blackwood said producers treated actors like cogs in a machine.

“This is the way we are going to do this cog,” he said. “In reality, 90 percent of actors in the Screen Actors Guild are out of work. When you lose a regular job, it’s devastating.”

His final show felt like death.

“My comedy self died. It was like a death in the family,” Blackwood said.

“My mother cried when Bart died.”

Steve, his wife, Karen, and their young daughter returned to Blackwood’s hometown in Michigan where he would remake himself. Black-

wood described himself as “a mess” as a college student. He was an average student, lacked self-confidence and drank too much.

“I never even auditioned for any plays at the Meadowbrook Theater on the Oakland campus. When I went back, I ended up teaching acting, and did two shows at Meadowbrook. I received a lifetime achievement award from Oakland and a best actor award.

I came full circle.”

After four years in Michigan, the Blackwoods moved to New England to fulfill on a marital promise Steve had made to Karen. After settling in Newburyport, Blackwood formed his MASTERCLASS to teach the acting method of personalization to Boston actors. He also founded Blackwood Productions, his own independent film production company. Until the pandemic, he held regular weekly classes, coached actors privately and produced four short films, I Feel, Spice, Meet the Author, and Stuck.

“I teach my actors how to deal with producers and writers, how to step into roles as themselves, how to feel they are enough.”

In terms of Days, Blackwood says it paved the way for his future success.

“I loved doing Days. I loved doing my comedy. It was heaven to do my dream role on a soap opera no less,” Blackwood said.

For more information visit www. steveblackwood.com.

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Scituate man has gone the distance backpacking

By Brett Peruzzi Contributing Writer

Mike Davis backpacking the Appalachian Trail in Connecticut.

SCITUATE - Mike Davis has worn out more pairs of hiking boots than the average person.

He started doing short day hikes in New Hampshire’s White Mountains in the 1980s, and then got into long-distance backpacking a decade later as he entered his fifties. He went on to complete the Long Trail, which runs through the Green Mountains of Vermont, from the Massachusetts line to the Canadian border, and finished the Appalachian Trail, the 2,200 mile footpath that goes from Georgia to Maine, right around his 60th birthday. After completing the Appalachian Trail, he then went on to hike over 1,000 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail, which runs from the Mexican to the Canadian border through California, Oregon, and Washington.

Four decades after those first short hikes, the 77-year-old is still hitting the trail. “I use hiking to keep in shape and be with nature in a semi-survival mode,” Davis said.

“I was a runner for years before I started hiking and backpacking, with

Mike Davis and friends on the 14,505 foot summit of Mt. Whitney in California, the highest peak in the contiguous United States, while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.

a little biking thrown in for good measure. I’ve run two marathons, including the Boston Marathon in the mid-1980s, several half-marathons, and many, many 10K races,” he recalled. “As running started wearing my body down, I realized that backpacking could be an alternative that can be done for many more years.”

His long-distance backpacking really took off after he retired from

Xerox Corporation after 34 years of service. For the next 17 years, however, he still worked part-time, at Eastern Mountain Sports in Hingham, where he put his backpacking expertise to work helping customers, sometimes as much as 40 years or more younger than him, get outfitted for their own long-distance hikes. He also taught numerous workshops for the store about selecting and using

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“My memorable line to the people who said ‘I’m too old’ even when they were 20 years my junior was, ‘If Earl Shaeffer can do it at 79, you surely can’”, he said.

Shaeffer was the first person to hike the Appalachian Trail in one season, known as a “through-hike,” who then incredibly repeated the feat 50 years later.

“I still believe it’s more mental then physical,” Davis asserted.

Most long-distance backpackers either choose or earn a “trail name” Davis is known as “Mad Mike” to the hundreds of hikers he has met over the decades, and the numerous good friends he has made.

“I tend to remember those friends by the trail section and year we met,” he noted.

“My favorite hiking partner is my friend Karen, whose trail name is ‘Rikki Tikki Tavi’. She can put up with my oddities and I with hers. The bonding with a compatible partner is a requirement to spend days and days together,” he said.

He believes finding the right hiking companion should not be left to chance. “Never plan an extended backpacking trip with someone before testing compatibility,” Davis emphasized.

“As a Maine Appalachian Trail Club volunteer, I walk the edges of the trail corridor to ensure the trail property is not being disrupted by logging, four-wheelers or the like,” Davis explained.

“Another volunteer activity in Maine I was involved in was search-

Mike Davis celebrates completing the Appalachian Trail atop the summit of Mt. Katahdin in Maine.

Over the years, Davis has belonged to numerous hiking clubs and associations, including the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Green Mountain Club, the American Long Distance Hikers Association, and, currently, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the Maine Appalachian Trail Club. He has also served as a volunteer in a variety of capacities.

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ing for missing hiker Geraldine ‘Inchworm’ Largay’s remains in 2013.

We were unsuccessful and gladly so,” he recalled somberly. “Her remains were found in 2015 not far from our search area.”

“In years past, I also volunteered as a caretaker for designated camping sites at the end of the season,” said

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Davis, “when the regular caretakers typically had to return to college.”

Davis also recounted what has become his favorite volunteer activity over the past decade–providing “trail magic” to through-hikers as they near the end of the Appalachian Trail in Maine in September.

“I make an effort to give back and support hikers with our annual trail magic event, where a group of hiking friends and I provide food and other support to tired hikers,” Davis explained. “We provide them with breakfast or lunch or dinner, depending on what time they arrive, along with beverages, sweets, advice, a cell phone recharging station, and gear repairs.”

Davis and his friends camp on the site, just off the trail, for three days, and set up gas stoves and grills for cooking, a propane-powered refrigerator, and tables and chairs, all under a canopy that offers protection from the elements. Some hikers find the event so welcoming and enjoyable that they put up their tents nearby and stay the night to socialize and enjoy the hospitality.

Davis had this advice to older people who want to keep hiking and backpacking. “To stay interested requires remembering what you once did well and toning it down a bit,” he suggested. “Use your own knowledge of your body’s limitations and adjust accordingly.”

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Mike Davis at the start of a fiveday hike on the Appalachian Trail in Connecticut.

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Hudson’s internationally-recognized calligraphist continues studies

By Ed Karvoski Jr. Culture Editor HUDSON – Gerry Jackson Kerdok of Hudson has honed her calligraphy skills for over 40 years. Cumulatively for three decades as an educator, she shared her love for creatively-designed letters with both children and adults.

Her artwork is exhibited in juried competitions at prominent venues worldwide.

Along the way, she continues to study her favorite art form.

“The beauty of any art form is to

find joy in something that you do by hand and can get lost in,” she said. “It’s not necessarily to be the best calligrapher in the world, but to find your joy.”

Jackson Kerdok took many art classes at Framingham State College (now known as Framingham State University), where she majored in elementary education and graduated in 1966. Art was among the subjects she taught for six years as a Framingham elementary school teacher.

“I’m of the age when there was no maternity leave; if you were going to have a baby, you either had

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Gerry Jackson Kerdok displays her calligraphy piece titled “Psalm 30:12,” which was chosen for publication by the Washington National Cathedral in 2017.

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“Hope” by calligraphist Gerry Jackson Kerdok, based on an online prompt from Scribbled Lives

to come right back to school or stay home,” she explained. “I stayed home and decided to take a commercial art class – a little, tiny piece of it was calligraphy. I got hooked!”

While working as a commercial artist, she built her calligraphy portfolio by donating her talent to local nonprofit organizations. In 1990, she began a 23-year stint teaching basic lettering and related arts at Worcester Art Museum.

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“New England Weather” by calligraphist Gerry Jackson Kerdok, awarded Branding Concepts 2018’s Graceful Envelope Contest “Best of Show”

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In 1991, Hudson selectmen presented her with a citation for her numerous volunteer efforts.

Networking with calligraphy guilds, she learned that the Smithsonian Institution’s National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C., created the Graceful Envelope Contest in 1995. The Smithsonian administered the contest until delegating responsibility to Washington Calligraphers Guild in 2001.

Jackson Kerdok has entered artwork into the contest most years from 1995 to 2018 and achieved 16 wins including three “Best of Show.” Nearby in Maryland for another commitment at the time, she was able to view her first entry in Washington, D.C. “I’ve had opportunities to study at weeklong international assemblies of lettering artists,” she noted. “I was at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and got to go to Washington and see my piece at the postal museum. It was wonderful!”

She also attended Washington National Cathedral’s exhibit opening with her 1999 entry. Her most recent entry there in 2017 was chosen for publication on brochures, posters and notecards.

When the Eiffel Tower hosted Salon du Design in 2000, her artwork placed in the top 10.

“That year, we had two kids in college, so going to France was outside our budget,” she said.

Jackson Kerdok practices spontaneous creativity with Scribbled Lives, an international group of calligraphers who commit to create pieces based on weekly online prompts. There are currently 72 participants.

“Everybody in Scribbled Lives gets to see what you post, and then we all comment and learn so much,” she relayed. “Every week, there are 72 pieces of art – all done differently because everyone can do whatever they want with the prompt.”

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Julia Fox Garrison How a positive attitude pulled her through a health crisis and changed her life

By Serena Howlett Contributing Writer

And although her body was paralyzed, Garrison’s zest for life most certainly was not.

MIDDLETON - In July 1997 what During three months in the hospibegan as an ordinary Thursday at the tal, Garrison’s rule was “no sad visitors.” office for Julia Fox Garrison turned into Her eight brothers (no sisters) coordithe beginning of her journey to a sucnated their visits so each day brought cessful career as author and inspirationanother brother with a take-out meal. al speaker. The life-changing event was For the siblings, playing pranks a hemorrhagic stroke: blood pouring was a family tradition. As the middle into her brain. child, Garrison was on both ends of the pranks. One night around age 10, she was lying in bed reading The Shining, when unbeknownst to her, her brother John crawled under the bed. When Garrison finally closed the book and turned out the light, John rattled the iron springs under the mattress and grabbed her arm. Now, in the hospital bed, with her head partially shaved for brain surgery, Garrison asked her brother to get someone to shave the rest of her head and place the matted hair under the bed. Then, she pressed the Julia Fox Garrison with her husband Jim and call button and announced, son Rory “There is something movIn the emergency room, Garrison ing under my bed.” recalled saying, “I am going to die.”

After discharge from the hospital, In the operating room, while surGarrison’s goal was to be strong enough geons struggled to save her life, Garrito take care of her young son. In the son had this vision: “My body was on notebook in which she kept track of the rung of a ladder in the midst of appointments, she recorded the names clouds. The ladder had no beginning of 40 doctors, nurses and therapists. or end. I had a choice. I could stay near Through her faith, an “incredible” neuto God or return to earth as a broken rologist and the encouragement of her body.” close-knit family, Garrison recovered Garrison chose to return to her beyond the wildest dreams of health husband, Jim, and then three-year-old care professionals. son, Rory.

About five years after the stroke, “There’s a reason I’m here. I have a Garrison put pencil to paper and in purpose,” she said.

2005 self-published, P.S. Julia (Missing

www.fiftyplusadvocate.com + OCTOBER 2020 + fiftyplus advocate

a Piece of Your Mind Can be Puzzling).

This book morphed into Don’t Leave Me This Way (or when I get back on my feet you’ll be sorry), published and promoted by HarperCollins. Rave reviews and media invitations poured in. She appeared on Good Morning America and Oprah.

PEOPLE magazine featured her story and Reader’s Digest included a condensed version of Don’t Leave Me This Way in “Today’s Best

• 11

Non-Fiction.”

Today, Garrison is an inspirational keynote speaker, a role model for overcoming adversity and a cheerleader for person-centered healthcare. Joyous, self-deprecating at times and always upbeat, she brings a positive energy to her audiences, letting them know that they too can overcome challenges life puts in front of them.

“Unexpected and difficult times,” Garrison said, “are out of our control.

How we respond is within our control.”

That includes the pandemic which, although has changed her model of delivery, has not stopped her from her work.

“I have recently set up a professional studio to deliver my message virtually,” she said. “I had my first virtual keynote to Florida Healthcare professionals. I am also presenting to Encompass Health. The bonus of going virtual allows them to have six of their centers attend each session, with 500 expected attendees per session.”

Determined “to stay alive and never stop recovering”, Garrison quoted her motto: “Positive outlook equal positive outcome.” It is something she lives, to the fullness capacity possible, each and every day.

For more information call Garrison at 978-317-0799, email julia@juliafoxgarrison.com or visit www.juliafoxgarrison.com.

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A socially conscious scholar:

Patricia Illingworth

By Peg Lopata Contributing Writer

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CAMBRIDGE - Ambition alone can propel us towards success. But sometimes ambition is combined with something else. For Patricia Illingworth, 66, a professor at Northeastern University in Boston, that something else was injustice.

“I was raised by a single mother who did not receive child support.

She frequently worked two or three jobs at a time to support my brother and me. I had a very deep sense of the injustice of her situation,” Illingworth said. “I believe it was one of the main reasons I studied ethics and law.

I was sure there had to be a better way. I wanted to figure that out and be able to explain it.”

A native Canadian, Illingworth got her bachelor’s degree at York University in her hometown, Toronto, Ontario, then a law degree from Boston University School of Law and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of California, San Diego. She didn’t plan on her current vocation, but she loved ethics from the start. She has held fellowships at Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School, Rice University, Houston, TX and recently been a senior fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge. She’s the author of seven books on such topics as immigrants and health policy, issues in drug development, and AIDs. As her website explains, “The common thread that runs through Illingworth’s work is a commitment to making the world a better place for all people.”

Another injustice that played a key role in the development of Illingworth’s career was how the gay community was affected by the HIVAIDs epidemic in the 1980s.

“I was very interested in how the HIV-AIDs epidemic was impacting them,” she said. “My first book was, ‘AIDs and the Good Society’ (Routledge, 1990), which among other things, argued for same sex marriage long before it was legal.”

Besides advocating for society’s underdogs, Illingworth has many other talents and skills. She especially loves teaching. Some of the courses she teaches are bioethics, business ethics and global justice. Whether it’s teaching, researching or writing, she aims to get people thinking in order to bring about a more just society.

“Understanding what our moral responsibilities are in helping other people is very important to me,” ex-

Patricia Illingworth

plained Illingworth.

For this professor, helping others includes creating solidarity and community. But she’s more than just a thinker with great ideas. She puts her ideas into action. For the past 11 years, Illingworth, together with photographer and neighbor, Akos Szilvasi, have hosted an annual photo shoot on their street in Cambridge.

They originally organized the event, which includes refreshments in Illingworth’s driveway, to meet neighbors. It’s evolved into a day to catch up with neighbors, as well as capture the moment in memorable photos by Szilvasi.

As quoted in an article by Sara Frazier in Wicked Local, Cambridge, Oct. 3, 2019, Illingworth stated, “Most of the photos highlight friendship and family. Those are what bring meaning to the lives of everyone, regardless of our differences.”

Connections with others, educating and informing---that’s what Illingworth is all about. But she also enjoys long walks with her Portuguese water dog, Panda, traveling, eating out and sampling creative food. Spending time with friends and family, trips to Cape Cod, museums, and the visual and performing arts are also a big part of her life.

Her philosophy of life is simple and informed by her desire to create a just world.

“People are more important than stuff and accomplishments. What we can do together is far more fun and likely to be more fruitful than what I can do alone. I try to work with people, whether friends, family, colleagues, editors, or collaborators to create something that will have some impact and make the world a more just and equal place for everyone.”

www.fiftyplusadvocate.com + OCTOBER 2020 + fiftyplus advocate

Perfectly imperfect

• 13

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

“Do I contradict myself ? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.” ~ Walt Whitman

C

onsider these two sentiments: “I am 90 years old. I have high blood pressure. My doctor has told me that for every grain of salt I consume, I am taking a week off my life. I may not live forever, but I want every week that I can.

I don’t care how bland my food tastes, I want to be provided the food that will help me live the longest.”

“I am 90 years old.

I have high blood pressure. I have had a great run. I want to enjoy what is left. I want my food to be full of flavor. I don’t care how bad it is for me.

I want comfort food and bacon every day. This is my life and my choice and I want to go out with a bang.”

I see similar dichotomies in a

Housing Options

can certainly offer better choices, but ultimately, what they do is up to them.

Elder care professionals have choices, too, and like it or not, our clients must respect our choices. What does this look like?

• I’m sorry Mr. Smith, but I won’t come into your apartment to clean unless you step outside. I know you just went to a big reunion and I don’t want to be around people who are not being safe.

• Sure, Mrs. Jones, I’ll give you a ride to the market, but only if you promise to wear a mask in my car and use hand sanitizer.

• I will carry this to your door for you but let me walk ahead. I don’t want to be near someone who isn’t wearing their mask over both their mouth and their nose.

Some people struggle to define their own boundaries and reinforce them if pressed. While I understand the desire to keep the peace, I am also aware that every exposure I have increases the risk for those I love. I don’t

I don’t remind people about masks or washing hands because I want to shame them, I remind them to keep my family safe. world with COVID-19. Some elders are reasonably happy to hole themselves away and wait this pandemic out with minimal human contact.

Some are deciding to live their lives, consequences be damned. Most are in the middle, cautiously watching special events from afar or having family dinners outside.

But where does this leave elder care professionals? How are we supposed to offer freedom and choice while guaranteeing health and safety, especially now? The truth is, we can’t, and that is ok.

Each and every one of us, compromised or healthy, needs to make our own choices. Our job, as elder care professionals, is to respect the autonomy of those we care for and about. We

remind people about masks or washing hands because I want to shame them, I remind them to keep my family safe.

And then life gets complicated and people change their minds. People are human and imperfect. Personally, I flip flop between counting every calorie one day and having ice cream for dinner the next. I have avoided several family get-togethers and yet I did hug a distant acquaintance I ran into. When you run into someone who wants to be safe or healthy but refuses to take the recommended steps, remind yourself of your own shortcomings. Be patient with them, as they are probably able to point out your missteps. Remember, this world is not full of hypocrites, there is always room for more.

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.

A 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization

I love my home I love my independence I love my reverse mortgage o rt g a g e v e rs e m v e d ic ia l re T h e o ff r b o o k le ta p p ro e t c o n s u m . D e p a rt m e n U.S b y th e g in s of Hou n & U rb a pment D e v e lo

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14 •

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money matters

I love my home. I love my independence. I love my reverse mortgage.

By Alain Vallès, CSA, MS, MBA, Managing Director Helping Hands Community Partners, Inc.

Home sweet home “I love my home.

I’m getting older. I want to be financially independent and prepared.

I’m anxious about my options.

I don’t want to be sold.”

These are the most common responses when I’m discussing reverse mortgages. In fact, few people are eager to make move from where they live. Studies have shown that 90 percent of adults over the age of 65 would prefer to stay in their current homes as they age. This is now even more true

Reverse Mortgage

Studies have shown that 90 percent of adults over the age of 65 would prefer to stay in their current homes as they age. This is now even more true with coronavirus. with coronavirus.

In recent years there has been a powerful trend across the U.S. called “aging in place.” Aging in place is “the ability to live in one’s own home and community safely, independently, and comfortably, regardless of age, income, or ability level.” What aging in place really means is remaining in the home of your choice for as long as you want with enough resources for current and future needs.

Life happens and it costs money As you grow older you may face the challenge of being able to afford to continue to live in your own home.

The top financial stress points include: • ongoing mortgage or home-equity line payments • recurring and unexpected

• • • • • • • •

health expenses credit card bills needed home repairs real estate taxes job loss divorce loss of a loved one children needing money or, just trying to enjoy life a bit more.

Without a plan, your quality of life may diminish or be forced to sell your home.

These challenges are some of the reasons why the federal government created and guarantees Reverse Mortgages for qualified homeowners age 62 or older. A reverse mortgage may provide the financial relief needed to enjoy and afford “aging in place” in your own home.

Not sure where to get the facts about reverse mortgages?

We’re here to help. Helping Hands Community Partners is an approved 501(c)(3) self-funded nonprofit with the mission to educate people about senior housing options and, when appropriate, we can arrange reverse mortgages for qualified individuals.

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 HUD and published by the National Council on Aging. The free “25 Ways to Use a Reverse Mortgage” from the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association lists the many ways a Reverse Mortgage can help.

Please give me a call or email me to receive your free copy of “Use Your Home to Stay at Home” and “25 Ways to Use a Reverse Mortgage.”

What are the top advantages of a reverse mortgage?

The most common uses of reverse

Reverse mortgage | Page 17

SUPER CROSSWORD PUZZLE

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www.fiftyplusadvocate.com + OCTOBER 2020 + fiftyplus advocate

viewpoint

• 15

Mattie is with me when I vote

By Janice Lindsay

W

hen my mother was born, there was no guarantee that this baby girl would have the right to vote for president when she grew up. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution was passed a few months later.

But as I prepare to vote, I think, not of my mother, nor of my grandmother who voted for the first time that year, but about my great-grandmother.

Mattie was born in Rhode Island during the Civil War. She was very old when I was very young. I remember her thin craggy face and her gay, cackling laugh. I wish I had known her better. I could only guess about her, when I studied the one-linea-day diary she wrote for decades,

Inklings

and the special scrapbook she kept for herself in 1920, the year women got the vote, a scrapbook packed with photos of prominent women.

M a t t i e turned nine years old in 1870, the PHOTO/BONNIE ADAMS year the U. S. In Northborough, members of the GFWC Northboro Junior Woman’s Club commemorated the passage of the 19th Amendment with a ceremony Aug. 15.

Constitution was amended to guargrandmother before the Constitution tell the story. antee voting rights to former slaves finally gave her the right to vote.

Most of the women in Mattie’s who were men. Women had fought After that, as long as she was scrapbook were achievers in leaderhard for that amendment. But they physically able, Mattie exercised that ship roles unusual for that time: leadwould not have that right themselves right. Family memory says that she ers of the women’s suffrage movement, for another 50 years. was well-informed and an enthusilike Lucretia Mott and Lucy Stone, Mattie was a tall, gaunt, hardastic Republican in a family of conand of the new League of Women working, sociable country woman firmed Democrats.

Voters; the executive committee vice who managed to just scrape by, and Mattie apparently followed the chairwoman of the Republican Nawho spent her whole life within a few early women’s’ movement with a great tional Committee; an Ohio judge; miles of her birthplace in north-cendeal of interest. In 1920, she pasted American women honored by Italy tral Rhode Island. photos of notable women onto the and Greece for service during the She took a life-long interest in pages of an old household ledger. She Inklings | Page 17 politics, but she was a 59-year-old wrote no comments: her selections

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Toy Story

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once by the chairman of the board of Indianapolis-based SIMON PROPERTY LLC, the owner of SSP. These Toy Story | From page 1 and other unexpected guests have given the BATCC the highest praise traveling three weeks out of every possible as they immersed themselves four. Eventually, he decided to step in the fun of toy collecting. down and to care for his late wife Presently, due to current Beverly and “re-engage with the COVID-19 limitations at SSP to world.” protect the public health, BATCC His fascination with toys re-igmonthly meetings are being held on nited in 1996. The following year, he the same schedule for members only founded the not-for-profit Boston via Zoom calls until further notice. Prospective members can still join now, or wait until current limitations change.

“We function like an extended family. There’s a lot of camaraderie,” Lanzilla said. “All the major and minor companies know who we are…DC Comics, Warner Brother license holders, Lego, etc.

What we talk about is of interest to manufacturers.”

So, what do they talk about?

Well, for one thing— die cast cars like Matchbox, Hot Wheels, Corgi and many other domestic and international brands.

Club Founder Stephen Lanzilla and club member Club members also Gregory Andrews man the BATCC table at the discuss the latest action Lincoln Johnny Lightning Racing Club's annual figures from Star Wars, Die Cast Jam. Doctor Who, Star Trek, Transformers and the like as well as Area Toy Collectors Club (BATCC). die cast military vehicles, vintage and Today, approximately 200 members rare toys and collectible toys includhail from several New England states ing Lego, Fast Food Chain Promos and are supplemented by the legions and Urban Vinyl, to name just a few. of fans on social media who join in Lanzilla and other chairs of the with questions and offer information. different items present the latest For more than two decades this news and releases of brands, pausing growing group has met the first Sunto answer questions.

The second half day of each month at the Second of the meeting is dedicated to old Level food court of the popular South toys: Are they of value?

What are the Shore Plaza (SSP) indoor shopping stories behind them? mall in Braintree, beginning at 9 a.m.

Nostalgia, Lanzilla believes, is and finishing at 11 a.m. or earlier depart of the appeal. pending on presentations. Surprise “Toys evoke memories of gentler, visitors have included former senior quieter times,” he said. “If you could executives of Rhode Island based see the faces looking at and reactHasbro with stunning STAR WARS, GI Joe, and TONKA stories and Toy Story | page 17 e believe that W everyone has something unique

WE WANT TO PUT THE SPOTLIGHT ON YOU! about them, a personal story that should be shared so others can learn, be entertained or inspired. Or perhaps there is a loved one in your family whose story is just so amazing that it deserves to be shared so it will not be forgotten.

Are you an avid volunteer in your community or have an unusual hobby or passion? Perhaps you have just retired from a long career or have successfully launched into a second “act”? Do people ever tell you that your life story is just so interesting and unique that someone should write about you?

Then we’d like the chance to share your story with our readers! Please send a short email to Bonnie Adams at news@communityadvocate.com describing why you would make a great profile. If chosen, we will have a writer contact you and do an interview. We will then share your life story with our readers in an upcoming issue of the Fifty Plus Advocate.

www.fiftyplusadvocate.com + OCTOBER 2020 + fiftyplus advocate Toy Story | from page 16 ing to an old toy…It’s special. You’ll hear, `My cousin who died used to have one’ or `I always wanted one of those.’”

When people talk about a toy having value, he added, it is usually intrinsic and emotional and not about money.

In fact, Lanzilla makes it clear that the BATCC does not buy and sell toys; that’s not what they are about.

“Our organization is about the pleasure or joy of collecting,” he said.

“It’s not a selling bazaar.”

From time to time, people call him to see if he wants small cars.

Lanzilla may give them away for free at the end of meetings or sell them for 10 cents each.

He urged individuals interested in joining to attend a meeting to see if it a good fit.

“We are here as an ally to collectors,” Lanzilla said. “There is no other

Reverse mortgage Mortgage | from page 14 mortgages are: • Access to cash if ever needed • Not having to make a monthly mortgage payment (note-one is always responsible for real estate taxes, insurance, and other loan guidelines) • Paying of mortgages and credit cards • Home repairs • Medical expenses • Supplementing social security

• Paying real estate taxes • Replacing lost income • Having fun What is my first step?

I will be happy to review your personal situation and discuss if you qualify. The goal is to share information with you so that you may make a fully educated decision if a reverse mortgage is right for you. But you must take the first step. Please call or email to receive the facts.

organization like ours anywhere.”

The group ranges in age from 18 to 95 “from all walks of life,” and Lanzilla noted that 45 percent of the toy collector audience is women. Manufacturers are recognizing this fact and are going to make green Army women soldiers and put them on store shelves as “mixed sets,” for example. More action figures of heroines and villains are expected.

While other toy organizations focus on one thing like trains or Lego products, the BATCC community encompasses a myriad of interests.

“What makes us different is that

• 17

we are a safe haven for anyone interested in toy collecting,” Lanzilla added. “And sharing information in a family-like environment makes for a lot of fun.”

To join the club, there is a onetime enrollment fee of $10, along with a current annual dues held to $30, for the last six years so far.

“Collectors prefer to spend their extra money on old and/or new toys as much as possible,” he remarked with a smile.

For more information, visit www. bostontoyclub.com or contact Lanzilla at sjlanzilla@yahoo.com,

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

Alain Valles is 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 M.I.T., an MBA from the Wharton School, and graduated summa cum laude from UMass Amherst. Alain can be reached directly at 781-724-6221 or by email at infoaboutreversemortgages@gmail.com

Mattie is with me when I vote Inklings | from page 15 recent world war; the president of American’s first “women only” bank; a new dean at Brown University; the first woman, an American, admitted to the bar in China; the New York State billiards champion.

Women prominent in Washington society also appeared: the wives of newly-elected President Harding and Vice President Coolidge, and of former president Wilson; the daughter of former President Teddy Roosevelt; ambassadors’ wives.

None of those accomplished women, of course, had ever voted in a presidential election before that year.

The most poignant portraits were of two unknowns. Amy Baker of Providence, at age 94, was the city’s oldest woman registered to vote.

Chloe Judkins of East Providence registered when she was 99; she was the oldest woman voter in Rhode Island. They both gaze directly at the camera, alert, unsmiling, non-nonsense. They seem to be wondering why they should be considered newsworthy for doing what any woman would do, and maybe dismayed that it took so long for them to be allowed to do it.

Mattie died in 1961, just short of

her 100th birthday.

When I step into the voting booth on an election day, I feel Mattie with me. I also feel the spirits of all those American women who lived, died, and made their contributions to society during the first two-thirds of our country’s history as a democracy, and never had the right to vote for the candidates of their choice.

Contact jlindsay@tidewater.net

Answers to Super Crossword (puzzle on page 14)

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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Jimmy Jay shares musical memories on relaunched WMEX-AM 1510 Jimmy Jay | from page 3 Grateful Dead, and Sha Na Na. From the early- to mid-1970s, Jay rocked Gardner’s WGAW-AM, where he replaced country deejay Doc Snow. On Jay’s first night, he played Three Dog Night’s “Try A Little Tenderness.”

“The manager called me and goes, ‘Jimmy, we don’t play that kind of music at WGAW,’” Jay recounted.

“I said, ‘You do now’ – and hung up.”

His subsequent stints were at WJOY-FM in Burlington, Vt., and Boston’s WEZE-AM and WILDAM. While at WILD, he secured a backstage pass in the 1980s for Oldies 103.3 Summer Concert Series at Boston’s City Hall Plaza to meet 1960s teen idol Bobby Vee (“Take Good Care of My Baby”).

“I always thought that if I could meet Bobby Vee, we’d become friends,” he explained.

Close friend Vee introduced Jay to showbiz luminaries, many of whom became guests on his next project.

About 15 years ago, Jay officially launched his one-hour, weekly, internationally-syndicated “Rewind” show,

ing led to Jay deejaying for special occasions in a pink Cadillac parked in the lobby of Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater in Branson, Miss.

On Thanksgiving weekend 2007, Jay broadcast two live “Rewind” shows from Clark’s theater. In addition to Vee, guests included singer-actor Fabian, the Righteous Brothers’ Bill Medley, Arnie “Woo Woo” Ginsburg and Jimmy Jay the Chiffons’ Judy Craig Mann, Paul featuring interviews with classic muRevere (the Raiders), Gary Lewis sical artists along with their hit songs. (the Playboys), Marshall Lytle (Bill Repeat guests on “Rewind” have Haley & His Comets), Chris Montez included Jay’s longtime friends Vee, (“Let’s Dance”) and Brian Hyland Chubby Checker and the Diamonds’ (“Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow lead singer Dave Somerville. Others Polka-Dot Bikini”).’ include musicians who Jay befriendAn opportunity that Jay deed while covering Woodstock. scribes as “a lifelong dream” came true “Even though we’re friends, they when WMEX hired him in 2015. still have new stories to tell when I The station went off the airwaves in interview them,” Jay noted.

June 2017. WMEX was purchased Vee also introduced Jay to pop in March 2018 by Ed Perry, ownculture icon Dick Clark. The meeter of Marshfield Broadcasting and

WATD-FM 95.9.

“For a long time when you went onto WMEX, you’d hear WATD,” Jay said of the simulcast. “There was a method to the madness because they were fine-tuning the sound and quality. Ed Perry is a great engineer and wanted everything to be totally perfect.”

This past May 18, Perry relaunched WMEX, originating its own programming with 1950s to 1980s music and familiar on-air personalities including Jay. WMEX’s new Marshfield studio broadcasts daytime from a Quincy tower.

Among Jay’s first guests since the relaunch were five-time Grammy Award winner B.J. Thomas, the Beach Boys’ Al Jardine, the Association’s Jim Yester, and Gary Puckett of the Union Gap. “I’m doing interviews on Saturday mornings, so it’s pretty much like ‘Rewind,” Jay noted. “There’s such a good feeling about the new WMEX. It’s exciting to bring people back to their youth.”

Find more information about Jimmy Jay and a link to stream WMEX at rewindshow.com.

Longest rechargeable battery life available ReSound ONE™ rechargeable hearing aids feature up to 30 hours of battery life* or up to 25 hours with unlimited streaming from your favorite devices. *Expected battery life depends on active features, the use of wireless accessories, hearing loss, device age and sound environment. © 2020 GN Hearing A/S. All rights reserved. ReSound is a trademark of GN Hearing A/S.

During this event we will: • Meet with you privately, check your ears for wax and discuss your hearing issues like tinnitus • Screen or test your hearing and show you the latest developments and best solutions for your hearing difficulty.

• Then, if you’d like, you can take the programmed hearing device for a “test drive” in your own environment.

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If you want to improve your hearing, please call us for a no-obligation consultation or visit us online at www.audiologyaffiliates.org

ic serv

Subsidized senior housing with a meal program option that makes us different!

Colony Retirement Home III is congregate housing for seniors. Enjoy nutritious “Home Cooked Meals,” served in our attractive dining room with your neighbors and friends.

At Colony we let you choose!

se rvice!

Colony Retirement Homes I are garden style studio apartments, located in a country-like setting. A short walk takes you to shopping centers, banks, restaurants and the bus line. A little bit of the country adjacent to the city.

All apartments at Colony Retirement Homes receive rental assistance through the HUD section 8 program.

Rent is 30% of your adjusted monthly income. Rent includes all utilities except phone and cable TV. Colony Re tiRe m e nt Hom e s iii : Congregate Housing 101 Chadwick Street, Worcester (508) 755-0444

Call Monday thru Friday, 9am to 5 pm for more information.

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Worcester, MA

Not For Profit Corporation

Colony Re tiRe m e nt Hom e s inC. i 485 Grove Street, Worcester (508) 852-5285

www.colonyretirementhomes.com

Newly Remodeled Apartments with a contemporary flair

• Contemporary styled 1 & 2 bedroom apartments • New kitchens with built-in microwaves and granite-like countertops • Small pets welcome • Heat and Hot water included • Bus route / ample parking • Beautiful landscaped grounds with gazebo

Within the building amenities include: • • • • • •

A Theater-like media center Handicap-accessible lounges on every floor Library equipped with two computers and free internet access Physical fitness center Game room with billiard table Community room with bingo board and large screen TV

Green Hill Towers

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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Enjoy life to the fullest The Peak Orthopedics team is here to help you enjoy your life to the fullest. Our experienced providers offer minimally invasive anterior hip and same-day knee replacement procedures.

Don’t suffer with knee pain or a hip that keeps you from doing what you love. Schedule an appointment today. Visit www.heywood.org or call 978-632-0800.

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7/13/2020 2:32:42 PM