July 2020 Fifty Plus Advocate Central Edition

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FREE | Published monthly

Central Edition | Vol. 46 | No. 7 | July 2020

UMass Boston performing arts professor gives students top priority

page

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Rob Albright in front of an ultralight

FLYING HIGH

Ultralight pioneer finds his muse at Crow Island Airpark in Stow Story on page 11

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Con artists don’t care how hard you worked.

They steal billions from Americans like you every year. We’re fighting back with the AARP Fraud Watch Network. It provides resources to help you spot and avoid identity theft and fraud so you can protect yourself and your family. Sign up to get watchdog alerts and stay up to date on con artists’ latest tricks. It’s free of charge for everyone – members, non-members and people of all ages. Because for over fifty years AARP has been committed to safeguarding Americans’ financial futures.

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Watchdog Alerts Tips & Resources Free for Everyone

Don’t toss out your stimulus payment with the junk mail

By Mike Festa, State Director AARP Massachusetts

I

f you didn’t get a paper check, you may get a plastic debit card from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as it continues to dole out stimulus payments.

The IRS has sent 4 million payments by prepaid debit cards, or Mike Festa Economic Impact Payment (EIP) cards, as the Treasury Department calls them. The cards are going out to certain eligible taxpayers who filed tax returns but for whom the IRS doesn’t have bank account information. The stimulus payment is loaded on the debit card.

formation as your PIN. For cards with more than one name, only the primary cardholder (listed first on the card) may activate the card. There is no charge to activate the card.

You can create a user name and password for your card online, at the Money Network site. Be sure to have your card handy when you log in. You can see your balance and transaction history online any time at www.

EIPCard.com.

How to use your EIP card: You can generally use your card without a fee to make purchases anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted — in stores, online or over the phone.

Although most transactions don’t charge a fee, a few do. For example, you’ll pay 25 cents for each balance inquiry at an ATM, and $2

Your Economic Impact Payment (EIP) card will arrive in a plain envelope from “Money Network Cardholder Services.” Do not throw it away thinking it’s junk mail or a scam.

People are rightly suspicious of unsolicited cards through the mail, and the Economic Impact Payment (EIP) cards arrive in plain envelopes with the return address “Money Network Cardholder Services” from MetaBank in Omaha, Neb. That does not sound like a government payment to most people. AARP has heard from members that some people suspect the cards are a fraud or an unsolicited credit card offer, and have shredded them or thrown them away.

Your EIP card will arrive in a plain envelope from “Money Network Cardholder Services.” Do not throw it away thinking it’s junk mail or a scam. The Visa name will appear on the front of the EIP card; the back of the card has the name of the issuing bank, MetaBank, N.A. Note that you can’t request you receive your stimulus payment by debit card — it either arrives that way or it doesn’t.

How to activate your EIP card: Call 800-240-8100 (TTY: 800241-9100). You’ll need to provide your name, address and Social Security number. You will also be asked to create a four-digit personal identification number (PIN) required for ATM transactions and automated assistance and to hear your balance.

For security, do not use personal in-

for each out-of-network withdrawal after your first one. You’ll also pay $7.50 for a lost or stolen card, and $17 if you want it shipped to you by priority mail.

To avoid losing your stimulus payment: Don’t give your personal identification number (PIN), EIP debit card number or Social Security number to anyone who calls or texts you.

Check your mail carefully to avoid tossing your EIP card out with your junk mail.

If you’ve destroyed or thrown out your EIP card, don’t worry. Call the toll-free customer service line at 800240-8100 (TTY: 800-241-9100) to ask for a replacement. You can find additional information at the official EIP website.

AARP’s Fraud Watch Network can help you spot and avoid scams.

Sign up for free “watchdog alerts,” review our scam-tracking map or call our toll-free fraud help line at 877908-3360 if you or a loved one suspect you’ve been a victim.

For more articles visit www.fiftyplusadvocate.com.

Mike Festa is the state director for AARP Massachusetts. Archives of articles from previous issues can be read at www.fiftyplusadvocate.com.

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Grafton’s ‘Banjo Joe’ is still singing, strumming after all these years

By Ed Karvoski Jr. Culture Editor GRAFTON – Retired computer software professional Joe Kuras of Grafton returned his attention in recent years to a pastime of his youth: making music. Since 2018, he has performed monthly at Christopher Heights, an assisted living community in Marlborough; and St Camillus Health Center, a skilled nursing facility in Whitinsville, a village within Northbridge.

Kuras developed a rapport with the facilities’ residents and patients.

His most recent show at each facility was in February before the COVID-19 pandemic prompted visitor restrictions and a 10-person limit on gatherings “I miss these people,” Kuras said of his usual monthly audiences. “I’ve gotten to know some of them on a first name basis. A lot of them have become my friends.”

His experience entertaining in healthcare settings began when a 9-year-old Kuras sang at a Christmas party for patients at the nowclosed Grafton State Hospital. As a preteen, he bought his first guitar and instruction manual for $15 at Worcester’s Kmart.

“I play mostly by ear,” he explained. “If I wanted to read sheet music, it would be like a second-grader trying to read the newspaper.”

After graduating from Grafton High School in 1971, he earned a bachelor’s degree in management information systems from Nichols College in Dudley in 1975.

While in college, he performed folk music with a trio called JumpLeg Jubilee at venues in Cambridge, Holden, Worcester and Biddeford, Maine. They each played acoustic guitar initially, and ultimately added other instruments. Kuras added the mandolin and harmonica.

“Figuring out who we were musically was a great learning experience,” he recalled. “It’s intimidating to go onstage for the first time by yourself. None of us was alone; we relied on each other.”

Kuras was able to refocus on his musical interests after retiring from work and ending a 30-year stint volunteering for Grafton’s youth baseball teams, In 2013, he became a self-taught banjo player.

Several decades after learning to play guitar with an instruction manual, he was pleased to find YouTube videos of banjo lessons. Additionally, he discovered websites providing lyrics, chords and the ability to

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February that he chose to play at his March performances. Then the pandemic restrictions took effect. He decided to livestream his show online and made it available to the facilities.

“When the time comes, I assume I’ll go back and play in-person again,” he said. “It will be nice to go back and pick up where I left off.”

Joe Kuras’ “Reflections of a Common Man” CD cover

Joe Kuras performing at the Grafton Country Store

transpose to other keys at the touch of a button.

“The banjo intrigued me because it’s a laidback instrument,” noted Kuras, now nicknamed Banjo Joe. “You just pluck and strum – and it’s a good way to relax.”

His CD titled “Reflections of a Common Man” was released in 2017.

With his current collection of four banjos and a repertoire of about 200 songs, he felt it was time to perform in public more regularly. A favorite venue where he has performed is the Grafton Country Store with its adjoining Cones on the Common. He has also entertained at the annual Grafton Celebrates the Holidays.

In April 2018, Kuras began monthly shows at Marlborough’s Christopher Heights, where his mother-in-law resided. In May 2018, he started his monthly stint at Whitinsville’s St Camillus Health Center, where a cousin works. Although his mother-in-law passed away in March 2019, he maintained his commitment to making musical visits to the residents and patients.

“I pick out songs that I think they will enjoy – and they do,” he said. “It seems like no matter what I play, they enjoy it. I have fun playing for them and they appreciate it, so I kept going back.”

Kuras was rehearsing songs in

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Former graphic designer creates new career as jewelry designer

By Brett Peruzzi Contributing Writer SWAMPSCOTT - Nancy Marland had a 30-year career as a self-employed graphic designer, but at age 55 she decided that for the next phase of her life she was ready for something different.

“I wanted to move away from the computer and work with my hands,” said the 60-year-old Swampscott resident. “Knowing change was inevitable I was exploring possible avenues to take my creativity. I had worked with ceramics for a number of years, eventually leading to working with silver metal clay, which led to designing jewelry.”

Four and a half years later, Nancy Marland Jewelry is an established and profitable business that she’s looking forward to continuing to work at and build for many years to come.

“The career I was leaving had seen better days,” she recalled. “Changes in technology during the last decade have placed graphic design capabilities into the hands of virtually everyone, making it increasingly hard for me to make a living. Plus, I just desperately needed a change.”

Today, instead of staring at page layouts on a computer monitor all day, she is shaping sterling silver and polymer clay into unique forms of jewelry she calls “wearable art”.

“Jewelry is so personal,” said Marland. “It’s about how people want to adorn and express themselves. Designing jewelry uses my whole brain, between designing the art element and engineering it so that it falls correctly and is comfortable to wear.”

Marland grew up in Old Saybrook, Conn., on Long Island Sound, where her family frequently sailed, and has lived in the seaside town of Swampscott on the North Shore for 25 years. So it’s not surprising that the ocean shows up as a theme in her jewelry. She has an entire collection called Water.

“I find inspiration from many sources in nature, but particularly water

Nancy Marland

— to explore, abstract, and distill the beauty inherent in its variety of organic, rhythmic shapes and forms,” she explained. “The ocean is calming, contemplative, and connecting. It is the foundation of life, connecting us to ourselves, to each other, and to our environment.”

Through a combination of craft shows throughout New England and as far south as Florida, wholesale accounts with craft stores, and online sales through her website, Marland distributes and sells her jewelry in a variety of ways.

“It takes a good balance of all three to really be sustainable,” she noted.

And it’s not just her many satisfied customers who admire her work; she

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has also won awards for her jewelry at arts festivals in both Connecticut and Florida.

But her encore career has its challenges as well.

“It’s not enough to Nancy Marland in her studio be an artist,” she emphasized. “I had to learn to be an entrepreneur as well. Learning the ropes took time and quilting, and landscape painting. Her patience but the business foundation has creative spirit finds an outlet in music been built and I can further deepen and as well. explore my love of the art and design.”

“I love to sing,” she said. “I spent And when a good portion of your 20 years singing mezzo soprano in a business is mobile as opposed to being six-member jazz a cappella ensemble in a fixed location, it means that Marcalled The Wicked Pitches. Today I sing land spends a good deal of time behind in a pop band called The Navigators.” the wheel, and putting together her What advice does she have for peobooth at her various destinations. ple who want to change careers after age “As much as I love meeting cus50? tomers and getting to see how things “Push aside self-doubt and amplify actually look on a variety of people, my your confidence,” she affirmed. “If you least favorite part of the job is schlephave a passion for something, do it. As ping, setting up and breaking down older people, we have gained a lot of tents and displays at craft shows,” she knowledge and experience though the admitted. “Though once I’m there and years and I found it was time to put all set up, I’m happy.” that to good use.”

Marland also stressed that her past She added in conclusion, “Jewelry education, career, and other interests is such a crowded field, it was especialhave all contributed to her ability to ly important for me to push aside my transition into her new profession. She doubts and create jewelry that’s unique cited in particular her degree in fine and to boost my confidence. And be arts as a painting and sculpture major, prepared to work hard! Though if you her decades as a professional graphic love what you’re doing, it doesn’t feel like designer, and a lifetime of exploring work.” a variety of visual arts disciplines, inFor more information visit www. cluding fine woodworking, ceramics, nancymarland.com.

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Putts & More: A for-profit business with a nonprofit feel Welcoming people of all abilities

By Deborah Burke Henderson Contributing Writer

PHOTO/COURTESY OF JIM GIAMMARINARO

HOLLISTON - The story of Putts & More Family Fun Center, a beautifully designed 18-hole mini-golf course on the Holliston/Ashland town line, begins with a special couple.

For both Jim and Marion Giammarinaro, this was a second marriage and although Marion had children, they wanted a family together. Choosing adoption, they found infants were in high demand in the States, so they turned to an adoption agency with overseas connections. They finally identified their son-to-be, Nick, a twoyear-old in a Russian orphanage in Kurgan.

Although Nick was born prematurely, he could now easily run laps around the other children in care. Beyond the trauma and stress surrounding his birth, Nick has some learning disabilities and severe anxiety.

“At first, because of his attachment disorder – a lack of trust caused by an environment without love and con-

marinaros needed more flexibility from their jobs. They wanted to create an environment that would feel safe and welcoming and provide Nick and others with opportunities for self-discovery, growth and meaningful employment.

Marion retired from her career in nursing and Jim, once in finance and then co-owner of a small printing business in Ashland, sold his company and, together in 2014, purchased a nearby mini-golf course which had lain dormant for several years.

“All these guys and gals [with disabilities] can do something. It is just a matter of realizing what skills they have and providing appropriate employment opportunities,” Jim said, adding, “at Putts and More, we welcome people of all abilities. It’s a fun place to work, and with the help of our volunteer job coaches, we can also offer work in landscaping, maintenance, stocking the snack bar and engaging with customers.”

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Call today to schedule an appointment. nectedness – Nick would rock himself when he needed comfort, soothing or sleep,” Marion stated, “but over the years, he grew to know how much we

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love him. His disabling anxiety, although somewhat lessened, still keeps him moving around a lot though.”

As Nick grew older, the Giam-

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Putts & More: A for-profit business with a nonprofit feel Welcoming people of all abilities Putts & More | from page 5

it business with a nonprofit feel.

With the Massachusetts Department of Development Services reporting an 80 percent unemployment rate for people with special needs, the Giammarinaros are committed to serving a purpose by keeping people employed and active. Putts & More offers delightful recreation for people of all ages and abilities and part-time employment for people with disabilities.

“You want your child to be with people who want to be with them. It’s tricky,” Jim added. “People with disabilities can be fragile. We’re like all of the families we’ve experienced through Nick’s involvement with Special Olympics, we want to find or create places where these kids are welcome.”

While Jim serves as the full-time president of the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce, Marion manages dayto-day operations for Putts & More at 750 Concord St., Rte. 126, Holliston.

Now 26, Nick handles much of the landscaping services at the course and

All these guys and gals (with disabilities) can do something. It is just a matter of realizing what skills they have and providing appropriate employment opportunities, at Putts and More, we welcome people of all abilities.

– Jim Giammarinaro

on Thursdays, works part-time at a gas station in Berlin where he is beloved by many, including Chief of Police Tom Galvin.

Besides the 18-hole course, Putts & More offers a 30- by 80-foot jumping pillow; lawn sports such as volleyball, badminton and bean bag toss; picnic tables; lounge areas and a popular snack bar with hot dogs, slush puppies, sodas, chips and ice cream. Jim and Marion are currently preparing for the inclusion of a 40- by 40-foot splash pad, pending permission from the town of Holliston’s zoning board.

Charities and companies use Putts & More as a fundraising endeavor with hole sponsors and raffles.

Following current health and safety protocols, customers are expected to wear face masks at the counter and maintain a physical distance of six feet from one another throughout the grounds.

“There’s something for everyone at Putts & More depending on their capability,” Jim added.

During the initial quarantine timeframe while businesses were closed, Marion realized just how much

her workers normally did around the course.

“We’re delighted to be open again,” Marion said. “I’ve missed the people, parents and other job coaches and the contributions everyone made.

Our employees are so enthusiastic about being at work again, and they do so much around here. It’s an amazing and wonderful thing to watch.”

Recognizing that individuals born on the autism spectrum have increased four-fold over the past many years, Jim and Marion hope there will be many others committed to hiring people with disabilities and to creating appropriate, inclusive workplaces for all.

The Putts & More Family Fun Center is open Monday through Friday from 12 p.m. until 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Creating family or company leagues and playing tournaments is encouraged. To find out more about playing golf or celebrating a special occasion at the course, visit puttsandmore.com or call the golf shack at 508561-2902.

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Margaret Gadon: Trailblazer in her field

I have always felt a great deal of empathy for people whose lives are uprooted by wars, disease, famine or terrorism.

– Margaret Gadon

Margaret Gadon

By Peg Lopata Contributing Writer CAMBRIDGE - Margaret Gadon, an internist, age 67, could fool anyone into thinking she’s half that age with her vibrancy and vigor. It’s easy to imagine she’s always been this way — always on the go, highly intelligent; an inquisitive child. She was curious about science even when very young. This interest was re-awakened when she developed a

bad eye infection during her teen years.

“I had to go to multiple specialists to have the infection diagnosed and treated,” said Gadon. “It rekindled my earlier interest in science and the study of the human body.”

But it wasn’t just science that drew her to medicine, she wanted financial independence. In addition, she said, “I’m a natural helper and fixer.”

Currently, she’s a general internist for Beth Israel Lahey Health, in Arlington.

Gadon most enjoys her work because she likes to solve problems.

“I like finding resources for patients and helping them to feel better, she said.

She was undaunted by the fact that there were few women in medical school from 1976 to 1980. Luckily, during her years there Gadon wasn’t the super social type, so the lack of fellow women classmates didn’t bother her.

“I was oblivious to being in a class

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who’ve had no advantages.

“I’m inspired by people who manage to make the best of their circumstances,” she said.

Gadon is not only a full-time doctor. She volunteers as part of a climate action group and has been the leader of a small community group to support one another during the COVID-19 crisis. She hopes to tutor students in the fall of 2020. But all in all, she feels her greatest achievement in life so far has been raising her children to be responsible human beings.

But all in all, she feels her greatest achievement in life so far has been raising her two sons, Nick, 33 and Eliot, 37 to be responsible human beings. She’s aiming to retire from medicine in 2021.

Some causes she finds especially important are helping refugees.

“I have always felt a great deal of empathy for people whose lives are uprooted by wars, disease, famine or terrorism,” said Gadon.

She also supports organizations that help poor children and address climate change. Once retired, she’ll continue to build strong friendships, hopes to travel extensively and do tutoring.

For her patients, she’ll surely be missed when she takes that well-earned time for herself. Even trailblazers deserve a break of being pioneers.

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with fifteen percent of women,” she said.

“My friends were all male.”

Now a more sociable woman, during the pandemic she’s been missing seeing her patients face-to-face as well as her colleagues. Other changes haven’t fazed her, such as being on-call in a hospital, something she hadn’t done for several years. She felt her medical training had well-prepared her for the pandemic, nor was she concerned about catching the virus.

“I assumed I would get it at some point,” she said.

Strong woman that Gadon is herself, not surprising she finds other strong women, such as Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany, inspiring.

“Merkel has believed in herself and has not been intimidated by powerful men. She is willing to go against the grain for what she believes is right,” said Gadon.

She also admires those people

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Descended from not just one – from nine Mayflower passengers

By Jane Keller Gordon Assistant Editor REGION - Blanca Bruso hit a dead end when researching her own Puerto Rican roots using Ancestry.com. But she hit pay dirt when she turned her attention to her husband Matthew’s lineage. Fully documenting 14 generations, Blanca was able to prove that Matthew is a descendent of Richard Warren, a passenger on the Mayflower.

There is more — she discovered that he is also a descendant of eight other Mayflower passengers, including Myles Standish, and two Salem women who were accused of being witches.

The Mayflower was an English ship that transported the first English Puritans (the Pilgrims) in 1620, from Plymouth, England to what is now Plymouth, Mass. in 1620. There were 102 passengers, and an estimated 30 crew members. Only about half of them survived the brutal New England winter and an outbreak of scurvy, pneumonia, and tuberculosis.

Responding to the news that Matthew was a descendant of Mayflower passengers, one of the couple’s four daughters said, “Dad’s always been an expert in American history,

Certificate noting that Matthew Bruso is a descendant of Richard Warren, a passenger on the Mayflower .

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so it is rather perfect that his heritage goes back to the very beginning of this country.”

According to Blanca, her journey of discovery began late at night, on November 11, 2014. While looking at Matthew’s mother’s family tree on Ancestry.com, she noticed a relative who claimed to be linked to the Mayflower. Blanca woke up Matthew and said, “Did you know that there is a great possibility that you are a Mayflower Pilgrim descendent?” He responded, “No.” Blanca added, “And so, began many late nights of research.”

Five days later, Blanca and Matthew sent a Preliminary Review Form to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants (GSMD). About a month went by, and then a research

assistant at the GSDM responded.

He suggested a different lineage to Richard Warren and directed them to a series of books called, “Mayflower Families Through Five Generations.

The research assistant told the couple, “The fact that we have no previously approved lineage papers that follow your line any further means that you will need to prove everything beyond what is covered by the Mayflower Families books through the present day.”

The next month, Matthew received a letter and membership application from the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants.

“Neither my husband nor I recall anyone ever requesting connection to the passenger Richard Warren, but

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and finding out that they no longer exists, THEN being referred to another town to check for records.

In the end, it turned out to be a wild goose chase worth the effort.”

Blanca was able to use the Mayflower Families Silver Books to document from Richard Warren, generations one to seven and part of eight and nine. Maine records from various towns provided important documents for generations eight, 10, 11 and 12.

Through NEHGS, she found death records for generation nine. Matthew’s parents are generation 13. For their own generation, 14,Concepts they had Branding their birth certificates, Family Dental Group Blanca and Matthew Bruso and ordered a copy of their marriage certificate.

On June 13, 2016, this information helped me a great Matthew wasConcept accepted as a2member of | Revised deal… to me this meant that I was on the Mayflower Society.

Two months Main Logo: the right track,” she said. later, he was certified as a descendent The task was daunting – for every of Richard Warren. generation going back to the MayThe Mayflower Families Silver 800-508-2265 flower, Blanca needed to find birth, Books also link Matthew to Maymarriage and death certificates. flower passengers John Alden, WilDigging deeper, she used her liam Mullins, Henry Samson, and membership at the New England HisMyles Standish. Branches from Richtoric Genealogical Society (NEHGS) ard Warren show that Matthew is related to Mayflower passengersLogo John Billington, Peter with Matthew Bruso Brown,Tagline: Francis Cooke, and Generations tracing back George Soule.

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Ultralight pioneer finds his muse at Crow Island Airpark in Stow

Rob Albright in front of an ultralight

By Jane Keller Gordon Assistant Editor STOW - The course of Rob Albright’s life changed when he met Rick Kemp, his ex-girlfriend’s husband. During the summer of 1974, the Colorado-based Kemps arrived at Albright’s log cabin in Stow, having driven their Volvo station wagon cross country with was a long tube on its roof. Albright remembers saying, “’What’s that?’ Rick said, ‘It’s a hang-glider. You open it up, run, jump off a hill, and fly to the bottom.’

I was in.”

Forty-five years later, Albright, who is now almost 80, and his wife Annette, own the Crow Island Airpark in Stow. He is a well-known pi-

• 11

oneer of ultralights.

Albright shared with Fifty Plus, “The day after I met Rick, we took the hang-glider to Nashoba Ski Area.

Once I flew off that mountain, I said to myself, ‘Holy mackerel, I have to have one of these.’”

That same year, Albright attended “Get High,” a hang-gliding school in Aspen, Colo. He was a quick study and his athleticism helped — at the time Albright was a gym teacher and coach at Winchester High School.

“The first time I soloed was off Independence Pass, which is 14,000 feet high. That was the day when Richard Nixon resigned,” said Albright.

He was hooked. When Albright returned to Massachusetts, he opened

“Get High East” at Nashoba and became a hang-glider dealer. In the summer, he would glide from the mountains and when the winds blew east, from the dunes on Cape Cod. He ended his ten-year gig at Winchester High.

Technology was about to change.

“It was like a cell phone, every month or two there was some improvement… When someone mounted a motor on a hang glider, that was the beginning of ultralights,” explained Albright.

He was quick to buy an Icarus, a highwinged ultralight.

“In September 1976, I took off in the Icarus from a

sheep farm in Stow in one of the very first flights of an ultralight. A month later, I took off from there again, got up under a cloud, turned off the motor, and soared for a couple of hours — at 11,000 feet — above Maynard. I was in a big thermal that was filled with bumble bees and oak leaves,” he recalled.

Next up was an ultralight called an Easy Riser, and then a Vector.

Back then, Albright was teaching people how to fly ultralights at Stow’s Minute Man Airport.

“It was really tough. How do you teach someone when there is only one seat? We didn’t have radios. We used hand signals,” he said.

The solution came in 1982 with the advent of the Quicksilver, a two-seater ultralight. But there was a problem.

“At Minute Man, airplanes were going 100 mph and we were buzzing around at 35 mph. That was a bad mix,” said Albright.

That’s when he found Crow Island, tucked into a bend of the AssaUltrlight | 17

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Dental health continues to be a priority with age

Dr. Nikhil Lavana and Dr. Archana Karkhanis-Lavana

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Karkhanis-Lavana said the body experiences hormonal and physical changes as people age, and it is important for regular dental check-ups.

“Teeth are as important as any part of your body,” she said. “Good teeth is an indicator of good overall health.”

Since oral and physical health are so related, Karkhanis-Lavana makes it a priority to coordinate the care with a patient’s other health care providers when necessary.

“We have been treating this age group very strongly since the start of the practice,” she said. “We look at the patient’s overall health condition.

Depending on any underlying conditions, we will connect with other health specialists.”

It is common that older people require various medications as they may face increased health issues, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, stomach issues and other chronic diseases. Side effects of medications, like decreased saliva production, can impact dental health.

Tissue structures can change as hormone levels change, so a regular

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oral cancer check is essential.

“As your physical body changes, there are changes happening in your mouth too,” said Karkhanis-Lavana.

The correlation between periodontal disease and cardiac disease also make it important for regular checkups in addition to brushing twice a day, flossing and using a mouth rinse.

“Gum disease is an inflammation caused by bacteria in the mouth and that bacteria can enter the blood stream leading to the heart causing cardiac issues,” she said.

Another element to consider for some people over 75 years old is that may suffer from forgetfulness, including forgetting to brush their teeth.

If that is the case, Karkhanis-Lavana recommends those patients be seen every three months.

Older patients have the potential of losing a tooth. Without the proper bite, a patient might not be able to eat foods that are needed for proper nutrition.

Filling replacements, crowns and implants can all help to restore the bite.

Family Dental Group of Northborough accepts many insurances including MassHealth, Delta Dental, Blue Cross, Fallon Navicare, United Healthcare, Cigna and Guardian. It offers handicap parking and easy access to the office. There are additional offices in Paxton and Gardner.

Additional information including services and hours can be found at www.lavanafamilydental.com. Patients can expect a timely response to every call after hours and emergency calls. Appointments can be requested online or by calling 508-466-7211.

Positive Images in a Post COVID World

www.fiftyplusadvocate.com + JULY 2020 + fiftyplus advocate

• 13

Age does not bring wisdom. Its only advantage, so far as I have been able to see, is that it spans change. A young person sees the world as a still picture, immutable. An old person has had his nose rubbed in changes and more changes and still more changes so many times that he knows it is a moving picture, forever changing. He may not like it — probably doesn’t; I don’t — but he knows it’s so, and knowing it is the first step in coping with it.

– Novelist Robert A. Heinlein

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

2

020 is now half over. We have battled coronavirus and many of our oldest and dearest have lost the battle. We are looking at a “new normal” which is just a convenient way of telling our old and frail that they are on their own — responsible for isolating or facing death while the rest of the world gets back to living.

This “new normal” has several significant side effects. If our most vulnerable members are afraid to come out of the house, they risk becoming invisible.

They may be marginalized because they are easier to forget. They may be perceived as living in fear. If they cannot work, they may become increasingly dependent on social security and other programs. They may gravitate more toward elder housing and other specialized living situations to maintain their social life, further pulling them away from society’s view.

Youth may also come to fear the aged – “Don’t get too close to Grandma!” may become something more nefarious and ingrained. Youth may certainly embrace their responsibility of keeping away and grow to see no role for themselves in the lives and care of their older family members.

Older people may not be able to help take care of grandchildren so their parents can work. This will strain the daycare budgets of those who rely on family help and further push the elderly out of the sight of the young.

Workplaces will also react. Unemployment is at a record high.

When choosing between an older worker and a younger worker, employers may take COVID-19 risk

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into consideration. Such a choice may cause older adults to leave the workforce before they intended to.

The opportunity for older workers to contribute meaningfully may be few and far between.

As our elders will be “out of sight, out of mind” our society will continue to think only of people who are older as in nursing homes, completely dependent.

How do we combat this? Of course, the first preference is a vaccine. But there are other things we can, and must do to combat this changing image.

1. Employers must seek to keep their workforces healthy by reducing risk. As Gov. Baker has laid out plans to reopen the economy, the burden is on employers to protect workers regardless their vulnerability to COVID-19.

2. Employers in the aging services need to go above and beyond to embrace the needs of aging members of society by employing more when possible. If they are safer in these smaller environments, let’s also make a point to keep them economically safer too.

3. Older workers must embrace change, our elders should figure out Zoom and other technologies, and determine for themselves how they can contribute in a remote world.

4. Youth must make a point to engage with grandparents and older neighbors by whatever means possible, socially distanced visiting, Facetime, and online game play or other interactions.

5. Elder publications, such as The Fifty Plus, must make sure that elders are portrayed in a variety of settings, perhaps even over emphasizing healthy and productive aging until elders can emerge, once again, and join society.

Without exaggeration, this period after COVID’s surge is going to redefine aging and how society views the elderly. We must get ahead of this issue to preserve a positive image of aging.

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. For more articles visit www.fiftyplusadvocate.com.

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money matters

Reverse mortgages: ‘Lean on Me’

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

M

any of us are currently facing very tough economic times and uncertainty. And if you are fortunate to be in a good place then the odds are extremely high that you have a family member or friend not as well off.

Even worse, they may be giving the appearances of everything is ok while privately suffering.

I was reflecting on my mission to educate older homeowners about different housing options, including reverse mortgages, and the song written and recorded by Bill Withers called

Reverse Mortgage

“Lean on Me” came to mind. Several of the verses ring so true when it comes to home financing challenges and not seeking help including: “Sometimes in our lives we all have pain” The financial pain of not being able to pay the mortgage, real estate taxes, credit cards, medical expenses, or home repairs are just a few examples of trying to remain financially independent at home. Or you might have a friend struggling to make ends meet who has lost their smile.

“Please swallow your pride if I have things you need to borrow” Reverse mortgages conjure up many emotions. Mostly negative.

This is due to a lack of education of how the program works. The stigma that it is only to be used for a last resort is not true. My experience helping thousands of older homeowners is that many unfortunately view financial hardship as a reflection of their personal worth. How untrue!

Wouldn’t we all advise our children and friends that it is a sign of strength to raise your hand to seek assistance and education?

“Lean on me, when you’re not strong and I’ll be your friend” As a Managing Director of the self-funded nonprofit Helping Hands Community Partners mortgage company, our mission is to educate people about housing options - including reverse mortgages. We are the only licensed nonprofit in Massachusetts that focuses on sharing reliable information on the pros and cons about reverse mortgages and, when appropriate, we are approved to arrange them for eligible homeowners.

Our belief is not everyone should get a reverse mortgage, but everyone should have a better understanding of the facts and myths. Once informed, I am repeatedly asked by my clients – “Why doesn’t the government tell everyone about this?” Likely they don’t have the resources but I’m trying to get the word out the best I can one person at a time. I have had the immense pleasure over the past decades helping so many homeowners who have become my friends. What a joy to resolve their financial pain and see their smiles return.

“Call me” The end of the song “Lean on Me” repeats “Call me” 14 times. I’ve written well over 60 articles encourag-

ing people to get free factual information, to learn about the pros and cons of reverse mortgages, to see if a reverse mortgage will strengthen one’s retirement plans or improve one’s quality of life but in the end you must take the first step to be better informed.

“If you just call me”… you will know quickly if we’ll be friends.

Get the facts: Obtain your free “How to Use Your Home to Stay at Home” 36-page book Please give me a call at 781-7246221 or email av@hhcp.org to receive your free copy of “Use Your Home to Stay at Home,” the official reverse mortgage consumer booklet approved by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development and published by the National Council on Aging. This is a great place to get basic information.

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 the M.I.T. Center for Real Estate, 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 av@hhcp.org. More articles can be found at www.fiftyplusadvocate.com.

SUPER CROSSWORD PUZZLE

“VOWEL LANGUAGE” (answers on page 17)

www.fiftyplusadvocate.com + JULY 2020 + fiftyplus advocate

viewpoint

• 15

Hearing the music

By Janice Lindsay

O

ne summer night when I was around 10, I lay alone on the grass near my grandmother’s secluded house, gazing at the stars.

Except for an occasional soft undercurrent of adult conversation from inside, all was silent.

As my eyes filled with the vastness and faroff brilliance of the universe, I heard, for just a few seconds, a sweet harmony. It didn’t seem to come through my ears, but from somewhere deep inside me. I thought, “the music of the spheres,” a phrase I knew from a hymn we sang in church.

I didn’t know, then, that “music of the spheres” refers to a medieval concept of the planets’ movements

Inklings

in relation to mathematical formulas of harmony. But I believed I had heard it, and felt privileged to do so.

Skip forward a few decades to a visit to Fruitlands Museums in Harvard. The museums include the restored farmhouse where author Louisa May Alcott lived the summer she was 10. In a portion of her diary, she wrote, “After breakfast I washed dishes, and ran on the hill till nine and had some thoughts...”

Imagine. One little girl hears the music of the spheres. Another little girl has thoughts. The only requirements are outer silence and inner openness to the world around them.

Now, skip to another year, another summer afternoon. As I walked in an upscale suburban neighborhood.

I approached a house where a young man sat on the front steps holding a little girl of about three on his lap. I heard his voice and thought, “How wonderful of this young father to be talking with his little girl.” But, alas, no. As I drew near, I could hear

that he was talking on his cell phone, some business conversation about shipments and meetings. The little girl sat patiently, waiting. I don’t know what happened after I walked by, but the conversation continued for all the time I could hear.

For me, that young man represented a disturbing irony of contemporary life. As we acquire more and more ways to receive and share information, we become more and more isolated — isolated from our surroundings, from other people, and even from our own selves.

It’s a cliché to observe that if you see a group of teenagers, they’re not interacting with each other; each is interacting with a cell phone. It can be true of adults also.

I can easily allow my beloved iPhone to isolate me from myself.

I’m tempted to check my emails frequently, even though almost no message requires an immediate response and I don’t even need many of them.

These days, with so much go-

ing on in the world, I can become obsessive about checking my news apps, even though there’s nothing I can do right now about anything I read. Many news items don’t inform or enrich me in any way. And I know in my heart that if I read a newspaper and watch the evening news, maybe listen to the radio once a day, I will probably learn all I need to know. But the iPhone tempts.

Then, we have music apps, radio apps, game apps, nature apps, movie apps, cooking apps — apps or podcasts about any imaginable subject.

If we choose, we can beam a constant stream of other people’s thoughts through ear buds directly into our brains, all day every day.

So when do we have the opportunity to observe the world for ourselves? Where do we find the silence to hear our own thoughts?

How do we hear the music of the spheres?

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By Ed Karvoski Jr. Culture Editor BOSTON – Whether serving as chair of UMass Boston’s performing arts department or freelancing as a practicing costume designer, Rafael Jaen gives top priority to training his students. He also appreciates interacting with them as an associate professor of theater.

“Luckily, as department chairs, we still get to teach,” he explained. “I would never want to lose touch with the students in the classroom. They’re the real stakeholders of this venture.”

Soon after graduating from New York University with a BFA in technical design in 1985, Jaen relocated to Boston in pursuit of work. He designed bridal gowns before freelancing as a costume and technical designer at regional theaters.

Hired by Emerson College in 1990, Jaen began working a 23-year stint in various capacities including resident costume designer, costume department supervisor and design-tech teacher.

“At first, I thought I would be a freelancer forever,” he acknowledged.

“But then I realized that I love teaching.”

While working at Emerson, he concurrently studied there and earned a master’s degree in theater education in 2002. He based his decision to study at Emerson on the faculty’s inclusive teaching approach.

“They were talking about diversity in the classroom, which was a new

term for me and it resonated,” shared Jaen, a native of Venezuela. “I wanted to study with people who have the pulse of the community. Emerson really prepared me for the role I have now at UMass Boston.”

Another lesson that Emerson faculty taught him was the importance to practice what he teaches.

“The Emerson faculty were all theater practitioners,” he recalled. “It was the beginning of my understanding that it’s not only about the teaching approach in class, but also the active participation in the community’s small theaters. I need to be a practitioner of my art in order to be a better teacher.”

Among regional theaters where he has worked are Beau Jest Moving Theatre, Charlestown Working Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company and Lyric Stage Company of Boston.

Film and television credits include Disney’s “The Game Plan,” and two episodes of the PBS-TV series “God in America.”

Jaen started working at UMass Boston in 2013 as the performing arts department’s resident costume designer and assistant professor of costume design. Throughout a four-year period, he accepted additional responsibilities and ultimately became the performing arts department chair in 2018.

While working toward his current position, he received 2013’s Kennedy Center Golden Medallion for Excellence in Theatre Education, 2016’s Lifetime Achievement in the Arts by Salem University’s Center for Creative and Performing Arts, and

www.fiftyplusadvocate.com + JULY 2020 + fiftyplus advocate how they get their foot in the door.”

Earlier this year, he was selected as the featured faculty designer at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (Region One), held at Cape Cod venues. According to its website, “For over 50 years, the organization has served as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theater in the United States.”

“I feel strong when I find myself in a place like UMass where there’s so many possibilities working with people in Boston,” Jaen noted. “What a great opportunity to chair a department where you can educate the Rafael Jaen at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (Region One), held Jan. 29 to Feb. 1 at Cape Cod venues

2017’s Manning Prize for Excellence in Teaching from UMass.

“I need to keep making my art,” Jaen noted. “It could be via designing or writing a book.”

He has published four books: “Developing and Maintaining a Design-Tech Portfolio,” 2006; “Showcase,” 2012; “Digital Costume Design and Collaboration,” 2017; and “Theatre Artisans and Their Craft” co-ed-

ited with Holly Durbin and Christin Essin, 2019.

Jaen designed costumes for Boston Midsummer Opera’s “La Cenerentola” presented in July 2019 at Watertown’s Mosesian Center for the Arts. Some of his students participated as apprentices.

“I’m always trying to find opportunities for students to be involved in a professional setting,” he said. “That’s

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higher-ups about why the arts are so relevant!”

Jaen is impressed how effectively UMass Boston’s performing arts faculty and students have adapted to learning remotely amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“I stay hopeful because artists have always been able to survive and reinvent ourselves,” he said. “I cry myself to sleep some nights because I’m so moved how artists can sublimate the most difficult circumstances into some form of expressing art.”

Find more information about Rafael Jaen at rafaeljaen.biz.

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Ultralight pioneer finds his muse at Crow Island Airpark in Stow Ultralight | from page 11

bet River in Stow.

“It was owned by George Morey, who was a gravel barren,” he said.

Starting in 1978, Morey allowed Albright and his crew to fly at Crow Island.

By 1983, after much negotiating with Morey and the town of Stow, Albright and Annette purchased Crow Island for $100,000. They paid the town another $150,000 for permission to remove the gravel.

“It was basically a sand pit with bushes. Kane Perkins removed about 100,000 yards of gravel, creating a 2,350 feet runway and a pond now used for float planes and swimming. We broke even on the purchase,” said Albright.

In 1983, he built some hangers and has added more over time. He rents space to about 30 planes, split between ultralights and antique taildraggers.

Albright commented, “Taildraggers kind of want to spin around when they land, you have to work hard to keep them straight. Landing here on a summer evening — I don’t have the proper words to describe how cool it is.”

Respecting neighbors, planes only take off and land at Crow Island, he noted.

“We don’t do any training here.

We take off and fly to Minute Man,

Fitchburg, or Sterling airports for practice,” he said.

For the 30th time, on August 7 through 9, Albright will host a fly-in.

“There will be a great gathering … (and) my band, Final Approach, will provide entertainment,” he said.

As for the future, Albright’s daughter and her husband will own the airport, which will be managed by a group that saves old airports.

Albright shared, “I want Crow Island to be an airport until bicycles can fly. Who knows — that could happen! … I want this to be a green place always, this special part of aviation, not the other part that’s everywhere.

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Chelmsford production director successfully recovers from COVID-19

By Ed Karvoski Jr. Culture Editor

PHOTO/BEN ALLSUP

Tyler Kenney and his father Bill get Although Kenney had a souvenir photo at 2019’s Super frequently cautioned crowds Bowl LII at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz to stay hydrated at outdoor Stadium.

CHELMSFORD – Bill Kenney of summertime concerts that he Chelmsford has worked in various helped produce such as Boscapacities while producing successful ton Calling Music Festival entertainment events throughout four and Mix 104.1’s MixFest, he decades. This year, he achieved a percouldn’t always heed his own sonal health success. advice.

On April 14, Kenney tested pos“I didn’t want to drink anyitive for COVID-19 and began a 14thing and had zero appetite,” day quarantine. Now recovered, he’s he said. “No matter how hard been back to work since May 27 as I tried, my body rejected it.” president and CEO of Bill Kenney On his sixth quarantined Productions, Inc. day, his appetite was temporar“I’m very blessed that I was one of ily revived with help from anthe fortunate ones,” he shared. “I took other Chelmsford resident: Sal PHOTO/JASON BEAVER only aspirin all the way.”

Lupoli, owner of Sal’s Pizza.

Bill Kenney oversees production of Kenney began experiencing symp“I did pretty good eating 2014’s Comics Come Home XX, held toms in March while on a business trip the pizza,” Kenney relayed. “It at Boston’s TD Garden. to Seattle. Before getting tested, he atwas definitely the highlight of by music of The Del tributed shortness of breath to allergies, my day!”

Fuegos, the 1980s and fatigue to an early-morning flight.

Kenney’s ninth-day update noted Boston-based rock “It felt like a wall hit me,” he rethat he ventured a treadmill workout. band.

Kenney rememcalled. “When I got tested, the doctor Subsequent updates chronicled his bers listening to their believed that I was halfway through it.” workouts’ increased length of time, album titled “Boston, Throughout the 14-day quaranmiles per hour, incline percentages and Mass.” on a Sony Waltine, Kenney posted daily Facebook total miles. kman in the 1980s updates. Following doctor’s orders, “Everything I’ve ever done – inwhile managing a tour he took his temperature regularly but cluding having my own company – for John Entwistle, never had a fever. Periodic fatigue, achI’ve always pushed myself,” he said. “I original bass guitarist iness and headaches continued while a set goals and gradually build them up.” for The Who. loss of appetite developed.

His workouts were accompanied “It was challenging because we weren’t The Who; we were just a little tour, bouncing around the country,” Jimmy Fallon and Bill Kenney share a laugh Kenney explained. “I at 2017’s Comics Come Home XXIII, held at would listen to The Boston’s TD Garden Del Fuegos and it got me to a different place.” its 1995 inaugural at the Orpheum More recently, Kenney crossed Theatre. He’s now its co-producer and paths with The Del Fuegos’ original production manager. To accommodate drummer Woody Giessmann, foundlarger audiences, the production reloer of Right Turn, a Watertown-based cated in 2005 to Boston University’s substance use disorder program that Agganis Arena and since 2014 at the combines evidence-based treatment TD Garden. 2019 marked the event’s with creative expression. Kenney pro25th anniversary. duced The Del Fuegos’ two fundrais“It’s not just a comic and a mic; ing reunions for Right Turn in 2011 the show is big and dynamic,” Kenat Boston’s Paradise Rock Club. The ney explained. “There’s nobody who sold-out shows were followed by a 12can’t laugh at this event and it raises so city tour in 2012 managed by Kenney. much money for cancer research.”

“I was like the fifth Del Fuego,” he While quarantined, Kenney’s quipped. updates noted how much he missed In 1987, he incorporated as Bill spending time with his son Tyler, aka Kenney Productions and worked as TK, a 2020 graduate of Nichols Colproduction manager for Live Nation’s lege with plans to pursue his master’s New England concerts up to 2010. degree at Nichols next academic year.

Many of our doctors are welcoming His longest-running production Tyler’s virtual graduation took place new patients. Meet them at association is with Comics Come May 3 while the college planned a reliantmedicalgroup.org.

Home, held each fall. Co-founded physical ceremony for a later date. by comedian Denis Leary and Bos“My son told the college president, ton Bruins star Cam Neely (who now ‘If you can’t get a stage or need lights serves as the team’s president), the and sound, I can get them for you,’” event fundraises for the Cam Neely Kenney recounted with a laugh. “The Foundation for Cancer Care. Accordapple doesn’t fall far from the tree!” ing to the foundation’s website, “ComFor information about Bill Kenics Come Home has raised over $13 ney Productions, visit billkenney.com million since its inception.” and facebook.com/BillKenneyProKenney worked as crew chief for ductions.

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