Palouse Seniors Winter 2011-12

Palouse

Seniors winter

Taking off traveling

Learn about today’s biggest trends

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‘Living in sin’

Activities centers

Health care

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It’s a dilemma easily solved

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Moscow-Pullman Daily News

| Weekend, December 24 & 25, 2011 | 11

Cross-country skiing, hot spring soak in Idaho

By Susan Gallagher Associated Press

POWELL, Idaho — After a day on cross-country skis in the Bitterroot Range along the Idaho-Montana border, the dinner of spaghetti with elk meat was just the thing.

We had driven the 58 miles from Missoula, Mont., to northern Idaho’s Lochsa River corridor for a long weekend of Nordic skiing, the scenery a dazzling composite of mountains, snowrobed cedar trees and the rippling Lochsa, part of the congressionallydesignated National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

Jerry Johnson Hot Springs, three thermal pools in the Clearwater National Forest, beckoned with the prospect of a good soak.

Reject from Page 10

variety of jobs, from switchboard operator to bookkeeper to butcher.

“I can’t remember not working and not enjoying it,” she said.

During the 1960s, her husband’s job as a drilling superintendent for an oil company took them to Iraq, Kuwait, Mozambique, Tunisia, Libya and Singapore.

At most stops, she found jobs as well. When he died of a heart attack in Saudi Arabia in 1973, at age 54, “life as I had known it ended,” she said.

Returning to Texas after 13 years overseas, she found a purpose when her son, Scotty, came up with an idea: buy Native American jewelry and sell it overseas.

That didn’t exactly take off, but from that a business was born. By the mid-1970s, the Bennetts opened Castle Gap Jewelry in Dallas.

Maxine Bennett says she knows many people who retire are “as happy as they can be.”

But for her, “When you find something that you enjoy and you don’t have to do it — I guess that it makes it all the more interesting.”

We used Lochsa Lodge in Powell, Idaho, as a base for our adventures.

From there it was just a couple of miles to a day of Nordic skiing across virgin snow blanketing the forest, and 12 miles to the U.S. Forest Service trails at Lolo Pass, where Idaho and Montana meet and the Lewis and Clark Expedition crossed the Bitterroot peaks in 1805.

The Lochsa River is an easy walk from the lodge dining room, which served the spaghetti one evening, and the next morning enough eggs, bacon and pancakes to carry us through a ski day with just trail snacks for lunch.

The log inn that opened in 2002, to replace a historic lodge destroyed by fire, faces about a dozen cabins and a building with four guest rooms. Cordwood for stove heat occupies the porches.

Snowmobilers park their machines by

John Adams, 79, who took over his father’s Dallas paint store in 1977, said his work is fulfilling because he’s able to help people.

“Somebody comes in with a problem, you help them with it,” said Adams, who sells paint and frames pictures at Adams Paint Center.

“They’re not just my customers, they’re my friends,” he said. Adams’ previous jobs included supervisor at a baking company and running a restaurant.

The Rev. John Naus, the 87year-old chaplain of Marquette University’s Alumni Memorial Union, said he advises students to find a career that lets them make a difference in people’s lives.

Ordained as a priest in 1955, Naus has a doctorate in philosophy, taught high school, and was a philosophy professor at St. Louis University before going to Marquette in the early 1960s, where he has held posts including director of spiritual welfare and assistant to the university president.

“I would not be alive and I would not be doing what I’m doing without the friends that I have,” said Naus, who used a cane after contracting polio as a young adult and has used a wheelchair since a

some of the cabins and at others, Nordic enthusiasts stand skis on end in the white mounds shoveled high among the buildings.

Parking our car in a turnout on U.S. 12, we skied on national forest roads and then branched off to places tucked away. For the more adventurous who are properly prepared, there’s the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area.

At Lolo Pass, the Forest Service offers seven miles of trails exclusively for skiers and another 27 miles for both skiers and snowmobiles. The trails are not patrolled, and not all are groomed. The visitor center has a helpful staff, sells parking passes and houses interpretive displays.

Reaching the first of the Jerry Johnson pools took us on a one-mile hike through old-growth forest, the trail

easy for walking because visitors preceding us had compacted the snow. The second and third pools are within about half a mile of the first. The easy walk from U.S. 12 after crossing a foot bridge is one reason for the popularity of the natural pools. We managed to miss the crowds, but people expecting to soak in solitude might be disappointed.

The spectacular setting along Warm Springs Creek nourishes a convivial experience, though, and when the pools are busy, conversation tends to flow about as freely as the stream. Clothing is optional.

Also for the thermally inclined, there’s the privately operated Lolo Hot Springs seven miles inside the Montana border.

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Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Some reject retirement, keep working past 90

“When you’re at work and you have your head down and you’re working very, very hard, DALLAS — At 91, Maxine you don’t know you’re 70 years Bennett still works six days old,” Beverly Bennett said. “If a week at her jewelry store: you don’t have great outside keeping the books, helping cus- interests, if you’re not busy tomers and occasionally going with other people, you need to be busy at work.” on buying trips.

What’s important is staying Retirement’s not for her. “At 65 I was just really getting involved, whether that means working or something else, said started,” Bennett said.

She is part of a growing Jay Magaziner, a gerontologist number of people who continue who chairs the department working way past the usual of epidemiology and public health at the retirement University age. of Maryland The reaSchool of sons are as Medicine. unique as the “For some individuals people, staythemselves. ing engaged There are and doing those who meaningcan’t afford ful activito retire, but Associated Press ties can be there also are Maxine Bennett, 91, smiles at a counter at her jewelry store in Dallas. accomplished those who Darrell Reneker through leimade midProfessor, University of Akron sure and life career retirement switches and want to see their new voca- activities,” Magaziner said.

For those who want to tion through, and others, like Bennett, who simply enjoy work, being self-employed or having knowledge valued by going into work each day.

“Mother lives because she an employer can help ensure works. If she went home, that happens, said Sara Rix, didn’t do anything, there’s not senior strategic policy adviser enough crosswords for her to in the AARP’s Public Policy keep busy all day long,” said Institute.

Like the Bennetts, 82her daughter, Beverly Bennett.

“Basically, this may be work- year-old Darrell Reneker can’t ing, but this is really Mother’s imagine life without workSeveral lift chairs and ing. The distinguished profesliving.”

The idea of a set retire- sor of polymer science at The adjustable beds available. ment age at 65 is changing as University of Akron still works companies drop pensions, and full time teaching and conductpeople are living longer and ing research.

“I get paid, but my lifestaying healthier, said Jean Setzfand, AARP’s vice presi- style isn’t so dependent on dent of financial security. “Our that. What else would I do belief here is we want people to that’s more interesting? And work as long as they desire to the answer is I can’t think of 12 MONTHS anything,” said Reneker, who do so,” Setzfand said.

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Wishes from Page 8

returning to Europe to visit the places where he was stationed during World War II, but was never able to get there. “I never had enough money to make a trip like that,� said Young, a retired auto body repairman. “I just didn’t imagine I would ever be able to do anything like that.�

Then he met Diane Hight, founder and president of Forever Young Senior Wish Organization, in Collierville, Tenn. Hight routinely takes veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit the World War II Memorial. She also organizes trips to European battlefields. “You and I are free today because of these men,� she said. “I really want to do something for them.�

Young, who first arrived in Normandy, France, after D-Day, said going back in October was exciting and emotional. “It brought back a lot of memories — some pleasant and some other types,� he said.

He met with officials and residents in small towns in France, Luxembourg and Belgium. “To try and describe my emotions — it is really beyond me to say how much it means to me,� he said. “It was just a trip of a lifetime.�

The trips often give veterans a sense of closure, Hight said. “These are trips of healing for people,� she said.

Although Hight focuses on veterans, she also grants other types of wishes, and is often surprised by what people request. “Some are just so simple.

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Some are very complex,� she said. “When you’re dealing with people and their hearts and something they’ve always wanted, you never know what you’re going to get.�

Libby Magness, 84, of Cherry Hill, N.J., always dreamed of riding on a float in a parade. “Anytime there’s a parade, she’s there,� said her daughter Ruth Weisberg, who has fond memories of attending the Miss America Pageant parade in Atlantic City, N.J., and the Philadelphia Mummers Parade with her mother.

Weisberg contacted Twilight Wish to see if the group could put her mother in a parade. The foundation arranged for Magness to appear in the Thanksgiving Parade in Philadelphia. “I was thrilled,� said Magness. “It was one of the highlights of my life.�

Weisberg, of Philadelphia, loved watching her mother fulfill one of her dreams. “My mom has a definite joie de vivre,� she said. “She has a long list of things she’d like to try. She’s always wanted to ride in a motorcycle side car.

She’d like to go for a ride on fire truck.�

Foltz hopes her organization can help younger people see their elders in a new light. “Just because you’re 83 doesn’t mean you don’t have dreams and life left to live,� she said. “Our vision is to change how the world views aging one wish at a time.�

| Weekend, December 24 & 25, 2011 | 9

Simplify to ease workload in the garden

By Dean Fosdick Associated Press

If you’re gardening more but enjoying it less, maybe it’s time to add some labor-saving ideas to those resolutions.

Those can range from downsizing to mulching, from using native plants to switching to raised beds. “There’s no such thing as ‘no maintenance’ gardening. All gardens require some effort,� said Christopher Starbuck, an associate professor with the University of Missouri’s Division of Plant Sciences at Columbia. “But one good way to reduce the workload is consolidation, and you can do that by going with raised beds.�

More crops can be grown — and grown more easily — when concentrated in small areas, he said. That simplifies adding organic matter to the soil, and it also makes plants more

accessible. “Start in one corner and put in a few raised beds per year.

Just peck away at it,� Starbuck said. “You’ll find it takes a lot less energy and produces higher yields in the end.�

Other low-maintenance gardening suggestions include: n Using less fertilizer.

Recycle as many nutrients as possible by leaving grass clippings on the lawn or foliage over plant beds. Base fertilizer use on soil tests, Starbuck said. “Over-fertilization leads to excessive growth that needs frequent pruning or mowing.� n Mulching. “Mulch is the ultimate low-tech, high-impact gardening tool,� said Doug Welsh, a professor and extension horticulturist with Texas AgriLife Extension Service at College Station. “It conserves water, cools temperatures in summer and warms them in winter. It also keeps the weeds

down.� n Native plants. “Choose plants adapted to your environment,� Welsh said. “Don’t try to grow Bluegrass in Texas or rhubarb in the South. You can always be a pioneer, but it takes more effort to grow plants not native to your environment.� n Containers. You can manage water and fertilizer use more easily in containers, Welsh said. “The biggest mistake people make with containers is getting them too small,� he said. “Start almost at the whiskey barrel size and then scale down to what your plants really need.� n Easing Up. If all else fails, simply relax your attitude about gardening, Missouri’s Starbuck said. “Training yourself to enjoy a more chaotic look is the single most important thing you can do to reduce the amount of time you spend in the garden.�

Online: n Forever Young Senior Wish Organization: www. foreveryoungseniorwish.org

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Palouse Seniors

Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Charitable groups grant seniors’ long-held wishes Melissa Kossler Dutton Associated Press

Margarette Kirsch always wondered what it would be like to roll across America in an 18wheeler. With the help of the Twilight Wish Foundation, the 82-year-old found out.

She spent more than two weeks this summer touring the country in the cab of a semi.

“I enjoyed every minute of it,” she said from her home in Merritt Island, Fla. “Would I do it again? Come down and get me.”

Twilight Wish is one of several organizations dedicated to granting wishes to seniors. The foundation started eight years ago in Doylestown, Pa., as a way to enrich the lives of senior citizens, said organization president Elinor Foltz.

“They have so much wisdom to impart,” she said.

Helping seniors achieve life-

long dreams is a way to thank household and health needs, them for their contributions to providing appliances, wheelsociety, added Jeremy Bloom, chair ramps, hearing aids and a former NFL dentures. player who The organifounded Jeremy zations solicit Bloom’s Wish donations from of a Lifetime in individuals and 2008. corporations.

He created The seniors do the Denvernot have to be based foundasick or dying tion as a way as is often of honoring his the case with grandmother, groups that DonnaWheeler, grant wishes to who helped children. Most raise him. Now of the organiDiane Hight 86, she lives in zations require Forever Young Senior Wish Colorado and the recipients continues to to fill out appliinspire him, he said. cations and demonstrate finanOrganizations like Bloom’s cial need. and Foltz’s grant a wide variety Jim Young, 85, of Memphis, of wishes, from visits to World Tenn., often talked about War II battlefields and hot-air balloon rides to family reunions.

See WISHES, Page 9 They also help seniors with

“

When you’re dealing with people and their hearts ... you never know what you’re going to get.”

Looking Glass Photography/Associated Press

Margarette Kirsch, 82, of Merritt Island, Fla., stands next to an 18-wheeler.

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Canyon from Page 6

And yet, during my brief stay, Batopilas was peaceful to the point of being comatose.

As I wandered through the narrow streets, men tipped their cowboy hats in deference, young couples and children posed amiably for photographs, and museum guides and hotel owners alike were eager to educate me on the town’s mining and Indian cultural history.

Frankly, the scariest part of my trip was getting there, in a small van that for much of the 4 1/2-hour trip swerved, bounced and braked as it made a precipitous descent from nearly 7,900 feet to 1,840 feet on unpaved, switchback roads with no guardrails.

Then there was a different type of scare, one that I chose: I ziplined at heights of up to nearly 1,500 feet over the Copper Canyon and tap-danced across two wobbly hanging bridges, albeit while wearing a helmet and being firmly attached to a steel cable that would prevent me from catapulting over the edge and into the depths below.

The scenery was thrilling too: The cliffs of the 5,900-foot-deep Batopilas

Canyon glowed red in the sun, sharpedged mountain peaks repeated themselves in a visual bluish echo far into the distance, and a brown river that from above looked to be the width of a thread twisted its way across the canyon floor.

During my one-night stay, a full white, button-size moon rose above cliffs darkening into silhouettes of themselves as a dying sun infused horizontal cloud strips with pink and orange blush.

The Posada Barrancas Mirador hotel is literally built on the rim of the canyon. In the past, it was jammed with tourists, but I was one of only 17 guests on a night in early November.

To those who stay away out of fear, I would simply say: Don’t. I met people from all over the world who agreed: The trip is worth it.

If You Go... n Copper Canyon: www.visitmexico.com/ en-us/copper-canyon n El Chepe: www.chepe.com.mx/english/ index.html

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A full moon rises over the Copper Canyon in Divisadero, Mexico.

Hotels include: n Torres del Fuerte in El Fuerte, www. hotelestorres.com/ing/index.php n Posada Barrancas Mirador in Posada Barrancas, hotelesbalderrama.com/mirador. htm

Henry Ford Museum revamps automobile displays

By David Runk Associated Press

DEARBORN, Mich. — The suburban Detroit museum founded by auto pioneer Henry Ford is revamping its automotive displays, offering a fresh look at its rich collection and showcasing the enormous influence of the automobile on culture and daily life in the U.S. “Driving America” opens to the public Jan. 29 following a year of construction at Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. It features some of the most significant cars ever built, from early production vehicles to modern rides, and examines how automobiles shape the nation.

“It is an exhibition that resonates with us all and will challenge us to think differently about what we drive,” Patricia Mooradian, president of The Henry Ford Museum, said.

The 80,000-square-foot permanent exhibit includes 130

| Weekend, December 24 & 25, 2011 | 7

vehicles and more than 60 cases of artifacts. Touchscreen displays will offer access to images, videos and oral histories, as well as allow visitors to explore parts of the museum’s collection that aren’t on display.

People will be able to create a custom collection that can be accessed later online.

“Driving America” replaces the museum’s old “Automobile in American Life” exhibit, which closed in early 2011 to make way for construction.

It sits between Henry Ford Museum’s collection of trains and its “Heroes of the Sky” exhibit, documenting early years.

Walking through the “Driving America” displays, visitors will see muscle cars, race cars, trucks, sport utility vehicles and luxury cars. Sections look at auto repair, design, safety and marketing, as well as auto-related offshoots such as the road trip.

Associated Press

n Casa Real de Minas in Batopilas: http:// www.sierramadrelodges.com/Real-de-MinasHotel.html n Best Western The Lodge at Creel http:// www.thelodgeatcreel.com/ n Quality Inn San Francisco in Chihuahua: http://www.qualityinnchihuahua.com/

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Palouse Seniors

Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Mexico’s Copper Canyon is gorgeous — and safe

By Lisa J. Adams Associated Press

CHIHUAHUA, Mexico — I won’t lie: I had some qualms about traveling alone to the Copper Canyon, a series of aweinspiring gorges bigger than the Grand Canyon that happen to be in the same northwestern region of Mexico consumed by drug-trafficking violence.

At the same time, I knew from being in the news business that tourists are seldom, if ever, the target of such violence. I also was aware of the tendency to paint an entire region with a bleak brush when only small pockets are actually affected.

I’m glad I shrugged off the doubts. My trip to Las Barrancas del Cobre, as they are known in Spanish, was a great adventure. And I can confidently say that traveling here is safe — especially if you stick to the route of el Chepe, the government-run train that this year celebrates its 50th anni-

versary depositing tourists and commuters along a 400-mile stretch from Los Mochis in the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa to Chihuahua city, capital of Chihuahua state. The canyons themselves are all located within Chihuahua state’s borders.

There were moments off the train that gave me pause, such as when a native in the old silver mining town of Batopilas remarked, “Here, we see nothing, we hear nothing and we say nothing if we want to wake up alive each morning.� In that same town, where the drugfighting military keep a high profile, I took pictures of attractive colonial-style building facades before realizing that at least two of them bore more than a dozen deep holes that could only have been rendered by the bullets of a high-powered weapon, the kind favored by Mexican drug traffickers.

Associated Press

See CANYON, Page 7

A tourist is seen crossing one of three hanging bridges at the Copper Canyon in Divisadero, Mexico.

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Moscow-Pullman Daily News

| Weekend, December 24 & 25, 2011 | 5

‘Donut hole’ discounts in health care costs Thousands of seniors save more than $550 in 2011

By Vera White Daily News staff writer

Earlier this month, Idaho seniors received good news about the new health care law from the federal government.

In 2011, seniors received a 50 percent discount on brand name drugs if they hit the “donut hole” coverage gap.

Idaho Medicare beneficiaries saved $5.95 million in the coverage gap, the government reported.

For 2012, Dec. 7 was the open enrollment deadline for checking up on or changing Medicare plans for 2012.

On Dec. 6, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that as of the end

of October, seniors and people with disabilities on Medicare had seen significantly lower costs for important health care — through both discounts on brand-name drugs in the Medicare Part D “donut hole” coverage gap and free preventive care.

“Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, millions of Americans are receiving free preventive services and getting cheaper prescription drugs,” said Marilyn Tavernier, a spokeswoman for the Centers.

“People with Medicare should have reviewed their current plans before midnight Dec. 7 so they could have made sure that the plan they will have in 2012 is the best one for their health care needs,” Tavernier said.

Government data show that 2.65 million people with Medicare have saved more than $1.5 billion on their prescriptions — averaging about $569 per person. In Idaho, 10,705 people with Medicare have saved $5.95 million — averaging about $556 per person.

And as of the end of November, more than 24.2 million people with Medicare have taken advantage of at least one free preventive benefit — including the new Annual Wellness Visit— made possible by the Affordable Care Act, Tavernier said. In Idaho, 101,575 people with Medicare have taken advantage of the free preventive coverage.

Building on savings in 2011, Medicare also recently announced that the Part B deductible will be $22 lower in 2012 and average Medicare Advantage premiums are projected to drop 4 percent in 2012.

Part B premiums, which cover outpatient services, including doctor visits, are estimated to increase by only $3.50 per month for most beneficiaries in 2012, and some will see a decrease.

These changes will be more than offset by the average Social Security cost of living increase, $43 per month for retired workers.

For more information about how the Affordable Care Act closes the “donut hole” over time, go to: http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/11493. pdf For state-by-state information on use of free preventive services and the Annual Wellness Visit, go to: http:// www.cms.gov/NewMedia/02_preventive.asp Vera White can be reached at (208) 746-0646, or by email to vnwhite@cableone.net

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Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Security from Page 3

as people of other faiths do care about what God thinks, about what is morally right, about what is a proper example to their children and grandchildren. So having a religious ceremony, blessing and celebration is important. Historically, the civil authority, the state, was very late getting into the practice of “licensing” marriages. And just as the state does not care about whether Grandma is “living in sin,” neither do the good folks at the Social Security office nor the bigwigs who manage her deceased husband’s pension fund. So why should it concern them if Grandma opts to ask the church for a religious celebration to get

rid of that “living in sin” problem?

Most clergy won’t give such a blessing in cases where there is any type of legal or moral hindrance. In the case of the Orthodox Church, such a blessing could not be given to divorced persons unless an annulment or blessing from the bishop had been granted. And certainly it would not be given to a person still married to someone else! Again in the case of the Orthodox Church, both must be practicing members.

Let me give you an example of one such situation that recently occurred in the parish in which I serve. The facts are exactly true, but, for those of you old enough to remember the TV show Dragnet, “the names have been changed to protect the innocent.”

Margaret, a life-long member of the church, came to me and reported

that she was bringing her new friend David to church with her the next Sunday. Margaret had been widowed for several years as had David. In fact, I had officiated at the funeral of Margaret’s husband. David had been a “nominal” Christian but soon decided he, too, wished to be Orthodox. He and Margaret were very much in love and wanted to be together as husband and wife. They came to me numerous times for counseling and instruction.

If Margaret were to be “legally” married to David, she would lose almost the entirety of her income, her late husband’s Social Security and her widow’s benefits from his pension. But not to worry! Both families approved of the relationship. A wedding was planned.

Friends, family, and fellow-parishioners gathered in the church for the Rite

of Holy Matrimony. A festive reception was held at a restaurant. What was missing? A license.

A few people might disagree, but this priest believes that in this case it was the proper thing to do.

That was two years ago. Margaret and David are supremely happy. Life is fuller and more meaningful for both of them. They are in church every Sunday worshipping together. And I didn’t mention that Margaret has a special needs adopted daughter in her mid-20s who now has a daddy again.

As for legal protections, there are many options provided by wills and by legal, financial and medical powers of attorney. And in Margaret and David’s case, they are fortunate to live in Washington, so they have also entered into a domestic partnership agreement.

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Most smaller senior centers

Help an abused or neglected child at WhitmanCountyCASA.org or call (509) 397-5308

only can support a few paid because you now have a lot of staff. Therefore, those of us who time on your hands. Pullman are paid staff have to get cre- Senior Center has many opporative and find volunteers to help tunities to volunteer, such as: provide the necessary serving food, decorating, manpower to operate singing, playing musithe center. Some voluncal instruments, teachteers come from the coling classes, helping leges and community. with special events, and But, here at the serving on the board, to Pullman Senior Center name a few. the largest portion of Getting involved as a these volunteers come volunteer offers you the directly from our own to socialSteve Bell opportunity membership. Members ize even more and also who volunteer find out to use skills that you Pullman that it can be one of the used at your job or in better benefits, not only Senior Center your hobbies for years. I director encourage new retirees for them, but for the to come to our center, good of the whole center, as well. To be able to help others not just for the fun and exciteand work for a good cause is a ment, but also to get involved by volunteering to help us have rewarding experience.

After you retire, you are the manpower for the important often looking for things to do, work that needs to be done.

The best benefit of volunteering is to see the smiles on lonely members faces and to have a place to make friends and enjoy a friendly environment.

Please stop in and visit the Pullman Senior Center. You, too, can make a difference. Danny Thomas once said, “Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish yourself. It’s what you do for others that becomes your greatest achievement”.

Membership costs only $10.

The center is in Pullman City Hall, 325 S.E. Paradise St. The monthly newsletter is available to view on the Pullman Parks & Recreation website at this web shortcut: http://goo.gl/I2B6v

Steve Bell, the Pullman senior coordinator, can be reached at 509338-3307 or by email at steve.bell@ pullman-wa.gov

Tell us your local organization’s story

By Vera White

Daily News staff writer

I would like to thank Steve Bell for his columns this past year on behalf of the Pullman Senior Center.

The manager of daily operations at the Center has kept Palouse Seniors’ readers aware of the myriad activities and events taking place there.

This was Steve’s last column.

For the past several years, our quarterly editions of Palouse Seniors have offered free column space to nonprofit groups on the Palouse to help them raise awareness of the good works they do on behalf of seniors. We also allow space for a photo or two.

We’re still looking for a group to take over for 2012.

The first edition is tentatively scheduled for February.

The series began three years ago with contributions from The Friends of Hospice and Family Home Care and Hospice. In 2010, Friendly Neighbors of Moscow was the featured organization.

Contact me at (208) 7460646, or email to vnwhite@ cableone.net

Palouse Seniors

Moscow-Pullman Daily News

COMMENTARY

Social Security or marriage A dilemma that might be easily resolved Fr. Anthony (Robert) Creech is the semi-retired associate pastor of St. Gregorios Orthodox Church in Spokane.

He is also my brother.

This topic is one we’ve discussed often in recent years, especially after I moved into Juniper Meadows Assisted Living facility in Lewiston and met a lovely couple who quietly shared with me they were Fr. Robert living together Creech without “benefit of clergy.”

I also know several couples on the Palouse in the same situation, but they declined interviews because of the still perceived stigma of “living in sin” common among older folks.

It’s time such couples hold their heads up high and find a workable solution. Where there is a will there definitely is a way!

– Vera White

O

h, the horror! The shame of it all.

Grandpa has been dead several years, and now Grandma is “living in sin.”

What an example she is to her impressionable teenage grandchildren!

And what are those nice folks going to think at the church she has attended so many years? Would she dare receive Communion?

It sounds as if Grandma and her family are facing quite a dilemma.

But this Grandma may also be facing a problem many widows face in our society today. If she remarries after her husband has died, she will lose his Social Security and perhaps her widow’s benefits from his pension as well.

Poor Grandma. The need

for love and companionship is basic to us human creatures. The desire for tenderness and closeness does not diminish as a person grows older or is widowed. What fun is it to face endless days of cooking and eating meals alone? How much more delightful it is to watch TV or a movie with another person. How burdensome it is to have to contend with all the household chores alone?

What fun is traveling alone?

The need is great to have a loving and trusted companion with whom to share all of life’s joys and struggles.

And don’t forget sex.

That need and urge does not always diminish with age the way some folks think it does. Talk to staff in assisted living facilities or nursing homes, and you will hear stories about some rather frisky residents of both genders.

As a priest of more than 40 years, I have been approached numerous times by older people caught in such a predicament.

Certainly the church should be able to mirror the justice, compassion and mercy of the God whose work we do in this world. So this priest has adopted the practice many other clergy of various and sundry Christian traditions have been using. Give the senior couple caught in this financial dilemma the church’s sacrament of matrimony – without having them obtain a marriage license from the state. The couple is married in the sight of God and the church even though the state does not recognize the legality of such a bond.

Is it illegal? Certainly not.

The state doesn’t care if an elderly couple are “living in sin,” so it certainly has no concern about whether the church blesses this relationship.

But Christians as well See SECURITY, Page 4

Travel from Page 2

building ships that are ‘minicities’ and loaded with activities, there are still some upscale cruise offerings available with Cunard, Holland America and Princess Cruise Lines that offer ‘kinder and gentler’ vacations.”

| Weekend, December 24 & 25, 2011 | 3

As for lead time, he wrote: “The old adage, ‘The early bird catches the worm,’ applies a lot to booking any kind of travel.”

Tour companies offer their products up to a year in advance and many offer ‘early bird’ booking discounts. Airlines take an almost daily look at their flight services and monitor the inventory on each and every plane.”

And for prices: “If a discount price is advertised, there are only a very limited number of seats offered at that price and there are quite a few terms and conditions.

Reading and listening to the ‘fine print’ of an ad is crucial, as sometimes terms and conditions of the promotion are very limiting.”

LIVING WITH

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2 | Weekend, December 24 & 25, 2011 |

Palouse Seniors

Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Many options for senior travel Multi-generational, small group and ‘voluntouring’ among latest trends

By Vera White Daily News staff writer

The world of senior travel has lots of opportunities right now for small group and multi-generational adventures, says a veteran Moscow travel agent.

Greg Neely at Neely’s Travel Service in Moscow, who has been in the travel business for more than two decades, talked about what’s hot right now by email because of his busy schedule.

“Many tour companies cater to seniors only, but many tour companies offer multi-generational options for families and grandparents traveling with grandchildren,” he wrote.

“Their offerings span the world from Scandinavia to Italy to Australia and Africa.”

Small group touring is also very popular with senior travelers because the pace of the vacation is generally more relaxed than larger

guided vacation groups.

“Each tour will offer a specific activity level, from casual to moderate to active,” he continued. “Other tour options will be geared toward cultural aspects of a destination, historical points-of-interest, gastronomic touring, religious touring, eco-adventures and ‘voluntouring.’ ” “Voluntouring” is arranged mostly through church or school groups and is a trip to a destination where the traveler gets involved in a community project, whether building a house, advising farmers, helping children or monitoring wildlife.

“The sky can be the limit,” Neely added. “This type of travel can enrich the traveler in many ways beyond ‘been there, done that,’ type of touring. Whatever you can think of doing, a travel agent can probably find a company to make your trip memorable.”

Another new trend in touring for seniors is river cruises in Europe or

America, the Moscow native said.

“River cruising in Europe takes you through the heart of countries with centuries’ old traditions, architecture and culture,” he explained.

“In America, the paddle wheeler is back along the Mississippi and many smaller cruise ships ply the waters of New England, the Columbia River and the Inside Passage in Alaska.”

Neely said he hasn’t experienced much local interest in river cruising, but the companies that cruise the rivers of Europe are always nearly 100 percent full.

“The river cruise is a leisurely way to see such a lot of country ‘up close and personal,’ so to speak,” he concluded.

But Neely believes cruises are still a fabulous option for seniors.

“Although many cruise lines are See travel, Page 3

Dean Hare/Daily News

Greg Neely, left, talks about the services he offers at Neely’s Travel Service on Monday in Moscow.

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Using a travel agent can be extremely advantageous when making your travel plans.

They offer convenient one-stop shopping, can be a consumer advocate and offer expert guidance. An agent can also save you time, offer a choice of price quotes and travel suppliers.

“For you, the traveler, planning a trip can be stressful,” wrote Greg Neely, owner of Neely’s Travel Service Inc. in Moscow.

“There are so many options and details to worry about.

Travel agents do the work, resulting in less stress for you.

They also offer updated information, customer service, travel documentation and travel expertise.”

Neely should know. In 1986,

when parents John and Rita Neely retired, their three sons, Greg, Curt and Brad gained ownership of the business.

In the mid-1990s, Curt and Brad left to pursue other interests. Greg, as majority owner, continued to run it on his own. He now has two full-time employees, one part-time and one outside sales agent.

In a series of questions emailed to Neely, he responded by giving an interesting history of the travel agency, started in 1949 by his parents.

“At that time, Empire Airlines, operating out of the Moscow-Pullman Airport, needed a place in town to sell airline tickets for the then fledging airline passen-

ger industry,” Neely wrote.

“Since John operated Neely’s Taxi Service in Moscow throughout the 1940s, they approached him to sell their airline tickets.”

Neely’s Travel Service Inc. has always been located at the corner of Sixth and Main “in one form or another.”

“Over the years, the original ‘L’ shaped offices housed the travel service, an insurance agency, the driver’s license bureau and a barber shop fronted by a parking lot,” Neely recalled in his email.

“In the late 1960s, John built the current structure over the parking lot and remodeled the offices in the original ‘L’ building.”

We want to know

YOUR VIEW

Speak out at dnews.com

– Vera White