2015 Young at Heart

young at heart

it’s never too late to live a life you love.

Allen McDaniel of Blue Suede Cruise

+Plus

Pet Therapy Financial Advice Changing Careers

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Young at Heart

Paul B. Farabaugh, M.D. • C. Stephen Farmer II, M.D. Jonathan R. Kalish, M.D • Wm. Hughes Milam, M.D. J. Timothy Posey, M.D. • Kristopher W. Whitehead, M.D. 607A Earl Frye Blvd.

Amory, MS 38821

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Table of Contents

Features

Pet Therapy 6 Now What? 11 A Garden For Everyone 14 Fashion 17 Shifting Gears 20 Profile Section 29 •

Expert’s Corner

Aging Gracefully & Safely At Home 40 Exploring Other Options 41 Will Your Money Last 42

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Young at Heart Editor Leslie Criss

Advertising Director Richard Crenshaw

Reporters Riley Manning Michaela Morris Ginna Parsons Derek W. Russell M. Scott Morris

Special Section Advertising Coordinator Amy Speck

Photography Lauren Wood Adam Robison Thomas Wells Design Ellie Turner

Young at Heart is a bi-annual publication of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.

To subscribe to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, call (662) 842-2611.

To advertise, call (662) 678-1611.

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Pet Therapy

Imagine being in the state hospital and being separated from your baby. Or feeling abandoned by your family and missing your pets while sitting in a nursing home. Or watching your dad die in hospice.

Story by Stephanie Rebman Photos by Lauren Wood Comfort Creatures of North Mississippi and its teams of individuals and their pets aim to alleviate some of that pain and brighten days with therapy dogs and cats.

Residents of various facilities meeting the dogs are comforted, the volunteer handlers are doing good in their community and the pets love the attention and treats. One extra special connection is when the volunteers are senior citizens and they are visiting other seniors in nursing homes.

Tupelo resident Paula Harris, 66, has been with Comfort Creatures for six years and has a unique addition to the group – she is the only one with therapy cats, Sylvester and Peaches.

Peaches actually won’t let anyone hold her or sit on laps while at home. “It’s almost like she knows that’s what she’s supposed to do” when out at nursing homes. “It’s almost like she was meant to be a therapy cat.”

Peaches just sits as long as needed and enjoys being pet. Sylvester wows on visits by walking on a leash.

“They’ll talk about the cats and dogs they had and it brings back all their fond memories,” Harris said about her visits. “It touches you. It’s days like that you know you are doing a good thing.”

Harris mainly visits Traceway Retirement Community, Golden Living Center and the state hospital and it averages about four times a month.

“If somebody loves animals and they have an animal that is sweet and gentle and they want to share that animal and they’re willing to train them, it’s very, very rewarding,” she said. “I love Peaches and I want everybody else to have that same enjoyment. It takes time and does take effort, but it is

every bit worth it to know you’ve touched someone in a positive way.”

It was Harris’ enduring love for animals throughout life, watching her daughter volunteer in horse therapy in Nashville and seeing her mother benefit from pet therapy while in hospice that led her to take her cats when visiting a friend with Multiple Sclerosis at Traceway. Not too long after, she saw an ad about Comfort Creatures and knew it was for her.

It was a similar love for the four-legged kind and witnessing the special spark animals provide that cinched the deal for 68-year-old Jan Daugherty of Belden.

“Growing up, animals were always a part of my life,” she said. “For a year I was bedridden with rheumatic fever and my pets were my entertainment and my best friends.”

When Daugherty moved to Tupelo with her family in the 1980s she got involved with the Tupelo-Lee Humane Society and Boy Scouts. Her friend Meredith Black and their respective Cub Scout children connected for a visit to Traceway with humane society animals.

“There had been a national news program touting the calming effect of animals on people,” she said. “Talking to our eight Cub Scouts and holding and petting the animals meant so much to the people there … residents and staff. Faces lit up and many residents enjoyed telling stories of their own pets.”

About four years ago Daugherty began taking her own pet to Traceway when she signed on with Comfort Creatures.

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I love Peaches and I want everybody else to have that same enjoyment...it is every bit worth it to know you’ve touched someone in a positive way.”

she said. “Finn is a 70-pound, gentle, brown-eyed beauty. She had spent her allotment of time in an Alabama shelter and was rescued by The Alabama Herding Dog Rescue Organization. She’s therapy to me and everyone she meets. I love seeing the joy Finn gives the people, who can no longer have pets of their own… and Finn loves the petting.”

Melissa Alexander, assisted living activities director at Traceway, said the home’s Mitchell Center is thankful for the well-behaved therapy pet visits.

“There may be an elder who hasn’t felt like coming out of the room all day but you bring in a cat or dog and they will sit up and start talking and petting the animals,” she said. “Every time the pets come they bring out the memories of childhood and raising their own family and the pets in their lives.”

Alexander said something not necessarily thought about is the residents will use fine and 8

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gross motor skills while handling and petting the animal. Also, there’s the mental and emotional stimulation.

“I have never had a visit that the elders did not talk about the animals throughout the rest of the day, nor a day that I did not smile in seeing these happy loving fur babies,” she said. “They bring a smile and a calmness that only an animal can bring.

They don’t notice arthritis or a walker or a bad mood. They just love unconditionally right where you are.”

First page: Fern Bucklew (above) and Bill Aston (below) receive attention from Finn and Peaches at Golden Living Center in Tupelo, Mississippi.

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The Ballroom Dance Club

Now What?

When Mary Green retired after a career as a financial administrator, she didn’t know what to do with herself. After her husband passed away, even housekeeping and cooking became less important.

Story by Riley Manning Photos by Lauren Wood “It can be devastating,” she said. “You look forward to retirement, but when you get there, you have nothing to entertain your mind. I’ve worked my whole life, and wanted to keep working until I couldn’t anymore.”

Green said her experience is common among retired workers. Leaving an occupation, she said, can feel like leaving a piece of your identity behind.

But there are plenty of outlets for entertainment, activity, and social interactions for those in their golden years.

“It’s never too late to start something new,” Green said.

A New Life In Service Green soon found a new purpose when she joined the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary. She’s been with them 19 years now.

“When I was working, I always said when I retired I would do something to give back to the

community,” she said. “It was something I never had time to do.”

She was surprised to find many of her friends were already volunteering with the Army, and she soon made a host of new friends, too. The Auxiliary kept her busy through the holidays. The group cooks a huge community Thanksgiving lunch each year, along with the annual Angel Tree that provides the children of needy families with Christmas gifts.

“Volunteering, you feel like you’re being needed.

Pretty soon, I was as busy as I had been when I was working,” she said. “But for once I wasn’t doing it for the money. I was doing it because I wanted to.”

Green said her favorite part of her volunteering has been delivering meals to shut-ins with the Army’s Meals on Wheels program. She also helps the Army’s clients arrange and get to doctor’s appointments and other necessary errands.

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Women’s Auxillary like someone with a toothache needing to get to the dentist,” she said. “And delivering the meals each day gives you a chance to check on people who otherwise wouldn’t get noticed, to make sure they’re OK.” No matter what kind of skills or time a person can afford, she said, the Army could find a use for them, even if it’s as simple as making phone calls or helping with their holiday initiatives or the springtime’s Empty Bowls event.

“You might not think it’s significant to help pull turkey meat off the bone for the Thanksgiving lunch, but it’s quite helpful,” Green said. “It gives our clients somewhere to be and someone to be with on Thanksgiving, and it does the same for some of our volunteers who don’t have family they can be with.”

Girls Just Want To Have Fun Marilyn Leary, an Itawamba County native, retired in 1965, from being a librarian at the Itawamba County Library, but has found her sisters in fun in the Fulton chapter of the Red Hat Society.

“I first heard of the Red Hats when I saw an advertisement for them 14 years ago, and I thought, ‘That would be so much fun for us to do,’” Leary said. “I made a list of my friends to call, and lo and behold, the next week I picked up the paper and found out one had just been formed. Someone beat 12

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me to the punch.”

Leary promptly joined the Dixie Red Hats and has been there ever since. They’re a funky group of ladies, easy to spot from a distance with their royal purple clothes and, of course, bright red hats. They have outings for meals every other Thursday, and take part in community activities like building a float for the Christmas parade and the Toys for Tots toy drive during the holidays.

“Our philosophy is, instead of going into middle and late age with dread, let’s go have fun,” Leary said. “That’s what the hats and the clothes are all about, an attitude of fun and humor, of verve and elan.”

Leary also runs the Itawamba Historical Society, and engages other avenues for promoting the arts, but she said Red Hat get-togethers, in particular, give her something to look forward to.

“In Psalms, we read that laughter is good for the soul, and medically we know it’s good for our physical and mental health,” Leary said. “Especially for someone who’s maybe lost a partner, it’s a good reason to get up and get dressed. You can cope with anything in life through humor.”

Never Too Late To Dance If you’ve been too shy for the dance floor, don’t worry, it’s never to late to learn some new steps.

For John and Lee Bryson, a simple gift certificate

Pickin’ on the Square turned into a full-blown passion.

“I got my wife a gift certificate for dance lessons through the Tupelo Ballroom Dance Club,” John said. “I was almost 60 when we started, and I had always been too shy, to dance, I guess. But it was good movement, definitely fun.”

The Ballroom Dance Club offers free lessons on Monday nights. Lee said in eight weeks, the class walks newcomers through eight basic dances, the waltz, the fox trot, the tango, and others.

“It’s great for any age person,” Lee said. “It’s good physically, but learning the new motions is good for your brain, too.”

The great thing about dancing, Lee said, is you can take it as far as you want. The basic steps are always fun, but there’s always something new to try.

“It’s easy to get sucked into,” Lee said. “John and I got kind of obsessed with the idea of getting better. We just got back from a West Coast Swing competition that had around 1,000 people there.”

Now, John and Lee teach group lessons every Friday for the club, and are part of a rotating group of instructors that teach the Monday night lessons.

“It’s a great anti-aging thing,” John said. “It makes your body and mind work together.”

Pickin’ and Grinnin’ In Corinth, the weekly pickings on the town square are a year-long activity, but especially a

staple in the summer time.

Corinthian Patricia Nachbar started the pickings after her son fell in love with the bluegrass scene in Arkansas.

“I sat on the idea and kept saying I was going to start it up in Corinth for 20 years before we finally did,” she said. “The Coca-Cola company gave us some Cokes to sell to raise money, and it blossomed beyond everything I thought it could.”

It’s been going strong for 14 years now. The stage – Corinth’s courthouse steps – is an open one.

Though most weeks they spotlight a band passing through, any picker can play a tune, or several.

“We’ve developed so many close friendships with people we never would have known otherwise,” Nachbar said. “We even have groups off to the side who play in their own circles. The crowds are bigger in the summer.”

Meeting new folks is as big a part of the event as the music. If someone is a newcomer, Nachbar is intentional about making them feel welcome. Lots of people who come to listen from their lawn chairs use the picking as their weekly outing to catch up with friends.

“It’s magic in the summer, with the crickets and the trains blending in with the music,” Nachbar said. “If someone isn’t there, people miss them and make sure to check on them. It’s a great occasion to socialize, good for your mental health, for sure.” djournal.com

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A Garden For Everyone Maybe your knees are shot.

Maybe it hurts to bend. Maybe you’ve downsized your home and have a yard the size of a postage stamp. You can still have a garden.

Story by Ginna Parsons Photos by Adam Robison Traditional gardening generally involves tilling, digging in hard soil, getting on your knees to weed and bending over to harvest.

But alternative gardening methods allow you to have all the vegetables, herbs and flowers you want in small spaces without all the physical demands.

One method Melinda Lamon, an occupational therapist with the North Mississippi Medical Center’s Outpatient Rehabilitation Center, likes to use is an elevated bed.

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“They’re good for sitting or standing,” Lamon said. “Height is the main thing. You don’t have to stoop or bend. Everything is within easy reach.”

On May 1, Lamon helped plant an elevated bed at the rehab center. It’s 8 feet long, 2 feet wide and 12 inches deep, and sits on a frame that’s about 2 feet off the ground, or waist-high. A trellis is planted along one long side of the container.

“Trellis gardening is a real space saver,” she said.

“It’s perfect for an older person who has moved into a zero-lot-line home.”

In the elevated bed are heirloom tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, white and purple eggplants, orange bell pepper, cilantro, marigold and petunias.

“There are so many benefits of gardening,” Lamon said. “It saves on transportation, the produce is fresher and you have the choice of what you want to grow. You can go chemical-free if you wish.

There’s a thrill to growing your own plants with blood, sweat and tears. And for those who grew up gardening, it’s rewarding to revisit those memories.”

Gardening also has its health benefits, she said.

“It allows you to maintain your range of motion,” she said. “And when you’re doing a functional activity, it does take your mind away from pain. It’s different from traditional exercise.”

Square-foot and Containers Sandy Rea, a Master Gardener from Nettleton, is a big proponent of square-foot gardening, which is the practice of dividing the growing area into small square-foot sections, which allows small but intensively planted gardens.

It’s particularly attractive to gardeners with poor native soil and for those with disabilities. The phrase square-foot gardening was coined by Mel Bartholomew in a 1981 book.

Bartholomew used a 12x12-foot square with a grid that divided it into nine squares with equal lengths of 4 feet on each side. Each of these 4x4foot squares was then divided into 16 one-foot squares that were each planted with a different plant.

“You can have peppers, herbs, tomatoes, English peas, cucumbers, squash, zinnias – any number of things,” Rea said. “You’re basically growing a large amount in a smaller space.”

Rea put down a ground cloth to help smother weeds, then built the frame with treated lumber.

She used smaller pieces of wood to make the grid and filled the spaces with gardening soil, made from equal parts of compost, peat moss and vermiculite, before planting.

“If you put a vertical frame on one end and tie nylon netting to the screen, you can plant cucumber plants and they’ll run right up that screen,” she said.

Rea has also had luck with container gardening, especially for her tomatoes.

“I’ve put tomato plants in flower pots because my soil is so hard here,” she said. “I just put the tomato cage in the pot and let them go. But you don’t have to stop with a pot. I’ve also had success with taking a plastic storage container, putting holes in the bottom and filling it with soil. I put stakes on either side and tie the tomatoes to those. I have real good luck with Sweet 100s in those.”

Raised Beds Lucille Stone, who lives in the Natchez Trace Villas north of Tupelo, has been a Master Gardener for 20 years. She was among a group of volunteers who built raised beds behind some apartments for the elderly and handicapped a few years back.

“We stacked crossties three or four deep, so they wouldn’t have to bend down to garden,” she said.

“We filled them in with top soil and mulch and compost so it would be nice and loose so they could raise things like carrots and turnips in them.”

They built them that high so residents could sit on the sides of the crossties and reach over into the bed to plant the vegetables, tend them and harvest them.

Stone said one of the hardest parts of gardening is all the weeding that’s necessary to keep the desired plants healthy.

“I found a weeder that’s on a long handle and has four prongs at the end of it and you just put that over a vine or weed and twist it and it brings the weed up with the root,” she said. “I also have a Tractor Scoot that I sit on to do my weeding. The more you can sit down and use a tool to do your weeding, the easier it is.”

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Style At Every Age

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Photos by Lauren Wood

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Opposite Page: Sparrows on Main in Tupelo: pink linen pants $78, navy fringe vest $42, navy tee $29, wedges $79 // This Page: Bliss on Main in Tupelo: multi-colored tunic $69, jeans $89, pearl necklace $20, pearl earrings $24; off-white top $68.95, white jeggings $54, turquoise bag $32.95 djournal.com

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Zell Long

Shifting Gears Switching from job to job at the age of 30 can be a difficult, life-changing decision.

Making that same decision later in life can be an even larger undertaking, potentially throwing routine and tradition into upheaval as you move forward. But after working in the same position for an extended amount of time, it’s not a shock that someone would want to change things up and experience the next chapters of their lives, and careers, in a new way.

Story by W. Derek Russell • Photos by Lauren Wood Game Changer Twenty-five years ago, a childhood friend of Lloyd Gray’s called and asked him to consider returning to Meridian to become editor of the newspaper there. Fast-forward those twenty-five years, nearly to the day, and that same friend called again asking Gray to consider a new position in Meridian.

Gray took his friend’s suggestions both times.

His job at The Meridian Star led him to his job as executive editor at The Northeast Mississippi 20

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Daily Journal, and now that job has led him to his new job: executive director of the non-profit Phil Hardin Foundation, which works to improve the education of Mississippians.

“I was not looking for a career change, nor searching for another job,” Gray said. “But funny things happen. Sometimes the unexpected occurs.”

Gray has been a newspaper man for the last 45 years. But it was his love of sports, not journalism, that brought him to print.

“I was a big sports guy,” Gray said, “and as a

Lloyd Gray sports lover, the idea that I’d be paid to go to games was the bigger draw to me than the journalist aspect.”

Gray started work at The Meridian Star at the age of 16, sometimes going into work before school started to help get the paper out that afternoon.

From there on, it was in his blood, and he worked for multiple publications throughout Mississippi over the years. At only one point during that 45 year tenure did Gray venture outside of journalism, working as Assistant Secretary of State for Policy Development in Jackson for 15 months in 1989 and 1990.

It was then that his friend called and asked him to return to The Meridian Star.

That phone call brought Gray into journalism full time, becoming editor of The Meridian Star and two years later, landing him the position of Executive Editor of The Daily Journal.

Again, that friend called, and soon he’ll leave his post of editor at the Daily Journal after serving the community for 23 years.

At the age of 60, he’s returning to what he considers his hometown, Meridian, to take over at the Phil Hardin Foundation.

Gray sees this career change as a lateral move in

terms of focus and goals.

“I’m passionate about the state of the State of Mississippi,” he said. “I feel the need to be committed to a place and this is the place I identify with.

The idea of community has always been a driving force in my life. I consider Mississippi, broadly, a community. Helping this state has been a primary motivation of my work life and my career, and education is at the heart of that. I always wanted to make Mississippi my career.”

While Gray may not have been looking for a change, he said sometimes you just know when the time has come.

“I love the work that I’ve done with newspapers.

It’s a wonderful craft and profession to be a part of,” he said. “I’ve thrived here, and yet, I don’t think my identity is wrapped up in being a newspaper man.

I feel like it was a good match for my skill set, to try and bring about positive change. Stepping out of this role and into the new one that has the same goals, I don’t think it’s going to disrupt my persona.”

A Second Helping Sometimes, it’s not about what you do from 9 a.m. until it’s time to punch out, but what you do with the rest of your time that changes later in djournal.com

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Jim Karrant life. Take Zell Long for example. Long has been the Chief Professional Officer for the Boys & Girls Clubs of North Mississippi since 2009. But she wore many hats to get there.

“My passions are older people and children,” Long said. “Marriage is what brought me to Tupelo from Desoto County in 1971, but I’ve done lots of things I’ve loved in that time.”

Long worked for the North Mississippi Medical Center, Bellsouth, and Tupelo Orthopedic Clinic before being offered a job with the City of Tupelo in 1976 as a secretary in the budget and accounting department.

“I received a phone call from an instructor at ICC who wanted to know if I’d like to work at City Hall,” Long said. “The city was under mandate to hire minorities. I met with Mayor Clyde Whitaker on a Saturday in 1976 and started Monday as a secretary. I retired as Director of Community Development in 2009. I became a liaison for the city with the community and that’s been one of my greatest pleasures is being able to serve in the community.”

Intermittently, Long worked with the Boys & Girls Clubs since 1994, working to bring the program to Tupelo and becoming integral with the creation of the Haven Acres Clubhouse.

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“My husband and I have eight children,” she said, “and seeing that there were really no activities in the afternoon to serve in getting them off the street really led me to this. That enabled me to be on the board of directors for Boys & Girls Clubs itself. But for me it’s always about the children and what we can do to help them.”

Now at 63, Long is undertaking her next great adventure: owning a restaurant.

“This started in 2013 and it’s been an adventure, I promise you,” she said.

Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe opened Memorial Day in Tupelo.

“It’s been an adventure in investing time and money to it,” she said. “The community has supported us and we have been so excited about it.”

Long joked that, beyond realizing she needed to eat healthier, her son is what got her to where she is now.

“His wife and he are very health conscious,” she said. “They were eating at Taziki’s in Birmingham a lot and the owner of the franchise approached him and asked about bringing it to Mississippi. We’re the only one here and we can grow and build as we want.”

But stretching herself between Boys & Girls

Clubs and the restaurant hasn’t made it easy to find time to eat the food.

“I’ll get dinner, finally, around 10:30 p.m. or 11 p.m., but I’m going every night,” she said.

Long spends her lunch hour visiting and welcoming people into the establishment, thanking them for their patronage.

Each Memorial Day, Long and her sisters get together in Louisiana to visit. But this Memorial Day, the sisters came to her.

“They came for our opening and it was wonderful,” she said.

Long cites her mother and siblings as the inspiration for what has made her so community-driven and willing to help others - something that can be seen through her multiple positions on various non-profit boards and within her own church.

“I’m the baby of the family,” she said. “My mom had 18 kids, and 15 of us lived to be grown.

There are nine of us living today, so I grew up looking at my older siblings and my mother who was a licensed midwife. She’d be gone hours at a time and I never heard her complain. Her mentality was always to do whatever she could do, always giving and always loving - never saying a harsh word. My siblings would give among each other. We are a blessed family.”

Between her two jobs, her position as minister, a wife and mother, and a strong presence in the community, Long enjoys the few moments she finally gets to herself at home, doing what she loves best.

“Nothing,” Long laughed. “That’s my time. I do what I need to do, and try to relax. I like listening to gospel music and reading, but mostly I like getting some rest when I can.”

“

pretty good one - that I had enough contacts in the furniture world and I would get something started for myself.”

But life had different plans.

At 65, Karrant now owns Intuitive Motion of Mississippi, selling Segways to those in need. A decision he credits to his daughter, Mary Frances.

“I retired in 2008 and she was one of the lead singers for Royal Caribbean cruise lines,” he said, “and even though I hate being on boats, we went to visit her. One of our stops was in Nassau and they used Segways for tours.”

Karrant said the “neat little toy” really caught his attention because of how unique it was.

“I started thinking about the possibilities and practicalities for them, and just became fascinated,” he said.

Karrant knew there was more to the mode of transportation than just tours, and set up shop to help individuals and organizations that could benefit from the product.

“I’ve changed people’s lives with these things,” he said. “That’s the beauty of it. My first experience after I got started was with an Iraqi War veteran who had lost both his legs.

He came to see me because he was interested in the models. We worked on making sure he could operate it safely. I taught him how to ride it in Sharon Hills to make sure he could handle it in different terrain. He had a government job where he had to go to conferences a lot, and he struggled to get around. He hated walking on prosthetics. So this really helped him.”

From there, the use of the Segway became Karrant’s focus, while not playing “janitor” and “doorman” at his wife’s dance center, he joked.

“I go where I’m needed,” he laughed. “But I like doing it all.”

From helping individuals with different ailments to aiding with police departments across Mississippi, Karrant stays busy on his Segway - even helping out the Indianola police force during B.B. King’s funeral at the end of May. “There’s a need for these things,” he said. “Lots of places are trying to put them into their budgets and find grant opportunities for them, whether it be a college campus or a government group.”

It’s been an adventure, I promise you.”

On the Move Like Lloyd Gray and Zell Long, Jim Karrant likes helping people.

After being in the furniture business for over 35 years, Karrant was tired of starting over.

“The deck gets constantly reshuffled,” he said.

“When you work for a corporation, you’re constantly starting over. I was ready to retire and start over for myself. My plan was - and I thought I had a

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Bike Lady When Rivers Ray Reese was a young child growing up in Itawamba County, she didn’t have a bike. She was the seventh of eight children and there was no spare money lying around for such extravagances. But one summer, her family went north to visit family and there was a girl there who had a bike of her very own. “They made a picture of me on that bike,” Rivers said. “I guess I was about 12 year old. A couple of years later, one of Rivers’ older brothers got a job in Illinois and he sent her his old bike.”

Story by Ginna Parsons Photos by Lauren Wood

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“One pedal was missing a piece and there were no inner tubes, but he knew I liked to bike and he was the sweetest boy,” she said. “I learned to ride in the sand and the gravel. When the pedal would fall off, I’d have to go get another nail to put in it to hold it on.”

She didn’t get a brand new bike until she and her sweetheart, Russell Smith, were wed in 1943.

“As soon as we married, Russell got a job with the Highway Patrol and when he got a little extra money, he bought me a bike,” said Rivers, who will be 90 in October.

“I worked at Sears in catalog sales for 18 years and I used to ride my bike to work every day.”

Rivers still rides her bike around Amory just about every day now. She rides to the bank, to the Monroe-Journal, to the post office and to the grocery store.

“I can pull that hill at the Piggly Wiggly,” she said. “I don’t ever get off. If I’ve got to run an errand, I hop on and go. I can ride a bike better than I can walk.”

People in town are used to seeing the octogenarian tooling around on her Huffy, which replaces a bike that was stolen off her carport in 2003.

“People always say, ‘You on that bike today?’ I don’t know if they’re being critical or what,” Rivers said. “I just smile at them.”

Russell, who died in 2004, was the postmaster in Amory for 30 years before his retirement. He and Rivers had three daughters: Linda Kaye, 70, who lives in Brandon; Jan, 68, who lives in Colorado; and Martha, 62, who lives in Starkville.

“Three years ago, on Linda’s birthday, I got on my bike at 4 o’clock in the morning and rode to the hospital where she was born – it’s a museum now – and I came back by First Baptist Church, where she was born again,” Rivers said. “Then I rode by the house where we lived when she went off to college.

Then I got in my car and clocked the distance and it was two miles and I never did take my foot off the pedal. I didn’t stop once.”

Rivers gets up every morning around 7:30 and starts her day with devotionals. Then she reads her Bible for a little bit, and then her newspaper.

“I don’t do anything until I talk to God,” she

“

said. “And I end my day with God.” If she wants to do a little yard work, she might get up earlier than 7:30. Sometimes, she crosses over to the walking track and picks up trash.

“People walk all over it like they don’t see it,” she said.

Sometimes she hands out ice cream cones to the kids she knows who are on the track. She also keeps cold water and soft drinks in her fridge to give to prisoners in the work-release program who help keep the track clean.

“I don’t preach a sermon to them,” she said. “They don’t want to hear that. I just tell them that when they get rid of those stripes not to do anything that would make them have to wear them again.”

And sometimes, she just sits on her porch and talks to the birds and the squirrels, whom she calls her best friends.

“The other day a butterfly lit on my arm and just walked up and down my arm,” she said. “I just talked to it and it opened its wings so I could see the markings and the dots. It was so perfect. People go through their whole lives and don’t ever see those things – they’re too busy.”

Rivers has done some amazing things in her almost 90 years. She and Russell, along with two other couples, helped start Meadowood Baptist Church on Hatley Road several years ago. They took her ailing parents in and cared for them for two years until they died. The two were named Outstanding Citizens of Amory in 1996.

But she doesn’t like to talk about those things and she doesn’t want anyone else to talk about them, either.

“When I die, I don’t want no preacher talking about me,” she said. “I want my kids and my grandkids to talk about me, even if some of it’s bad. And I want them to hand out chocolate kisses to everybody. And I don’t want a big write-up in the paper.

You read these big write-ups in the newspaper and how good they were and everything they’ve done and you wonder how the world is going to turn without them. I just want mine to say, ‘She’s gone.’”

I can pull that hill at the Piggly Wiggly. I can ride a bike better than I can walk.”

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Neilson volunteers in many races, including the Running With The King 5K, where he did a trial run with Linda Guyton before the race.

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On the Run After 34 years of naval service and 19 years of teaching at Itawamba Community College, David Neilsen earned the right to rest.

Story by Michaela Morris Photos by Lauren Wood But the 69-year-old Tupelo man doesn’t have time for that.

“I can’t sit still,” Neilsen said. “If I do, there has to be something going on in my head.”

Neilsen organizes volunteer pushers for the wheelchair division of local races, juggles projects for civic clubs, plays the dulcimer and lends his voice to community theater productions.

“For me, citizenship is what you can do for someone else, not just voting,” Neilsen said. “That’s the key for me and it has been a wonderful retirement.”

On the Run Neilsen has been running since his mid-30s, but he never ran races until the 1990 Gum Tree 10K. He was hooked when he spotted a runner pushing a wheelchair.

“If I’m going to race, that’s a reason to race,” Neilsen remembers thinking.

His first wheelchair running buddy was Craig Fields. Fields couldn’t talk or walk independently, but his enjoyment of the races was infectious.

“He’d light up,” as runners and supporters would call out to him, Neilsen said. “He’d take his arms and put them around your neck. That just melted you.”

After Fields passed away, Neilsen began pushing Senitra Shumpert, who continues to be his race buddy.

The Tupelo Luncheon Civitans took over the organization of the Chad Payne Memorial wheelchair race to assist the Tupelo Running Club and expanded it to more races beyond the Gum Tree.

Neilsen heads up the effort to organize the volun-

teer pushers for the races.

“The most I’ve had is 10,” Neilsen said.

When he’s not pushing Shumpert, he is pushing himself to run longer races. He’s run half-marathons at high altitudes in Colorado and half way around the world in Finland. One of his favorites is closer to home – the Navy 10 Nautical Miler at the naval support base in Millington, Tennessee.

Places To Do Good After retirement, Neilsen put himself to work with the Tupelo Luncheon Civitans and the American Legion.

“I started looking for a place I could do something good,” Neilsen said.

He serves on the American Legion local post board. His newest project is an oratorical contest for high school students.

Civitans keeps him particularly busy. In addition to the wheelchair pushers, he manages the candy box program and assists with the flag program.

He is particularly proud of his work with the Junior Civitan program. When he picked it up in 2008, there were five clubs and 105 Junior Civitans. Now there are 14 clubs boasting some 500 members in North Mississippi middle and high schools.

“It’s growing as fast as we can grow it,” Neilsen said.

He and his wife, Carolyn Neilsen, share in many of the Civitan projects, like ushering for BancorpSouth Arena events. The pair – who have three children, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild – will celebrate 41 years of marriage in August.

“Now since I’ve retired, we do a lot more things together,” he said.

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Renaissance Man Neilsen’s post-retirement adventures have also taken him into the arts. In 2007, he ended up on stage at Tupelo Community Theatre in a bit of a happy accident.

“I went in to tell them I wanted to work backstage,” Neilsen said, and ended up cast as one of the main characters in “Anne of Green Gables.”

Since then he has been a doctor three times, a judge twice and even Santa Claus.

He also has taken up the hammered dulcimer.

He and his wife play with the Crosstown Dulcimer Guild and other groups.

“I’m trying to learn to play the mandolin now,” Neilsen said.

On the Move Perhaps it’s no surprise that Neilsen can’t stand still. He lived in 21 towns in Washington and California before he turned 17 and joined the Navy after high school graduation.

The 12 years he spent in active duty laid the foundation for his civilian life. He started in helicopter maintenance during the Vietnam War era and eventually ended up teaching electronics at the naval support base in Millington. It was there he met and married Carolyn, and they started their family.

After going back to college, he felt the tug back to the classroom. He first taught at State Technical Institute in Memphis before joining Itawamba Community College in 1988. He felt a connection with the students he was teaching in Memphis and later Tupelo. Most were older and had already been 30

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in the work force.

“I was in my mid-30s before I went to college,” Neilsen said. “It was a way of reaching back to people like me who wanted to do better.”

Neilsen wasn’t done with the Navy. After taking a few years off, he joined the Naval Reserves in 1984, eventually earning a commission as a limited duty office. His naval career focused on electronics and maintenance work initially, but in the mid1990s, his career detoured into law enforcement and security work.

“After 9-11, I was recalled to active duty,” Neilsen said.

He ended up being deployed to Crete and Italy over the next two years. His work with the Greek Navy to set up security for the NATO naval base at Crete still ranks as one of his proudest accomplishments. The support from back home was huge.

“ICC was a huge, huge support,” Neilsen said. “I stepped back into my job both times.”

At ICC, his career focused on electronics and then teaching professionals how to use computer programs.

“I enjoyed teaching,” Neilsen said.

When he retired from the Navy for the final time in 2006 and from ICC in 2007, a new world opened up for him. Because he taught day and night classes, it made it difficult for him to do a lot of volunteer work outside of his membership with First Baptist Church in Saltillo.

“The things that I do have nothing to do with what I did,” Neilsen said. “I simply found something I was interested in.”

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The Coach Story by Riley Manning Photos by Lauren Wood

The Kosciusko native came to Tupelo High School as head baseball coach and assistant football coach in 1986, garnering two 5A baseball championships. In 2003, he saw his 500th win with the Golden Wave.

“You know you’re getting old when you see your players’ children graduating,” said Harmon, 57. “It’s been an awesome experience being a coach. We’ve won some ball games, but the best part is the relationships you form with players. They’re ongoing, you know, you see them out at the mall and other places.”

Growing up, Harmon was a multi-sport athlete who went on to play football for Mississippi Valley State University then in Canada before a knee injury sidelined him. MVSU inducted Harmon into its athletic hall of fame last year.

But now, the classroom is his field, Harmon said. As director and teacher at the Tupelo School District’s Fillmore Center since 2007, Harmon uses his coaching experience to teach the same life lessons to some of the district’s toughest cases.

“As a head coach, your job is to give your students the best opportunity to win. My dad taught me there were two types of people, proactive and reactive, and proactive people will always be successful,” he said. “Practice is the hard part. That’s where we look into every possible scenario and prepare. The game is the fun part.”

Harmon recalled his own high school coach Louis Slater who helped him turn his life in the right direction, and he wants to be the same for the students of Fillmore. The center provides smaller, more structured class settings for students with behavior issues.

“A coach is a teacher, just in a different location,” he said. “I enjoy the challenge here, of seeing kids who maybe haven’t made the best decisions come

Larry Harmon isn’t just a coach, more like The Coach as far as Tupelo athletics is concerned.

in and make a gradual change in behavior. Our philosophy here is, ‘You are somebody.’”

During the summer, he helps out with the center’s upkeep, painting and the like. On the rare occasion for free time, you can still probably find him at a ball field. The beautiful thing about sports – and life – is the people you meet along the way.

He’s rubbed shoulders with famed coaches, like Mississippi State University’s Ron Polk, Texas A and M’s Mark Johnson and several others. Not to mention, he’s gotten to see a good part of America and Canada while playing ball.

“The best thing is seeing your kids grow up and go on to the next level,” he said.

One of his favorite stories involves three of his former players - Alex Williamson, Burney Hutchinson, and Brad Henderson – who all ended up playing at the University of Mississippi. Harmon had gone to watch them play against Mississippi State, when a case of de ja vu struck.

“In high school, those boys had batted second, third and fourth, and that’s where they were on the batting order for Ole Miss,” he said. “Now, the pitcher for Mississippi State had played for Southaven, and he’d pitched against us at Tupelo, and we’d hit a double against him. And the same exact thing happened at that game against Mississippi State.”

As for the future, Harmon is taking his job as director on a year-by-year basis. However, as long as he’s healthy, he doesn’t plan on going anywhere.

“I enjoy what I do, and my health is still good,” he said. “You want to give every kid the best chance you can. I’ve spent 34 years in education, and I wouldn’t know what else to do without it.”

Opposite page: Larry holding a photo from 1986 when he coached the allstar team during his first year at Tupelo High School.

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Cruise Control It’s medically impossible for Allen McDaniel to have motor oil in his blood, but it’s metaphorically possible. During McDaniel’s early days in Myrtle, his grandaddy owned an off-white 1949 Ford that could be backed up on two boards. McDaniel remembered climbing behind the wheel and popping the clutch.

Story by M. Scott Morris Photos by Lauren Wood “That car would roll down those boards. I thought I was driving,” the 56-year-old recalled. “Man, that was something.”

As far as McDaniel is concerned, the ‘50s and ‘60s were the good ol’ days, and he connects to them with help from his nine-vehicle collection of multiple ’57 Chevrolet Bel-Airs, a ’57 Cadillac, two Corvettes from the ‘60s, a ’32 Roadster and more.

He knows what he likes, but he also understands that others might question his fascination. One car’s 34

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good enough for most people, so what makes him different?

“I don’t know for sure, but I kind of think it might be that I grew up in a really poor family,” he said. “I knew all the other guys who had cool cars. I wanted one, but I couldn’t afford one.

“I’m the guy who could never afford a car. Once I got to where I could, I might’ve overcompensated.”

But his love for cars goes well beyond a boy’s unmet desires. It’s a family trait he shared with his granddaddy, daddy and uncle.

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“They all liked cars,” McDaniel said. “Cars were in all of our family pictures. It seems like somebody always had a hood up and the rest gathered around.”

It should be noted that his Bel-Airs and Corvettes aren’t merely a masculine pastime. His mother’s life and personality also come into play.

“I took her on a trip one time. She had never been out of the state of Mississippi. We took her to the Great Smoky Mountains,” McDaniel said. “She talked to everyone we met. I didn’t know my mama was a people person until then. I thought I got my outsized personality from my granddaddy, but it’s my mama more than anybody else.”

McDaniel’s cars literally carry him across miles of pavement so he can meet with others who share his high-octane zeal for finely tuned engines and shiny chrome.

“I’m like my mama. I’m a people person,” McDaniel said with an easy smile. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a doctor, a lawyer or an Indian chief, if you like cars, you’re a car guy, and I like car guys.”

He’s a member of the North Mississippi Cruisers.

They have regular meetings, as well as road trips in their brightly colored celebrations of America’s gas-powered past.

The club doesn’t have leaders or officers, but McDaniel has an acknowledged role.

“In the car club, they refer to me as a ‘pusher,’” he said without a hint of guilt. “If you have people who don’t have a car and they go on a trip with us, I’ll lend them a car. They have so much fun, they come back and want their own car. I’m responsible for all kinds of people who never thought they would have an old car but now have one.”

McDaniel also shared his enthusiasm during a six-year stint as curator of the Tupelo Automobile Museum, and he’s director of the Blue Suede Cruise, a spring event that started in 2003 to bring car lovers and their significant others to Tupelo for a weekend of fun.

“The Convention and Visitors Bureau started it and hired someone to get it going. I helped him for the first two years. After that I took it over,” he said.

“

“They were paying him to do it, and they found a guy who would do it for free.”

McDaniel, who co-owns New Albany-based Copywrite, Inc., has been putting time and money into his passion since he bought his first classic car in the early 1990s. His collection represents a significant investment.

Here, again, McDaniel cited the influence of his mother, Mildred McDaniel.

“My mother is a very frugal person. She grew up in the Depression. She’s not a spender. She’s a saver. Enough of that rubbed off on me,” he said. “I don’t usually buy something if I can’t get my money back. Old cars, you keep them a while and they appreciate. It’s a hobby that’s expensive but it pays for itself.”

That might be a slight exaggeration because he’s had extra garages built at his Saltillo home. They’re equipped with air conditioning to fight mildew, a practical reason, but probably not something that’ll pay for itself.

“Everybody has a way of justifying what they do, I guess,” he said with shrug.

Besides, it’s hard to put a price on the sheer joy of taking the top down on a sierra gold ’57 Chevy Bel-Air, cranking up an oldies station and traveling in style.

“I have fun with every one of my cars in a different way,” McDaniel said. “If I’ve got a car and I’m not enjoying it, someone else will own it.”

He also understands that all metaphorical roads come to an end. He’s not ready for that eventuality, or interested in hurrying it along, but he’s proud of the plan he’s put in place.

“My burial plot is in New Albany at Glenfield Memorial Park. My whole family is there,” he said. “I told my wife that I want the funeral to be at Pegues Funeral Home in Tupelo, and after the funeral, I would like to see a procession of classic cars to Glenfield.

“There’s a place there in New Albany that has a really good buffet. If they’re open, I want her to treat everyone who drove a classic car. Wouldn’t that be great? One last meal on me for all my car buddies.”

I’m the guy who could never afford a car.

Once I got to where I could, I might’ve overcompensated.”

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Called to Serve

A servant’s heart can often be found in the person you walk by every day and sometimes rarely notice.

Story by W. Derek Russell • Photos by Lauren Wood Take Martha Swinney for example. Swinney’s is the first face you see when you walk into the main offices of the BancorpSouth Arena. You probably pass by, say hello, and without really knowing the selfless roles she has played in the many different positions she’s held over the years.

“I started working at Mildred’s Drive-In in Baldwyn when I was 10,” Swinney said.

“My mother and aunt worked there, and one Saturday they didn’t have a dish washer. And I was it. From there on, every weekend, I was it.”

A life-long resident of Baldwyn, Swinney worked in restaurants in the Prentiss County area for more than 25 years. Now at the age of 60, Swinney and her five siblings still call Baldwyn home.

“I get up in the morning and greet the day and walk three miles before work,” she said. “Sometimes I’ll do it again later in the day. Just to make sure I’m moving.”

Moving is an important, and easily attainable goal of Swinney’s. She’s active in her congregation at the New Tabernacle Baptist Church, where she wears many hats.

“Most Sunday mornings I’ll go to another church for an 8 a.m. service for the sermon,” she said, “because when I get to my church, I’m over the ushers, and I’m in charge of getting the programs and the water together for everything. I’m also the church clerk, so usually when the pastor is preaching, we’re already working on the finances.”

Swinney takes her job at the church seriously, pulling triple duty as secretary of the Sunday school

“

program and treasurer of the missionary fund as well.

“I was also secretary of the holy association for two years, but I had to quit that when my husband became treasurer. They couldn’t have two of us in the same house,” she laughed.

Swinney’s husband of 28 years, Bobby, passed away last September. She jokes that in his absence, she’s had to do lots of things she doesn’t enjoy, like the gardening and grocery shopping.

“I’m not a gardener,” she said. “But I’ll get out there and do it because it has to be done. I don’t like getting the groceries either. He would always call and ask what I wanted from the store, but he’d bring home what he wanted and I’d cook it for him. That was our arrangement.”

Swinney loved cooking for her husband, often staying up very late on Saturday nights to prepare meals for Sunday after church.

“I didn’t miss a Sunday,” she said. “I always had breakfast and there was always a full-course meal on Sunday. Didn’t matter if I was at work the night before or not, there was food on the table. Now I can get by on cheese and crackers.”

Swinney’s role as administrative assistant at the arena sometimes keeps her there late hours during events, but Bobby was always up waiting on her when she came home.

“It was sometimes 2 or 3 a.m., but he’d be up,” she said. “And I didn’t go right to sleep either.

Usually I’d head to the kitchen and start cooking right there. Sometimes right up until time to go to

Most of what I do, I don’t even think about it. I just do.”

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church.”

Swinney said she and her husband enjoyed life in general.

“And I still do,” she said. “I have a lot of time to myself now, but I use that working for the church.

Typing up minutes or doing something for the association.”

Her work in the church keeps her going strong from day to day, knowing in her heart that it’s all building towards something more.

“Whatever happens here is here, after I leave here, I’m done,” she said. “That’s what matters. The

after. I’ll do what I need to do while I’m here but when I leave, I’m gone.”

The humble Swinney doesn’t take time to consider what she does for others before doing for herself.

“I don’t give it much thought,” she said. “Most of what I do, I don’t even think about it. I just do.”

Swinney just lives her life trusting in God, she said, something that comes easy to her.

“If I ever need something from the Lord, it’s usually here without me asking for it. And that’s a blessing,” she said. djournal.com

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Expert Corner

Aging Gracefully and Safely at Home

According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2009, 2.2 million older adults visited the emergency room for injuries related to falls, with many of these injuries resulting in a decrease in independence and a need for long-term support.

These falls result in an increased risk for early death. Falls remain the leading cause of injury and/ or death among older adults. As we age, especially in the South, we want to remain in our own homes.

There are some steps that can be taken to allow this to happen.

Making your home safe can range from simple, inexpensive changes to major renovations. Major renovations require a contractor and lots of money.

Let’s look at the less expensive options.

To prevent falls: • Make sure all pathways throughout the home are clear of clutter and cords.

• Remove throw rugs or tape area rugs.

• Put items that you use often in easy-to-reach places.

• Do not rush to answer the phone. Let the answering machine get it. Keep your cell phone or cordless phone in your pocket or next to you.

• Consider an emergency call button that you wear at all times.

• Wear non-slip footwear, whether that be shoes, slippers or non-slip socks.

• Make sure there is adequate lighting in all areas, such as hallways, steps and outside walkways.

• Stay active: overall strength equals better balance.

Bathroom Safety: • Set the water heater thermostat no higher than 120°F. • Place non-slip mats in the tub or shower.

• Use a non-slip bath mat on the floor directly outside the tub or shower.

• Purchase a shower chair or tub bench to sit on during bathing.

• Use a long handle sponge or brush to wash lower body.

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• Add grab bars by toilet and around tub/shower (use a licensed contractor).

• Replace standard toilets with chair-height toilets or use an elevated toilet seat.

General safety: • Think honestly about things that have become more difficult for you. Ask for assistance when possible.

• Add lever-style handles on your doors, which are easier to use than door knobs.

• Replace deep cabinets with a pull-out drawer or shelving.

• Use a stool in the kitchen to rest on for preparing items rather than standing for long periods of time.

• Have a fire extinguisher handy and easy to reach.

• Keep emergency numbers handy and by the phone, including poison control, family members or friends, and your doctor’s office.

• Make any repairs to hand rails or steps, making sure rails are sturdy and steps are in good repair.

• Add rails at steps/stairs.

• Stay active. Get involved in a senior center, wellness center, water exercise class, walk with a friend, etc.

There are many good websites with check lists and recommendations for home safety. You may also contact an occupational therapist for recommendations. AARP offers a “Home Fit” program that you can check out at www.aarp.org/homefit.

The American Occupational Therapy Association has references at www. aota.org.

Lisa Brown is an occupational therapist with North Mississippi Medical Center’s Rehabilitation Institute.

Expert Corner

Exploring Other Options There is perhaps no more difficult time in the life of a senior adult than the loss of independence, the realization that living alone is no longer safe, and the accompanying fear of the unknown.

With aging oftentimes comes illness or injury or other changes that render a person unable to perform household chores, personal care, and meal and medication management.

The search for services that can help meet these needs and that are effective and affordable can be daunting. Fortunately there are options.

Nursing homes or skilled nursing care facilities are licensed to provide nursing services, rehabilitative care, personal care and recreation/social services to persons who need 24-hour care and supervision due to illness, injury or disability.

The average cost of nursing home care in Mississippi is $200 per day or $6,000 per month.

Residents pay this cost out of pocket if they are financially able; however, most long-term nursing home residents depend on Medicaid to cover the costs. A long-term care insurance policy may cover part of the cost as well.

Persons who have had at least a three-night acute-care stay in a hospital and who require a skilled service such as nursing or physical therapy may be admitted to the facility with Medicare paying for a limited period of time.

Personal care homes and assisted living homes are licensed to provide residential accommodations, personal care and social care to persons who may have physical or functional impairments or who simply need supervised living arrangements but not 24-hour nursing service.

Services provided by these homes vary widely as do the costs, but $2,000 to $3,000 per month is frequently quoted. Payment for a personal care home is generally all out of pocket unless the resident has a long-term care insurance policy that assists. The Mississippi Medicaid program also provides assistance to some personal care homes and residents through the Medicaid Waiver program.

For both nursing homes and personal care

homes, it is important to learn as much as you can about the facility to aid in decision making. Tour the facility. Contact the admissions coordinator or social worker to ask questions. Know that the qualifications for Medicaid at home are different than the qualifications for Medicaid in the nursing home. Be prepared to discuss the potential resident’s finances with the facility representative so they can guide you as to whether payment assistance is likely.

To learn more about who qualifies for long-term care Medicaid, as well as for information about the Medicaid Waiver program, visit www.medicaid. ms.gov.

Listings of licensed nursing homes and personal care homes in your area may be found at www. msdh.state.ms.us, in the Yellow Pages or through your local Area Agency on Aging.

Of course, home may also be a viable option if the right support services can be added to make it safe and comfortable. Home health services, hospice, companion or sitter agencies, Meals on Wheels, emergency call systems and Medicaid Waiver programs are all good choices.

Contact a social worker through a hospital, nursing home or Area Agency on Aging for additional information.

Arming yourself with knowledge about resources is the best defense against the fear of the unknown.

Gina Smith is a social worker for North Mississippi Medical Center Hospice and Oncology Services.

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Expert Corner

Will Your Money Last?

With so much at stake when planning a retirement income stream, it pays for Boomers to take a step back and see whether your plan takes into account the major obstacles to retirement income adequacy. When you take this big-picture view, consider three major challenges most retirees face: the potential for outliving one’s assets; the threat of rising living costs and the impact of increasing health care costs.

Understanding each of these challenges can lead to more confident preparation.

Life spans have increased significantly over the past 30 years. While most people look forward to living a long life, they also want to make sure their longevity is supported by a comfortable financial cushion. As the average life span has steadily lengthened due to advances in medicine and sanitation, the chance of prematurely depleting one’s retirement assets has become a matter of great concern.

Consider a few numbers: According to the latest government data, average life expectancy in the United States climbed to 77.9 years for a child born in 2007, compared to 47.3 years in 1900. But most people don’t live an average number of years.

In reality, there’s a 50 percent chance that at least one spouse of a healthy couple aged 65 will reach age 89.

The tendency of prices to increase, or inflation is a concern Boomers cannot overlook.

Through many ups and downs, U.S. consumer inflation averaged about 4 percent over the 50 years ended December 31, 2012. If inflation were to continue increasing at a 4 percent annual rate, a dollar would be worth 46 cents in just 20 years.

Conversely, the price of an automobile that costs $23,000 today would rise to more than $50,000 within two decades.

The cost of medical care has emerged as a more important element of retirement planning in recent years. That’s primarily due to three reasons: 42

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health care expenses have increased at a faster pace than the overall inflation rate; many employers have reduced or eliminated medical coverage for retired employees; and life expectancy has lengthened. The Employee Benefit Research Institute has estimated that if recent trends continue, a typical retiree who is age 65 now and lives to age 90 will need to allocate about $180,000 of his or her nest egg just for medical costs, including premiums for Medicare.

Boomers must plan for the above risks before entering retirement. Before you can develop a realistic plan aimed at providing a sustainable stream of income for your retirement, you will have to relate each risk to your situation. For example, if you are in good health and intend to retire in your mid-60s, you may want to plan for a retirement lasting 30 years or longer.

Developing a realistic plan to address the financial risks you face in retirement may seem beyond you. But you don’t have to go it alone. An experienced financial professional can provide useful information, as well as valuable perspective on the options for successfully managing what may stand in the way of your long-term financial security.

Robin W. Haire is an LPL Wealth Advisor. Securities Offered Through LPL Financial – Member FINRA/SIPC.

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