60 OMAHA s u l p
September 2020
Phil Perrone SEPTEMBER 2020 • 60 PLUS
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60+ ACTIVE LIVING // STORY BY RYAN BORCHERS // PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN // DESIGN BY DEREK JOY
s d l o r a e y 3 1 w o n k “I didn't
t ’ n e r we osed p p su run." to Iron Phil’s 4,378 miles and counting
P
hil Perrone
ran his first marathon at age 13, completing the event in Falls City, Nebraska, with his dad in under four hours.
“In those days, [running a marathon at that age] was kind of unheard of,” he said. “I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to. I mean, my dad just said, ‘Let’s do it,’ and we did it. “I guess I didn’t know 13-year-olds weren’t supposed to run.” An Omaha native and graduate of Westside High School, Perrone, who turns 60 in early 2021, has always been athletic, but he had a special reason to take up running at such a young age. “I wanted to spend time with my dad,” he said. Perrone and his father, Frank, continued running marathons together, of which their “most recent” was in 2001. Frank took up running around the age of 35 and has run nearly 45 marathons.
Perrone, though, has participated in 167 marathons, which equals a little over 4,378 miles. That’s a bit longer than the driving distance from Juneau, Alaska, to West Palm Beach, Florida. Although he has not run that literal route, he has run through all manner of temperatures and terrains. One memorable marathon was held in Kansas City on Oct. 25, 1997. “It started out 40 degrees and freezing rain and ended up a blizzard,” he said. “It was so cold I didn’t want to walk, so I just kept running and I did a real fast time.” Across the Midwest, a snowstorm that day created havoc. In Omaha, the memorable storm dumped 9.2 inches of snow on Omaha and caused widespread power outages. Perrone also ran a marathon in Las Vegas, aptly called “Run with the Devil,” where the temperature was 93 degrees at the beginning of the race and 112 at the end.
“As far as a marathon goes, every one you finish, to me, is the best.” -Phil Perrone
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// 60+ ACTIVE LIVING //
P
errone
served with the Army National guard in Nebraska for 36 years and ran for the military marathon team for approximately 15 years. Running helped him stay healthy and avoid bad habits.
Other memorable runs include completing three marathons in three days around Lake Tahoe—which he has done on two separate occasions—and a 1983 marathon from Minneapolis to St. Paul, Minnesota, in which he ran his personal best time of 2 hours, 58 minutes. “It was 6,000 runners out there, and the problem with that is…there’s so many runners, nobody that I knew could be there to appreciate it with me,” he said. “You couldn’t communicate with your family, so you were kind of finishing on your own.”
Participating in marathons, Perrone said, has been good for his life. He did not let a 2017 knee replacement stop him from his preferred form of exercise. He has been told he’s a “bad quitter.” “For probably the first 38 or 40 years of my running, I almost never was injured,” Perrone said. “But through the years of the military, and all the training that I did and all the activity I did, my knee just…wore out. “That was a tough time,” he said. “I knew that my running was over.” Running had been a way for Perrone to relax. It was good for his physical health, but more importantly, it was good for his mental health. It helped him escape from all the stress he experienced in the military.
“There are a lot of people who have a goal of running a marathon, and if they are uncertain about whether they’re going to be able to make the cutoff, yeah, we do get probably one or two of those kinds of requests each year,” Eickman said. Less common, though, is encountering someone in Perrone’s position. “He wanted to know if it would be OK if he went over the time limit,” Eickman said, which is about six and a half hours before the course has to start opening up again. “Anybody…who wants to do a marathon after full knee replacement surgery deserves our respect, our humble respect.” Many people, Eickman said, include running a marathon on their bucket lists. They may finish one, maybe a few others. But completing 167 marathons, especially at Perrone’s age, is a rare feat.
“That was a tough time. I knew that my running was over.” -Phil Perrone
Perrone, though, isn’t one to let something like that make the experience any less special. “As far as a marathon goes, every one you finish, to me, is the best,” he said. At age 16, Perrone, Frank, and Perrone’s two brothers ran the 1977 Omaha Marathon together and were the subjects of an article that appeared in the Omaha Sun. A young girl by the name of Lisa saw his picture in the paper, after which they were set up on a blind date. Lisa eventually married Perrone, and, during a half-marathon they walked in Las Vegas in September 2019, the couple renewed their wedding vows on the course. “It’s called a Run-Thru Wedding,” he said. “About four miles into the race you get in there with 250 of your closest friends in about a 30-square foot area and they marry you.”
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60 PLUS • SEPTEMBER 2020
This development was not a complete surprise. One of Perrone’s brothers had a knee replacement earlier, even though he didn’t run to the same extent Perrone did, and his mother had two knee replacements. However, Perrone’s doctor told him he could one day walk in a marathon. “You just have to re-evaluate and readjust your goals,” he said. “My running’s over, but I can still be out there on the course.” He walks 20-25 miles a week, often at his favorite spot, Lake Zorinsky. Perrone has walked two marathons, and he plans on walking the Omaha Marathon this month. Walking large portions of a marathon isn’t unheard of, said John Eickman, vice president of HITS Endurance, which organizes the Omaha Marathon and works with the Omaha nonprofit Partnership 4 Kids, which helps at-risk kids finish high school and set life goals. HITS Endurance makes sure to accommodate people who are determined to complete the race and think they may finish after the race officially ends.
“I’m not aware of too many people that have done as many marathons as Phil,” Eickman said. “He’s top percentile in my mind.” Perrone insists he isn’t a superman. He’s just a hard worker, someone who can hopefully inspire others to work hard, too. “For me...it’s a self-confidence builder,” he said. “Every time I finish a race, I mean I just feel that much stronger and determined to go on with life and to move forward.” Visit omahamarathon.com for more information about the Omaha Marathon, hitsendurance.com for HITS Endurance and p4k.org for Partnership 4 Kids. To see a list of all the marathons Perrone has run, visit marathonmaniacs.com/Maniacs/ MyRaces/1396.
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60+ Nostalgia | story by James Vnuk | design & illustration by Derek Joy
hen it comes to traveling these days, it’s a wonder anybody can tolerate flying. Between the endless delays, transfers, itineraries that range from unbearably long layovers to impossibly short windows to change gates, and spending hours navigating security, flying has become as exciting as a root canal for most people. How did such a miracle like this, the ability to soar through the air to anywhere in the world, become so dull and burdensome?
There was a time when flying still carried a luster that befitted the experience. The “golden age” of commercial flight between the 1950s and 1960s, though still largely the domain of the elite and privileged, opened to the average person and offered them a taste of glamour and luxury. However, the memory of that time has begun to fade, and knowledge that survives often comes from film, television, and literature of dubious accuracy. Flight in the golden age was exquisite, exclusive, and expensive. To me, the appeal is strong, and when I think about the ordeal of flying today, starting with flight attendants funneling passengers through the jetway like a hose of sardines fired into a tin can, my imagination abounds: can I blunt the vagaries of modern flight with a daydream back to the golden age? Could we, just today, imagine it’s 1960 again? Let’s take a step into the past and the air. I envision leaving the jetway into a vintage Boeing 707. I pass rows of gentlemen in smart, starched suits and ties (just a single Windsor; we’re flying casual, after all). A whole rainbow of gray patterns: herringbone, madras, pinstripe, and more. Right away I regret my choice of ratty sweatpants and a cheap T-shirt. Nobody else seems to mind, though, and once I’m situated deep into coach I do my best to ignore the punches to the back of my seat reclined back a full inch.
We begin to taxi. There’s no announcement to put away our cell phones and set them to airplane mode, because in the 1960s nobody’s heard of either. A stewardess in a pink lemonade skirt and blazer, sporting a smashing beehive updo, addresses the cabin. In the event of cabin depressurization, the liquor cart will arrive promptly for another round. The plane lifts off and, I imagine, the lighters come out. For a moment, the spell is broken, and I think about rummaging through my carry-on bag for some kind of diversion. I resist their temptations, and pull myself back to the mystique of the golden age, trying my best to envision a cabin hazy with cigarette smoke (I was also never a smoker, so it’s an approximation somewhere between being back at parties in college and hanging out after rock concerts). I decide to blame it for the mild headache I’ve started to run.
I take a moment to consider the ethics of this imaginative exercise and the merits of the present. Flying in the 1950s and 1960s was considerably more dangerous than today—a bit of turbulence could cause whiplash or worse. Travelers were probably smarter to avoid using the lavatories mid-flight. And, the excesses and exclusivity of travel-by-air had a dark side, too—one which reflected the prejudices of the era. Further, while I lamented the need to bake an extra hour into my trip to deal with the vagaries of security, I was grateful they existed and that I was asked to present an ID at all. At this point I observe the tiniest hint of drool emerging from my slumbering neighbor’s lip, and I immediately put my imagination to work creating an era-appropriate alternative scenario.
“Do you want pretzels or trail mix?” The daydream bursts.
Nonetheless, the atmosphere feels glamourous. The attendants move elegantly through the spacious cabin passing out heated towels and crystal snifters, bantering with passengers and wearing coquettish smirks. The PA announces that the in-flight meal will include sous vide prime rib with your choice of Burgundy or Moselle. Momentarily I feel like a spy in the house of the idle rich, rubbing shoulders with men of mystery, wandering dowagers, captains of industry, and the intelligentsia of days gone by. The tinkle of ice on glass flits through the hazy air.
There was a time, though, when flying still carried a luster that befitted the experience.
“Do you want pretzels or trail mix?” The daydream bursts. I clumsily choose the pretzels, and briefly consider if a dram of tomato juice tossed with bottom shelf vodka is worth the $15 the airline is asking for it. I settle on a ginger ale. The attendant tries to get the attention of the man sitting next to me, passed out against the window, and decides not to interrupt his snoring. The pretzels are a disappointment, and I debate flagging the attendant back down for the overpriced bloody Mary.
Instead, he’s puffing away at a pipe carved from fine mahogany, with the Saturday Evening Post in the other hand. “Hell of a way the nation’s going,” he says to me world-wearily. He puts down the paper to take a swig of neat bourbon. We talk, and he makes conspiratorial remarks about communists in the government and plots abroad, as if he has encountered them all firsthand. I consider making an airline food joke but pull back, reminding myself we’re supposed to be in a pre-Seinfeld world. After a bit, he orders a second drink for me, and we toast to nothing in particular. I can sense the cabin beginning to spin when the stewardess from before approaches us with a rotary phone on a silver, glimmering platter. “Sir, it’s urgent,” she says, and I mistakenly assume she means me while he reaches across and picks up the receiver. He nods and says yes, Mr. Kennedy, he’ll meet him at the terminal. He passes the receiver to me, asks if I want to say hello to Mr. Kennedy. I take the receiver. I have no idea what to say. The seatbelt sign flashes, and the tone for a PA announcement snaps me out of the haze. We’re landing. It’s a rainy, dreary day when we hit the strip.
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D ottie Deines
has kept remarkably busy since retiring from a 42-year teaching career in 2013. She’s in a book club; she participates in educator organization Alpha Delta Kappa; she’s active with First United Methodist Church and United Methodist Women; and she’s volunteered for organizations such as Food Bank for the Heartland, Siena Francis House, and the historic Prospect Hill Cemetery. She’s even done some traveling and golfing. Five years ago, friend Sherry Houston told Deines of an opportunity to return to teaching. Instead of children as her pupils, however, she’d be teaching other seniors. Instead of elementary-level language arts, she’d be teaching English as a Second Language classes at the nonprofit Intercultural Senior Center.
Deines was determined to find room in her schedule. “I thought it sounded very interesting, so I decided ‘let’s go for it.’ And we’ve been a team for five years,” Deines said. Not only does she welcome the “exciting new challenge,” she added, “I wanted to help our immigrant seniors feel welcome in the United States and know that they are valued individuals.” ISC was founded in 2009 by Carolina Padilla to serve elderly immigrants in the community. ISC’s clientele has branched out from primarily Latino seniors to seniors from many other countries including Sudan, Somalia, Bhutan, Nepal, and Burma. It also is open to native English speakers. With bilingual staff members and interpreters, and door-to-door van transportation available, ISC helps individuals overcome barriers to participating in its classes and activities. And while ISC primarily functions as a community center, the organization also assists struggling seniors with support services like a food pantry and meal delivery. “Here they have a safe place to meet people, eat, exercise, dance, and learn new skills. I really do believe that does bring joy and a purpose to their lives… they have so much to offer and they have years of experience to share,” Deines said. “I really think being together expands their horizons outside of their home and family, and I think they’re happier and healthier when they’re interacting with their peers. I have seen all of this while I’ve been here, and it makes me happy to be a part of all of this.”
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Back to School
60+ PROFILE STORY BY KARA SCHWEISS PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN BY DEREK JOY
Former Elementary Teacher Now Educates Other Seniors
Padilla praised Deines’ enthusiasm and commitment as a volunteer ESL teacher, calling her a “very creative communicator.” She’s seen Deines’ students grow from knowing no English words to being able to have basic conversations.
“Our seniors love her. Her interactions with them have enabled them to have more confidence in their English,” Padilla said. “I think this makes learning a positive experience for our seniors, who come from different backgrounds. Dottie has accomplished a lot, and we’re so lucky to have her.” Deines said she respects the life experience and perspective of her students, which enhances their ability to learn new skills at any age. “They’re willing to take risks that will surprise us.” “Everybody is able to learn,” Padilla said in agreement. Because they’re not rushed or pushed through curriculum, she explained, the senior ESL students at ISC learn at a pace that’s comfortable for them. Student feedback reports that not only does Deines make class fun, “She teaches in a way that everybody ‘gets it’… People are paying attention and appreciate what she does.” Her decades of teaching elementary school have served Deines well in teaching adult learners, certainly in engaging students in group instruction, but also in such tasks as developing lesson plans and creating teaching aids. “And it did instill in me a love of helping others,” she said. “An added bonus is getting the hugs.”
The volunteer work is rewarding, Deines said, because she knows she’s “making a positive impact” on the lives of her students. Plus, as a senior herself, she and her pupils can relate to each other.
“I think seniors like myself should volunteer because we all have gifts and talents to share. There is no better feeling than knowing you are helping someone else and contributing in positive ways,” she said, adding that her students teach her in return. “Learning about customs and cultural difference reminds me how much I can learn from them.” With seniors being a population particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, the pandemic has necessitated the temporary suspension of most of ISC’s center-based services, although some have been converted to virtual platforms. Padilla said clients miss the in-person social interaction—so do staff and volunteers—and the recent separation has emphasized the importance of ISC to the community. Deines, who has reached out to students with lovingly handmade greeting cards, said she’s eager to return to her classes and the students who have become her friends. “I do think, although these times are difficult, that we’ll all be back together,” she said. “We’ll get through it.” Visit interculturalseniorcenter.org, for more information on Intercultural Senior Center.
"Our seniors love her. Deines' interactions with them have enabled them to have more confidence in their English."
-Carolina Padilla
Dottie Deines
“i was down in the dumps, so i adopted a red miniature dachshund named schotzie. i took him to a puppy class where i met a woman who said schotzie would be a good therapy dog and told me to contact nancy.� -pam egger
From left: Nancy Ethington and Pam Egger
60+ feature // story by Tamsen Butler
FourLegged Therapy
Dogs Help Young Humans At Children's Hospital & Medical Center
pam egger
hesitated to guess the number of hours she has volunteered at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center’s pet therapy program. “I don’t suppose it’s up to a thousand hours yet,” she demured.
The actual number surpassed her wildest dreams. Angela Loyd, who oversees Volunteer Services at the hospital, said Egger has volunteered 2,163 hours. After a shocked pause, Egger quickly mentioned that others in the program have volunteered far more hours than she has. She started serving as a pet therapy volunteer more than 20 years ago. Her husband passed away in 1998, which was then followed by a back surgery for her. “I was down in the dumps, so I adopted a red miniature dachshund named Schotzie,” Egger said. “I took him to a puppy class where I met a woman who said Schotzie would be a good therapy dog and told me to contact Nancy.”
photography by Bill Sitzmann // design by Derek Joy Nancy Ethington is one of the pioneers of the pet therapy program in Omaha. She began her journey in 1994. “I was sitting at home watching the news on TV and a story came on about dogs going to facilities to provide comfort, and there’s my golden retriever Zoe with her head on my lap. I decided I wanted to share her with others, so I reached out to the lady featured in the news story. In the beginning we were only in senior care facilities, but when we started at the hospital they were thrilled. Initially there were only three of us. We coordinated with the volunteer office to develop the program initially—this was when Children’s was floors five and six at Methodist Hospital. The staff used to take us around to the shared rooms that were two patients to a room. We used our own dogs. The dogs earned certification through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs in Cheyenne, Wyoming, which improved the credibility of the dogs and the program.” Therapy dog certification is a requirement for all dogs participating in the pet therapy program who are examined annually by veterinarians to meet strict guidelines. “There’s a difference between our dogs and service dogs,” Ethington explained. “Service dogs are trained to perform specific tasks to ease the handler’s disabilities. Therapy dogs are easygoing and love to have people pet them, bringing smiles to everyone they encounter.” Ethington said it’s a common misunderstanding that the dogs in the program are service dogs, but the furry friends in this program are therapy dogs.
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" Our purpose is to benefit the
kids. We're there to assist this is not a dog show." -nancy ethington
A lot has changed
since the program’s inception in the 1990s. “I love how it’s grown,” Ethington said. “Initially there was pushback because pet therapy was in its infancy. The veterinarians had to assure the physicians and staff that nothing bad can be transferred from the dogs to the kids. One doctor in particular was doubtful and didn’t understand the benefits of the dogs, so I went in with him to a room where the patient was screaming, but once the little boy saw the dog he stopped screaming and just wanted to pet the dog. That doctor became one of our biggest advocates.”
“We don’t really experience pushback anymore,” Ethington added. Ethington explained a typical therapy dog visit to a patient’s room: “Typically I’ll walk into a room and I always ask the patient, ‘Do you want to see my dog?’ and the patient will smile; it’s the best ‘thank-you.’ The dog will then go and put their head on the bed. The kid will usually say, ‘He likes me!’. “Our purpose is to benefit the kids. We’re there to assist—this is not a dog show,” Ethington said. Therapy dogs need a specific temperament, one reason why there are only five in the program. “The dogs have to be mindful of the hospital environment without impacting medical treatments,” said Nikki Walker, supervisor of Child Life Services. Dogs that are startled or distracted easily aren’t the best choice for the program. The program is not suitable for all volunteers. Therapy dog handlers sometimes find themselves in sensitive situations and must learn to face patients who are nearing death. “I think the dogs can sometimes tell when we enter the room of an end-of-life patient,” Egger said. “I think they sense, ‘something’s not right here’. It’s tough at times, but parents will sometimes later say of the child, ‘They sure did love seeing the dogs’.”
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“We see kids in a variety of situations that vary greatly,” Ethington said. “Accidents, cancer—the unconditional love and acceptance of the dogs helps in every situation. Sometimes I’ll go into a patient’s room and the patient’s unresponsive. The child’s not moving, but the parents will put the child’s hand onto the dog’s head and the child will smile or open their eyes.”
Egger’s therapy dog Roxie, a black and tan dachshund, was a bit of a celebrity at Children’s during her working years of 2006-2019. “Roxie was one of the best pet therapy dogs I ever had,” Egger said. “She was very dressy. I painted her toenails. She had tutus, Husker clothes, holiday outfits—and her nails always matched her outfits. She was better looking than I am.” “Roxie was the best-dressed dog,” Loyd said. “Staff and family all wanted to see what she was wearing every day.”
Walker describes Ethington as “dedicated, compassionate, and empathetic” and Egger as “outgoing, empathetic, and sweet.” “They really are a part of our team,” Walker added. “If they’re on vacation, everyone asks where they are. Without Nancy and Pam’s passion for the program’s plan, it wouldn’t be what it is.”
Egger’s third therapy dog was named Dollie, a rescue from the Humane Society. “She was an older dog and was missing a leg. She couldn’t walk so I bought her a little umbrella stroller that I would decorate with feather boas. I put a sign on the stroller to let everyone know Dollie wasn’t lazy or spoiled—she just couldn’t walk.”
“They’re always willing to do something outside of the box. There was a request by an end-of-life patient to see a dog outside of normal hours. It meant a lot to the kid and their family that they did the visit.”
“Just bringing a pet in can make such a difference,” Ethington said. “I love that I’m given the opportunity to share the love. The dogs know why they’re there. It’s not about tooting our own horns, and that’s why it’s been so successful.”
Loyd agreed. “When college volunteers wanted someone to come to their class to talk about the dogs and the program, Nancy and Pam went outside their normal hours.” Ethington, Egger, and their dogs are loved by not only the patients, but staff and families as well. “Some of the staff look for them in the lobby and on their floors,” said Kristen Beat, marketing coordinator at Children’s. Loyd added, “The dogs can be a stress reliever for the medical students as well.” “The patients are all so special,” Egger said. “They all know that when Thursday comes around we’re going to be there. The nurses tell us the kids get so excited. Even the parents, doctors, and nurses look forward to our visits.” Ethington said that although the dogs are trained, they’re still dogs. “We always have to move stuffed animals from the patients’ beds because my golden retrievers have always loved stuffed animals. Once someone was pushing a bin full of stuffed animals down the hall for the patients and I had to drag my dog Gracie away—she wanted those toys. Someone grabbed a stuffed owl from the bin and gave it to Gracie and she was happy and stopped trying to get to the bins.”
She continued, “The commitment and dedication the pet therapy volunteers have creates a long lasting, highly respected program. We visit these children and families to, hopefully, provide a distraction, relieve stress and bring a smile to their faces.” RN Sarah Chantry said it’s the normalcy of visiting with a dog that’s beneficial for the young patients. “There is something about petting the dogs that takes the stress out of hospital life. It just makes the day better, and the smiles from the kids are priceless. Their overall mood is lifted and it spreads to their family and even to the staff.” “It’s such a great feeling,” Egger said. “They’re so glad we came. Volunteering just makes me feel really good. I’m glad I can do this for people.” Ethington and Egger don’t seem to mind the anonymity that comes with playing second fiddle to a furry volunteer. “They all know the dogs—they don’t know us,” Egger said. “And that’s fine.” Visit childrensomaha.org for more information.