July/August 2014 60 PLUS In Omaha

July/August

•

2014

David Corbin

Active Living

Polio Panic of 1952 Do you remember?

Dr. Byron Oberst does.

Don’t Get Around Much Anymore?

Big Band Night at the Ozone Lounge

Trouble Getting Up & Down the Stairs?

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LETTER from editor

It Takes Two to Tango.

T

HE STORY ON DANCING and big band music in this issue brings

back a flood of memories.

CONTENTS

I met my late husband, Raymond, on a dance floor. A friend of mine at Mutual of Omaha took me to a ballroom dance class that happened to be led by a handsome young man named Raymond. I think I paid for …oh, maybe three classes.

I learned enough that I was soon helping him teach others. I loved dancing, and I liked the handsome young man.

After we were married, we held classes in couples’ homes with as many as 12 couples in a session.

We also had large classes at Offutt Air Force Base.

Raymond would stand in the middle of a very large circle with a microphone for the Base classes…and I would dance with all of the good-looking airmen —up to 50 in a class.

volume 2 • issue 4

Don’t get Around Much Anymore?

Big Band Night at the Ozone Lounge____________ S4 Keeping the Pace: David Corbin_____ S6 Estate Planning: Married, with Children________ S8

It’s amazing how many people I run into decades later that will mention that they took dance lessons from us.

Polio Panic of 1952. Do you remember?

These were the big band days and we spent many nights dancing at Peony Park and The Music Box. I treasure the many photographs of us in formal dress, posing with all the big-name bandleaders whose tours included a stop in Omaha.

Humor:

We taught the tango, cha cha, rhumba, fox trot, waltz, swing…even the accordion-fueled polka.

It’s great to see that Arlene and Dave Beber on the dance floor at the Ozone Lounge (see story on Page 4) all dressed up—with someplace to go.

Dr. Byron Oberst does. _______ S12

You Know You’re 60-Plus When___S14 Beat the Heat.

And do it with style!__________S16 The Grandpa Chronicles_________ S18

Keep on dancing, Arlene and Dave. Keep on dancing!

Gwen Gwen Lemke Contributing Editor, 60PLUS In Omaha

Comments? Send your letter to the editor to: david@omahamagazine.com All versions of Omaha Magazine are published bimonthly by Omaha Magazine, LTD, P.O. Box 461208, Omaha NE 68046-1208. Telephone: (402) 884-2000; fax (402) 884-2001. Subscription rates: $19.95 for 6 issues (one year), $24.95 for 12 issues (two years). No whole or part of the contents herein may be reproduced without prior written permission of Omaha Magazine, excepting individually copyrighted articles and photographs. Unsolicited manuscripts are accepted, however no responsibility will be assumed for such solicitations. Best of Omaha®™ is a registered tradename of Omaha Magazine.

july/august • 2014 may/june • 2014

60PLUS S3

60PLUS feature by david williams • photography by sarah lemke

Don’t Get Around Much Anymore?

Big Band Night at the Ozone Lounge

P

EONY PARK CLOSED 20 years

ago. A wrecking ball followed shortly after to make way for a Hy-Vee grocery store.

Arlene and Dave Beber don’t miss the roller coaster. And they don’t much think about the cotton candy, arcades, and corn dogs. They do, however, long for the days of dancing under the stars at the park’s alfresco band shell, The Royal Grove.

But it doesn’t mean that the couple who have been married for 62 years have given up on cutting a rug. The pair dubbed “Fred and Ginger” for their dancing prowess can be spotted most every Monday night at the Ozone Lounge at Anthony’s Steakhouse.

That’s when Mike Gurciullo and His Las Vegas Big Band hit the stage.

A recent visit to the Ozone found Dave and Arlene at their table, the one

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closest to stage right.

“Life is too short and too many people take it too seriously,” Dave says. “Dancing is a great way to lighten up, feel young, and have fun.”

“We’re here to dance,” adds Arlene, “but there’s more to it than that. Everybody here, including the staff, is like family to us. The people are warm and welcoming.”

Bandleader Mike Gurciullo is a virtuoso trumpet man who goes by the handle of Gooch. He’s toured extensively, including, as his band’s name suggests, gigs in Las Vegas.

Gooch was also featured earlier this year in accompanying Kathy Tyree in her title role of Ella at the Omaha Community Playhouse.

“It’s great to see the same faces every week,” Gooch says. “It’s an honor to play for them.

It’s almost a spiritual experience to be able to play here,” he adds, before also complimenting the staff of the club. “Everybody

knows everybody. And Dave and Arlene are crowd favorites. They are an elegant couple and beautiful dancers.”

Gooch, who announces every song title played by his 16-piece band, engages the audience with more than just his tunes. A night at the Ozone is chock full of friendly banter from the stage. He addresses most of the dancers by name in his little asides, and even included a shout-out that night to the table known affectionately as “The Wine Ladies.”

While most of the crowd is middle-aged or well beyond—the Bebers politely demurred when asked how old they were—youth is also served on big band night.

Eric and Diana Powell, now of Lisle, Illinois, are 25-year-old Omaha natives who are self-described “band nerds.” They met in jazz band while at Millard West High School.

“I played keyboards,” Eric says, “and Diana played the trumpet,” just like Gooch.

“We love this music,” Diana adds. “We’d be here every Monday night if we could.”

The Bebers say they love all kinds of music.

“Even Hip Hop,” says Dave before Arlene jumps in with “Polka? Not so much anymore.”

And the Beber’s favorite dance number? “Oh, too many to mention,” Arlene says as Dave puts his two cents in by crooning the lyrics of Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable.” Arlene nods in agreement. “At Last” [Etta James] is another one,” Arlene continues. “We have so many favorites. And we had so many favorite places to dance. Do you remember the Red Lion? Or the Leopard Lounge? And the Music Box?” The lifelong Omahans who worked together in operating their own medical billing company while raising six boys were the

first on the dance floor that recent Monday night as Gooch and his boys opened their first set with Duke Ellington’s “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.”

But the irony of it all is that the Bebers still do get around. Quite a lot, as a matter of fact. The hopelessly romantic couple even return on occasion to the Royal Grove, or at least to the slab of parking lot concrete on the site where they danced so many nights away over the decades, “We’ll park the car, roll down the windows, and turn up the radio,” Dave explains.

“And then we dance,” Arlene adds. “We don’t care who sees us or what they think.

We get out of the car and dance right there in the parking lot.”

july/august • 2014

60PLUS S5

60PLUS active living by jillian humphries • photography by bill sitzmann

Keeping the Pace David Corbin has no plans to slow down.

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W

HEN NOT CHASING AFTER his 6-year-old

pup named Lily, retired University of Nebraska-Omaha professor David Corbin is keeping things interesting.

Following his 31 years teaching health education, Corbin has continued to maintain an active lifestyle both mentally and physically. He serves on several boards, including the Health Association of Nebraska, and is involved in Project Extra Mile. He also recently co-authored the textbook, Health for Life, which will be used in high schools.

At the end of a long week breaking a mental sweat, Corbin leads an exercise class for older adults at deFreese Manor. He started the class in 1983 after giving a presentation about exercise and older adults. A participant asked him if he would be interested in leading such a class and he has been there every Friday since.

The class ranges from 80 to 90 in age. His oldest participant lived to be 105, only quitting at 100. Now, as Corbin approaches the age of his attendees, he has come to appreciate the class even more.

“I benefit from the range of motion and resistance exercises,” says Corbin. “They help me and the participants stay more fit by emphasizing the types of exercises that can help to live independently.”

The class includes many exercises that can be done while seated. Many incorporate homemade stretch bands created from old tire inner tubes, scarves for juggling, and rubber balls.

Tai chi and dance are also a part of the mix, and Corbin is no newbie to the dance scene.

He met his wife, Josie, at a dance class.

She’s the director of The Moving Company, the University of Nebraska-Omaha troupe that is one of the oldest college-based modern dance companies in the country. Corbin joined the company, one that boasts an allages, intergenerational roster of talent.

At the age of 68, Corbin doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.

“It’s true what people say,” he says.

“Use it or lose it. Learning new things is probably the best thing you can do for healthy aging.” july/august • 2014

60PLUS S7

60PLUS money by margaret a. badura

Estate R Planning Married, with Children

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EMARRIED CLIENTS WITH CHILDREN present some of

the most interesting and sometimes challenging estate planning situations.

Generally, there are three common scenarios: one or both have young children from a prior marriage and more are possible; one or both have teenage children and more children are unlikely; and, one or both have adult children and possibly grandchildren.

The first question I must always address with prospective clients is: “Can I represent both of you or do you need to have separate attorneys?” If there are competing distribution interests, I cannot represent both. This can also happen if there is a big disparity in ages and/or wealth.

Assuming that joint representation is possible and agreed to, we discuss and address what will happen without planning, what does the couple want to achieve, and how can that best be accomplished? We start with

what happens if there are no wills. If a spouse dies leaving children of a prior marriage, the decedent’s estate will be split 50/50 between the surviving spouse and the children of the earlier marriage. This may produce particularly bad results of co-ownership between the decedent’s children and their step-parent. We also talk about the right of a surviving spouse to elect to receive up to 50% of the couple’s estate, even if there is a will that would leave less to the survivor. This may lead to discussions about a will contract, the use of a Qualified Terminable Interest Trust (QTIP) that provides income to the survivor for life with trust assets going to the first spouse’s beneficiaries after the second spouse’s death, and the need to update retirement plan, IRA and life insurance beneficiary designations.

Since one or both of the couple has been through a divorce, we also naturally talk about how estate planning and ownership of assets acquired both before and during the

marriage (including increases in value) may affect a future division of marital property if this marriage were to fail.

Having gotten those “pleasantries” out of the way, we can now start getting to the couple’s objectives and planning. A common issue relates to the couple’s home. Let’s look at my experience with Susan (age 58) and Bob (age 62), who were planning what would be second marriages for both. Susan had two adult children and Bob had one. They were going to buy a home after the wedding, and both were going to contribute equally to the $100,000 down payment on a $200,000, 15-year first mortgage. They said they planned to own it as joint tenants.

But their proposed ownership of the house presented some problems. Both wanted the survivor of them to be able to live in the house for the rest of their life, and they wanted ownership interests to go to their children. Joint tenancy would be okay if there were a future divorce but, at death, it presented problems because the survivor would own 100% of the house. We talked about being tenants in common with both owning 50% of the property. That way, both Susan and Bob could give their half to their children by will, subject to a life estate in the survivor. That might be okay if they were paying cash for the house but, if one of them died before the mortgage was paid off, the survivor would have paid more than the other for the house, causing a windfall for the first decedent’s child(ren).

Susan and Bob decided on using a joint revocable trust to own the house with the ultimate beneficial interests being divided based on their respective contributions to the purchase.

The trust dealt with the survivor’s occupancy free of rent and responsibility for mortgage payments, taxes, repairs, and utilities, as well as possible sale and replacement property. This approach allowed Susan and Bob to retain maximum flexibility while both were alive, provide for the surviving spouse, and equitably distribute their respective interests in their new house to their children based on their contributions to the purchase price.

I am happy to report that Susan and Bob are happily married to this day.

Guest contributor Margaret A. Badura is an elder law and estate planning attorney.

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60PLUS feature by judy horan • photography by bill sitzmann

Polio Panic of 1952

Do you remember? Dr. Byron Oberst does.

M

EMORIES OF THE MORE than

360 children treated at Omaha’s Children’s Memorial Hospital in summer 1952 flooded back. At least 14 were in iron lungs. Thirteen died that summer.

It was the worst outbreak in Nebraska history.

The disease’s original name was Infantile Paralysis, because it seemed to primarily target young children.

But some victims were adults.

Unlike many of the other younger doctors at Children’s Memorial Hospital at the time, Oberst had experienced treating polio while serving in Japan in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. When he joined Omaha Children’s Clinic in 1951, he and some of the older pediatricians were the only doctors who had seen a case of polio in their lifetime.

In 1947, Oberst became the first and only resident at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine, now UNMC. In March 1948, Children’s Memorial Hospital opened on what is now the UNMC campus at 42nd and Dewey streets The sighs of relief heard from pediatricians after their patients survived with few problems stopped in the early 1980s when post polio syndrome gradually emerged. Many of the polio survivors who had gone on to normal lives suddenly found their muscles were weak.

Darrel Sudduth of Plattsmouth is just starting to notice signs of post-polio syndrome more than 60 years after his recovery. He was 12 years old when diagnosed with polio during the 1952 epidemic.

“I don’t think my parents had ever heard of the disease,” says Sudduth, who is a member of the Nebraska Polio Survivors Association.

During two weeks of isolation in Children’s Hospital, his parents were not allowed to see Sudduth.

Until now, the only residual effects had been a bad back and one leg shorter than the other.

Oberst, 91, is known for several “firsts” in pediatric medicine during his long career:

•

Doctors from around the nation referred patients with Attention Deficit Disorder With or Without Hyperactivity to Oberst, who was a pioneer in treating the condition then referred to as Minimal Cerebral Dysfunction. “But that name scared parents to death,” he remembers.

He treated 3,000 children with ADHD. • Oberst developed The Omaha STAAR Project to help parents, doctors and teachers understand children with learning disabilities.

• While a resident, he pioneered the use of exchange transfusion for Rh-positive babies and their Rh-negative mothers. The transfusion was necessary to keep babies from being vulnerable to brain damage, deafness or yellow jaundice.

With all of his accomplishments, Oberst not surprisingly believes that pediatrics is the most satisfying of all specialties. However, the three sons and three grandsons of Oberst and his wife, Mary, who died in 2011, chose careers outside medicine. The family includes his famous grandson, singer-songwriter Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes.

Dr. Oberst has written seven books; some are medical books. The American Academy of Pediatrics presents an award in his name each year.

During his 40 years as a pediatrician, he treated thousands of children. But no memory is as heartwrenching as the 1952 polio epidemic.

After the Salk vaccine was introduced in 1954, there were fewer cases. By 1979, there were no more cases in the United States. Polio appeared to be eradicated.

But in some foreign countries where children are not vaccinated, it is resurging.

“Some stupid people say their child shouldn’t be vaccinated,” he says. “They put that child at risk.”

july/august • 2014

60PLUS S13

60PLUS humor Story by Robert Nelson •

Photography by Bill Sitzmann

Feeling Gravity’s Pull?

It’s not too late in life to figure out if you’re aging.

Y

OU MAY HAVE ALREADY sur-

mised that you are, in fact, getting older. Some of the indicators can be obvious: It takes you two or six tries to get up from the couch; parts of your body seem to be sloughing off like waterlogged loess. In broad terms: You’ve noticed that gravity has become your enemy.

But some signs can be quite subtle. So, to help things out, we’ve pieced together a profoundly serious checklist to help you gauge whether you are, in fact, just maybe, beginning to age a bit.

YOU KNOW YOU’RE 60 PLUS WHEN...

• You’ve actually driven to Hebron to see the World’s Largest Porch Swing.

• “Happy Hour” is a nap.

• You expect to see farm fields when you drive west of 72nd Street.

• You wake up looking like your driver’s license picture.

• Your address book has mostly names that start with “Dr.” • You remember when the College World Series was held somewhere other than Omaha.

• And you enjoy saying things S14 60PLUS

july/august • 2014

• • • • • •

like, “I remember when the College World Series was held somewhere else.”

You send money to PBS after watching “Antiques Roadshow.”

You have a party and the neighbors don’t even realize it.

You still have a rotary dial, landline telephone.

You buy a compass for the dash of your car.

You still write letters to the editor of the local newspaper.

You remember who Zorinsky Lake is named after.

• You turn out the lights for economic rather than romantic reasons.

• You enjoy hearing about other people’s surgical operations.

• You coached anyone who is now in a hall of fame.

• You have a ticket stub from a concert at Peony Park.

• You know what an IBM Selectric is.

• Neighbors borrow your tools.

• You miss the chicken at Rose Lodge, brunch at the Golden Apple, and hanging out at Tiner’s Drive-In on Dodge.

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60PLUS S15

60PLUS style

by Mary Anne Vaccaro • photography provided by Carlisle

Beat the Heat And do it with style!

W

ELL GIRLS, IF YOU’RE

60-plus there’s a lot you all have in common.

Regardless of shape and size, whether you’re short, tall, curvy, or thin, there are certain places you prefer to keep covered because they show your age. In winter, turtlenecks and scarves cover up wrinkled necks. Flabby arms can hide under long-sleeved blouses, sweaters, and jackets. Nobody cam see spider veins through your slacks, jeans, and boots.

Summer is a time when many women wonder how to keep cool when temperatures rise while still being comfortable baring parts kept under cover all winter long. Once it’s time to “undress” for the heat, the challenge to do so with style can be overwhelming.

So now that the heat is on, here is my headto-toe advice for looking your best while keeping your cool.

HAIR The easiest, breeziest styles are those that are either very short or long enough to pony-up.

FACE Light make-up…with sunscreen.

SKIN Moisturizing sunscreen everywhere!

NECK Open necklines will keep you cooler and take the focus away from the lines in your neck. Summer scarves are great when it’s moderately warm, but when it’s hot, let go of hang ups about your neck.

Mary Anne Vaccaro is a clothing and product designer and an image consultant to businesses and individuals. She is also a sales consultant for Carlisle and PerSe, New York. maryannevaccaro.com carlislecollection.com S16 60PLUS

july/august • 2014

UPPER ARMS We’re all too concerned with keeping them covered unless they look fabulous. I say wear sleeveless anyway. You limit your wardrobe too much if you won’t wear sleeveless dresses and tops. If covering arms up is a must for you, don’t exhaust yourself shopping for tops and dresses with sleeves.

Buy sleevleless ones, and wear light weight, loose-fitting natural fiber shirts and unlined jackets loosely over them. Sweaters…even cotton ones will be hot in hot weather. They’re for cool evenings and air-conditioned places.

Scarves and stoles can cover arms nicely, but you usually have work at keeping them in place.

WAIST Tight, heavy belts will make you feel hotter.

PANTS Lightweight cottons and natural fiber blends will be most comfortable. Jeans and most dark denims over-heat in summer.

Ankle and capri pants are great.

SHORTS Taboo unless they are knee length.

SKIRTS Cool and comfy alternative to pants and shorts. Many fun styles and lengths

to choose from, but remember your knees are your length guide. You can expose them, but nothing above them.

DRESSES Your best wardrobe friends all summer. If you remember the 60s, you should remember shifts. Straight dresses to throw on and go everywhere in. They’ve made a comeback , and they’re easy, cool, and fun to accessorize with jewelry, scarves .

FEET Take care of your feet. They take you everywhere. Keep them clean, buffed, moisturized and pretty.

SHOES AND SANDALS Fashionable and must be comfortable. Comfort shoes have come a long way in looks recently. No need to wear tennis shoes outside of the gym, and don’t wear shoes too tall to walk gracefully in. A woman should walk and carry herself gracefully at every age.

Finally, black is your “Best Friend” color in every season but summer. It really does absorb heat, so wear white and lighter colors to keep your cool.

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EJ Militti, Jr.,Financial Advisor The Militti Group at Morgan Stanley

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july/august • 2014

60PLUS S17

60PLUS the grandpa chroniclesthe grandpa chronicles by david williams

Roughing It Camping with Easton, Bug, and Guy

R Pumpkinpalooza in May? EALITY TV IS INCREASINGLY

crowded with all manner of woodsy survivalist fare. Most programs focus on the notion of “extreme” something-or-other, with life-or-death cliffhangers leading up to every commercial break. So I thought I’d take my elder grandson, 4-year-old Easton, into the wilds (of my back yard) to test our mettle against the forces of nature.

Turns out that nature had nothing to do with our survivability quotient, and roughing it was the least of our challenges. The entire adventure ended up being an object lesson in the foibles of urban camping in my Country Clubarea neighborhood.

The dreamy, awestruck look on Easton’s face as the four of us trekked from the deck to our campground was one I had seen only on the rarest of occasions, situations that usually involved Santa, Star Wars, or sugar.

The four of us? Oh, I neglected to mention Easton’s constant pillowtime companions, a pair of plush toys named Bug (a lady bug) and Guy (a wiener dog). Our bare-bones shelter was a 30-some-yearold pup tent purchased from Sears that is now held together by a patchwork of duct tape and jagged stitches hastily sewn around a campfire over the decades. It was the same tent and same back yard in which S18 60PLUS

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Easton’s father, Eric, first braved the elements of a now distant, earlier millennia.

We were well-stocked in the reading department, with Easton choosing a couple of favorites—The Cat in the Hat and Caps for Sale—as the stories that would usher him into the land of nod.

So far, so good. The rest of the evening unfolded as follows: 9:00 P.M. SHARP

Easton’s out like a light.

9:06 P.M.

Bug and Guy follow suit.

9:20 P.M.

The party on a neighboring deck is in full (and loud) swing.

MIDNIGHT

Still awake as the beer flows freely next door.

Worse yet? Country music.

12:33 A.M.

A staccato series of explosions off in the distance (Fireworks? Gunfire?) is followed by a symphony of sirens (definitely gunfire) and is later accompanied by a police helicopter strafing the ‘hood in pursuit of some midnight malcontents.

1:10 A.M.

The party over the fence mercifully fizzles out, but I am to the point where, now totally wired and checking my watch every ten seconds, all I can do is to think about how to think about getting to sleep.

2:00 A.M.

Surrender. I make if halfway to the house through the dewy, toe-tickling lawn carrying the dead weight of a sleeping child before a tiny voice murmuring the words, “Bug… Guy,” causes me to reverse course.

2:02 A.M.

Easton is nestled in a warm bed with his buddies and, again, completely comatose.

“Did you get tired of camping, Po-Po?” Easton asks the following morning using my nonsensical nickname, one of mysterious, unknowable etymology.

Yeah, I guess I kinda did. I had become tired of camping. The city had done what nature could not in terms of derailing our wilderness outing. Only Easton, Bug, and Guy came through the experience showing the resiliency of true outdoorsmen.

Po-Po? Not so much.

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omaha july/august magazine • july/august 2014 • 2014 60PLUS

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