50plus LIFE Dauphin County February 2018

Complimentary

Dauphin County Edition | February 2018 • Vol. 20 No. 2

February is american heart month High Blood Pressure Has Been Redefined

special section: tours and trips page 12

page 4

soldier stories page 16

On Life and Love after 50

5 Lessons I’ve Learned in 3 Years of Retirement Tom Blake

E March 10, 2018 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Hershey Lodge

325 University Drive, Hershey Look for

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Women of all ages have enjoyed this fun-filled event!

Health & Wellness • Finance • Home Technology • Beauty • Nutrition Spa Treatments

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FREE advance guest registration online! ($5 at the door.)

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February 2018

50plus LIFE H

When I was pondering retirement from the deli I had founded and worked in for 25 years, the main thing I looked forward to was having “free time.” With it, I could do nothing — if I wanted — which sounded great after all those years of serving sandwiches.

Three years ago, I sold the deli. I’m glad I worked until age 75. Working until then helped me build a small financial nest egg and kept my body moving and my mind active.

However, I realized quickly that I didn’t want a lot of “free time.” It wasn’t good for me. I’m not built to sit around; I found I must have projects to work on.

Every morning, I make a to-do list for the day. If I haven’t crossed each item off by day’s end, so be it. But, the list keeps me focused.

Soon, that “free time” became “busy time.” And from three years of busy time came five lessons learned in retirement.

1. The most important retirement lesson learned is the need to have social interaction with people. To

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be too isolated is not good for one’s health.

A good way to interact with people is by joining groups. Meetup.com lists thousands of groups and activities and should provide plenty of ideas for people not sure what to do to meet others.

Another important note about social interaction after retirement: Mix interactions with younger people into your life — kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, or friends younger than yourself — to keep you thinking young.

2. The second retirement lesson I’ve learned is the importance of keeping my body moving. It’s a daily priority for me.

My goal is 10,000 steps a day as measured by my wrist Fitbit device. I don’t always reach that goal, but I’m there four to five days a week.

And I admit that there are nights, when I haven’t quite reached the 10,000 goal, where I walk around the kitchen and living room enough times to get the goal. It’s a little weird, but it keeps me moving.

     

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         

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b’nai B’rith Apartments

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(717) 232-7516

 

130 South Third Street • Harrisburg

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www.50plusLifePA.com

Weather permitting, I do stand-up paddle boarding (SUP) four to five times a week with a buddy. We meet all kinds of friendly men and women who are walking or paddling. So, there is social interaction in addition to the exercise.

3. The third retirement lesson I’ve learned is the need to have a purpose in life — something with meaning. It doesn’t have to be a huge project.

Volunteering and helping others is a great way to fulfill this human need.

Some people use the words “giving back.” There are lots of people around who are way less fortunate than I am. They can use a little help.

How I help them doesn’t matter — giving of my time, or what little money I can afford — makes me feel good.

For people still working, I think it’s important to start planning for retirement before the big day arrives. Find an interest, a purpose, or a passion so that you’ll be up to speed when the time comes.

4. The fourth retirement lesson I’ve learned is the importance of keeping one’s mind and brain stimulated. For some, it’s the love of reading that fulfills this need.

For me, it’s my writing. I’ve been a newspaper columnist for 23 years. I love

it; every week I generate a column and/or a newsletter article. I am grateful for the opportunity.

5. The fifth retirement lesson I’ve learned is to be willing to step out of one’s comfort zone.

If you’re single, and you’ve made a list of the qualities you seek in a mate, don’t be shackled by the list. For example, let’s say one of the qualities is to meet a widower of the same faith.

But you meet a divorced man instead. And he’s not of the same faith or the same nationality. But you like him because he’s a gentleman.

Step out of your comfort zone and take a chance on him. Let yourself be enlightened. You’d be surprised at the number of seniors unwilling to do that.

Don’t be an old fuddy-duddy.

Those are the five biggest takeaways I’ve learned in three years of retirement.

In 2018, I’ll probably learn a few more retirement lessons. But, if I can master these five, I will be ahead of the game.

For dating information, previous articles, or to sign up for Tom’s complimentary, weekly e-newsletter, go to www.FindingLoveAfter50.com.

Volunteers Needed for Meals on Wheels Volunteers are needed for the Dauphin County Area Agency on Aging’s Meals on Wheels Program, which serves seniors 60 or older throughout Dauphin County.

Home-delivered meals help keep seniors in their homes and communities by providing nutritious food and social contact.

On an average, more than 650 seniors participate in the agency’s Meals on Wheels program. Program volunteers are essential in providing caring and compassion to seniors in need of nutrition assistance.

To volunteer, call the Dauphin County Area Agency on Aging at (717) 7806130.

At Your Fingertips Helpful numbers, hotlines, and local businesses and organizations eager to serve you—all just a phone call away.

Emergency Central Pennsylvania Poison Center (800) 521-6110 Dauphin County Area Agency on Aging (717) 780-6130 Floor Coverings Gipe Floor & Wall Covering 5435 Jonestown Road, Harrisburg (717) 545-6103 Funeral & Cremation Services Cremation Society of Pennsylvania Serving Dauphin County (800) 720-8221 Health & Medical Services Alzheimer’s Association (717) 651-5020 American Diabetes Association (800) 342-2383 Arthritis Foundation Central Pennsylvania Chapter (717) 763-0900 CONTACT Helpline (717) 652-4400 The National Kidney Foundation (717) 757-0604 (800) 697-7007 www.50plusLifePA.com

PACE (800) 225-7223

Property Tax/Rent Rebate (888) 728-2937

Social Security Information (800) 772-1213

Insurance Apprise Insurance Counseling (800) 783-7067

Vision Resources of Central Pennsylvania (717) 238-2531 Healthcare Information Pennsylvania Healthcare Cost Containment Council (717) 232-6787 Hearing Services Pennsylvania Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (800) 233-3008 V/TTY Hospice Services Homeland Hospice 2300 Vartan Way, Suite 115, Harrisburg (717) 221-7890 Housing/Apartments B’Nai B’rith Apartments 130 S. Third St., Harrisburg (717) 232-7516 Housing Assistance Dauphin County Housing Authority (717) 939-9301

Toll-Free Numbers American Lung Association (800) LUNG-USA Bureau of Consumer Protection (800) 441-2555

Nursing/Rehab Homeland Center 1901 N. Fifth St., Harrisburg (717) 221-7902

Meals on Wheels (800) 621-6325

Personal Care Homes Greenfield Senior Living at Graysonview 150 Kempton Ave., Harrisburg (717) 558-7771

Social Security Office (800) 772-1213

Homeland Center 1901 N. Fifth St., Harrisburg (717) 221-7902

Transportation CAT Share-A-Ride (717) 232-6100

Pharmacies CVS/pharmacy www.cvs.com

Veterans Services Lebanon VA Medical Center 1700 S. Lincoln Ave., Lebanon (717) 228-6000 or (800) 409-8771

National Council on Aging (800) 424-9046

Services Dauphin County Area Agency on Aging (717) 780-6130

Veterans Affairs (717) 626-1171 or (800) 827-1000

The Salvation Army Edgemont Temple Corps (717) 238-8678 50plus LIFE H

Not an all-inclusive list of advertisers in your area.

February 2018

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Corporate Office

3912 Abel Drive, Columbia, PA 17512 Phone 717.285.1350 • Fax 717.285.1360 Chester County: 610.675.6240 Cumberland County/Dauphin County: 717.770.0140 Berks County/Lancaster County/ Lebanon County/York County: 717.285.1350 E-mail address: info@onlinepub.com Website address: www.onlinepub.com

PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER Donna K. Anderson

EDITORIAL

Vice President and Managing Editor Christianne Rupp Editor, 50plus Publications Megan Joyce

ART DEPARTMENT Project Coordinator Renee McWilliams Production Artist Lauren McNallen

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Account Executives Janette McLaurin Jessica Simmons Angie Willis Account Representatives Matthew Chesson Jennifer Schmalhofer Gina Yocum Events Manager Kimberly Shaffer Marketing Coordinator Martha Lawrence

ADMINISTRATION Business Manager Elizabeth Duvall

Member of

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50plus LIFE is published by On-Line Publishers, Inc. and is distributed monthly among senior centers, retirement communities, banks, grocers, libraries and other outlets serving the senior community.

On-Line Publishers, Inc. will not knowingly accept or publish advertising which may be fraudulent or misleading in nature.

Views expressed in opinion stories, contributions, articles and letters are not necessarily the views of the publisher. The appearance of advertisements for products or services does not constitute an endorsement of the particular product or service. The publisher will not be responsible for mistakes in advertisements unless notified within five days of publication. On-Line Publishers, Inc. reserves the right to revise or reject any and all advertising. No part of this publication may be reproduced or reprinted without permission of On-Line Publishers, Inc. We will not knowingly publish any advertisement or information not in compliance with the Federal Fair Housing Act, Pennsylvania State laws or other local laws.

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February is American Heart Month Cover Story

High Blood Pressure Redefined High blood pressure should be treated earlier with lifestyle changes and in some patients with medication — at 130/80 mm Hg rather than 140/90 — according to the first new, comprehensive high blood pressure guidelines in more than a decade.

The guidelines are being published by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology for detection, prevention, management, and treatment of high blood pressure.

Rather than 1 in 3 U.S. adults having high blood pressure (32 percent) with the previous definition, the new guidelines will result in nearly half of the U.S. adult population (46 percent) having high blood pressure, or hypertension.

However, there will only be a small increase in the number of U.S. adults who will require antihypertensive medication, authors said.

These guidelines, the first update to offer comprehensive guidance to doctors on managing adults with high blood pressure since 2003, are designed to help people address the potentially deadly condition much earlier.

The new guidelines stress the importance of using proper technique to measure blood pressure. Blood pressure levels should be based on an average of two to three readings on at least two different occasions, the authors said.

High blood pressure accounts for the second largest number of preventable heart disease and stroke deaths, second only to smoking. It’s known as the “silent killer” because often there are no symptoms, despite its role in significantly increasing the risk for heart disease and stroke.

Paul K. Whelton, M.B., M.D., M.Sc., lead author of the guidelines published in the American Heart Association journal, Hypertension, and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, noted the dangers of blood pressure levels between 130-139/80-89 mm Hg. “You’ve already doubled your risk of cardiovascular complications compared to those with a normal level of blood pressure,” he said.

“We want to be straight with people — if you already have a doubling of risk, you need to know about it. It doesn’t mean you need medication, but it’s a yellow light that you need to be lowering your blood pressure, mainly with non-drug approaches.”

Blood pressure categories in the new guideline are:

• Normal: Less than 120/80 mm Hg • Elevated: Top number (systolic) between 120129 and bottom number (diastolic) less than 80 • Stage 1: Systolic between 130-139 or diastolic between 80-89 • Stage 2: Systolic at least 140 or diastolic at least 90 mm Hg • Hypertensive crisis: Top number over 180 and/or bottom number over 120, with patients needing prompt changes in medication if there are no other indications of problems, or immediate hospitalization if there are signs of organ damage The new guidelines eliminate the category of prehypertension, which was used for blood pressures with a top number (systolic) between 120-139 mm Hg or a bottom number (diastolic) between 80-89 mm Hg. People with those readings now will be categorized as having either elevated (120-129 and less than 80) or stage 1 hypertension (130-139 or 8089).

Previous guidelines classified 140/90 mm Hg as stage 1 hypertension. This level is classified as stage 2 hypertension under the new guidelines.

The impact of the new guidelines is expected to be greatest among younger people. The prevalence of high blood pressure is expected to triple among men under age 45 and double among women under 45, according to the report.

The guidelines stress the importance of home blood pressure monitoring using validated devices and appropriate training of healthcare providers to reveal “white-coat hypertension,” which occurs when pressure is elevated in a medical setting but not in everyday life.

Home readings can also identify “masked hypertension,” when pressure is normal in a medical setting but elevated at home, thus necessitating treatment with lifestyle and possibly medications.

“People with white-coat hypertension do not seem to have the same elevation in risk as someone with true sustained high blood pressure,” Whelton said. “Masked hypertension is more sinister and very important to recognize because these people seem to have a similar risk as those with sustained high blood pressure.” www.50plusLifePA.com

February is American Heart Month Other changes in the new guideline include: • Only prescribing medication for stage 1 hypertension if a patient has already had a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, or is at high risk of heart attack or stroke based on age, the presence of diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, or calculation of atherosclerotic risk (using the same risk calculator used in evaluating high cholesterol) • Recognizing that many people will need two or more types of medications to control their blood pressure and that people may take

their pills more consistently if multiple medications are combined into a single pill • Identifying socioeconomic status and psychosocial stress as risk factors for high blood pressure that should be considered in a patient’s plan of care The American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, and nine other health-professional organizations developed the new guidelines, which were written by a panel of 21 scientists and health experts who reviewed more than 900 published studies.

True Love or an Underlying Medical Condition?

In romance novels, a fluttering of the heart usually means true love.

In real life, the sudden sensation of your heart racing and pounding in your chest can be frightening enough to send you scrambling to call 911.

What’s behind heart palpitations, and how serious are they?

The human heart normally beats at a rate of 60–100 times a minute.

A heart rate of over 100 beats per minute is called tachycardia, a condition that may be serious.

But in most cases, a racing heart is of little concern. Common causes include stress, excessive caffeine, strenuous exercise, fever, www.50plusLifePA.com

Reach Active, Affluent Boomers & Seniors!

hormone changes (connected with pregnancy, menstruation, or menopause), diet pills and some cold medications, or drug use.

If you feel your heart pounding, try to relax with some deep breathing or relaxation exercises. If such attacks are frequent, keep a record so you can discuss them with your doctor.

On the other hand, if your heart palpitations are accompanied by chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, or loss of conscious, seek emergency medical attention right away.

Palpitations can be a symptom of a more serious condition, such as hyperthyroidism or arrhythmia.

Reserve your space now for the 19th annual

Sponsor and exhibitor applications are now being accepted!

May 2, 2018 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Hershey Lodge 325 University Drive, Hershey, PA

Exhibitors • Health Screenings • Seminars Entertainment • Door Prizes

Why Participate?

It’s the premier event for baby boomers, caregivers, and seniors in Dauphin County • Face-to-face interaction with 2,500+ attendees • Strengthen brand recognition/launch new products

For sponsorship and exhibitor information:

(717) 770-0140 &

www.50plusExpoPA.com 50plus LIFE H

February 2018

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February is American Heart Month Dear Pharmacist

5 Natural Remedies for High Blood Pressure that Really Work

Suzy Cohen

While waiting for a prescription, a friend of mine decided to check his blood pressure. He was dealing with a bout of walking pneumonia and his blood pressure spiked to 140/100!

Has this ever happened to you where you checked your BP at the pharmacy and it was suddenly high?

You can blame stress, the modern diet, lack of exercise, or a bad infection like my buddy had. You can blame other lifestyle factors, like smoking, too. Or it could simply be your genes, as high blood pressure, termed hypertension, tends to run in families.

If left untreated, hypertension can cause or lead to blindness, stroke, kidney failure, atherosclerosis, and heart failure.

Now, the good news. Here are five natural remedies that are proven to really work!

Account Representative

2. Magnesium Threonate Some forms of vitamins are better for certain conditions. With hypertension, look for the mineral magnesium threonate because this form of magnesium leaves your gut.

This type of magnesium can get into the bloodstream and get across your blood brain barrier, is easily absorbed by the cells, and has been proven to lower blood pressure and be stroke preventative as well.

Magnesium threonate is also great for helping promote good, healthy sleep and relaxation.

On-Line Publishers, Inc., a 22-year-old publisher and event-production company, is seeking an account representative to sell our award-winning 50plus LIFE, Resource Directories, events, and websites.

3. Garlic Garlic cloves and garlic supplements have been proven to lower blood pressure.

Garlic is an allium vegetable that is rich in antioxidants, good-for-you phytochemical and polyphenols, and sulfur-containing compounds called allicin (which are wonderful for collagen promotion too!).

Garlic is especially effective at lowering systolic blood pressure.

If you are hardworking, positive, outgoing, and enjoy selling products you believe in, please email your resumé and compensation history/requirements to danderson@onlinepub.com or mail to D. Anderson c/o On-Line Publishers, 3912 Abel Drive, Columbia, PA 17512.

www.onlinepub.com

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1. Hibiscus Tea Hibiscus tea is a wonderful remedy for high blood pressure. It’s been used to lower blood pressure in other countries for decades, and it really works.

In one study, researchers found that drinking hibiscus tea for just 12 days reduced systolic pressure by an average 11.7 percent and diastolic pressure by 10.7 percent.

You can buy commercially prepared teabags, or you can easily make your own fresh hibiscus tea each morning. It’s fabulous for memory.

In fact, if you email my customer service team (customerservice@suzycohen. com), I’ll send you the recipe card by email for “Memory Mint Hibiscus Tea.”

EOE

4. Omega-3 Fatty Acids Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fatty fish and some plant foods, such as nuts, seeds, and cruciferous vegetables.

Fish oil is wonderful for lowering high blood pressure because it contains the compounds EPA and DHA, which lower BP and keep your heart www.50plusLifePA.com

February is American Heart Month

Low Back Pain and Sciatica Workshop Saturday, March 10, 2018, at 10 a.m.

With speaker Christian Grove, Doctor of Physical Therapy of Madden Physical Therapy in Harrisburg, PA You will learn about:

• The single biggest #1 mistake back pain and sciatica sufferers make that actually stops them from healing • The 3 most common causes of lower back pain and sciatica • How a problem in your back can cause pain, numbness, or tingling in your leg •W hat a successful treatment and permanent relief looks like without the side effects of medications, injections, or surgery

healthy overall. Fish oils help reduce triglycerides, and that reduces risk for heart attack and stroke.

Madden Physical Therapy

5. Berries and Dark Chocolate I saved the best for last. Berries and dark chocolate … mmm! This sounds like a wonder-combo all of you can get on board with, right?

Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, goji, and acai are rich in compounds called polyphenols, which lower blood pressure. Dark chocolate contains flavonoids, which dilate blood vessels, reducing pressure.

A tasty combo comes to mind: Try chocolate-covered blueberries or darkchocolate-dipped strawberries.

This information is not intended to diagnose, prevent, or treat your disease. For more information about the author, visit SuzyCohen.com

Vitamin C, Vitamin E Help Reduce Stroke Risk The good news is that people are living longer, and the chance that you will live past age 65 is excellent (just 100 years ago, only 50 percent of Americans made it past 65).

The bad news? Women over 65 face double the stroke risk. But research shows that two supplements are excellent in helping reduce the stroke risk for older people.

In the survey, the participants with the highest amount of vitamin C intake — at least 133 milligrams per day — reduced their risk of stroke by 30 percent.

Smokers also benefited greatly from the highest vitamin C intake www.50plusLifePA.com

and cut their stroke risk by 70 percent.

And don’t forget your vitamin E, either, for added benefits. The study found that people whose intake was at least 15.5 milligrams per day reduced their risk for stroke by 20 percent.

To get an idea of how to get these nutrients in your diet, here are a few nutritional facts: a quarter cup of red bell peppers renders 71 milligrams of vitamin C, a half cup of strawberries renders 42 milligrams of vitamin C, and about 22 almonds renders 7.4 milligrams of vitamin E. – Adapted from Prevention magazine

5425 Jonestown Rd, Harrisburg, PA 17112 RSVP now to lock in your seat! Limited to the first 20 people.

Call 717-901-9487 or email heather.purcell@maddenpt.com

Are You Reading?

Join the 2018 One Book, One Community campaign by reading Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder of Elizabethtown, Pa. 80 libraries in Berks, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry, and York counties and their community partners present the regional reading campaign.

Attend free library programs and discussions throughout February and early spring!

Visit www.oboc.org or your library to learn more

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February 2018

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Fragments of History

Victor Parachin

Fascinating Facts about the ‘Feel-Good Food’

Chocolate has been making Americans smile for at least 4,000 years now — South Americans, that is.

Scientists believe the first cocoa trees grew wild in the Amazon valleys of South America. Archaeologists note that cocoa was cultivated by the ancient Mayans, who took it with them when they migrated to the Yucatan.

The Aztecs were also familiar with the cocoa bean, and they too carried it with them as they journeyed through Central America. Spanish explorers reported that the Aztec emperor, Montezuma, drank up to 50 cups of chocolate daily.

Today, four millennia later, chocolate has won over the world. Here are some fascinating chocolate facts.

Chocolate has been transformed. Today’s chocolate is quite different from what the ancient Mayans and Aztecs consumed. They allowed beans to ferment

Please join us for these FREE events!

19th Annual

May 2, 2018 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

DAUPHIN COUNTY

Hershey Lodge 325 University Drive Hershey

19th Annual

May 9, 2018 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

LANCASTER COUNTY

Shady Maple Conference Center Smorgasbord Building 129 Toddy Drive, East Earl

15th Annual

June 6, 2018 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

CHESTER COUNTY

Church Farm School 1001 East Lincoln Highway Exton

Exhibitors • Health Screenings • Seminars • Demonstrations • Entertainment • Door Prizes Limited Sponsorship Opportunities Available (717) 285-1350 (717) 770-0140 (610) 675-6240

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www.50plusExpoPA.com

February 2018

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in the pod, and then roasted them and ground them into a fine powder, which was mixed with water.

The drink was cold, somewhat bitter, and called chocolatl. Some of the bitterness could be tempered with the addition of vanilla beans.

Columbus brings chocolate to Europe.

Among the treasures Columbus brought back from the New World was a beverage he called cocoa.

His mixture was more pleasing to European tastes because of the generous addition of sugar and milk.

It became such a sensation in the Spanish court of King Ferdinand that he demanded a vow of silence; no one was permitted to reveal the new, secret drink. The penalty for doing so was death.

His demand, combined with the threat of capital punishment, was effective.

Quick Chocolate Stats The Spanish had chocolate to themselves for nearly a • Cocoa is the third-largest cash crop, full century before word of it behind coffee and sugar. The United leaked out.

States and Europe consume twothirds of all the chocolate produced.

It was believed to be a • A single chocolate chip provides medicine. Early Spanish explorers declared chocolate a sufficient food energy for an adult to “divine drink” and believed it walk 150 feet. It would take about heightened resistance to disease 875,000 chocolate chips for an and guarded against fatigue. around-the-world hike.

Like the Aztecs, they also used • Cocoa only grows within 20 degrees it as a medicine for dysentery. of the equator. In 1996, Hawaii As the popularity of this became the first U.S. state to mystical bean first spread to produce cocoa.

Europe, it was promoted as a • Chocolate makes use of 40 percent chocolate medicinal drink that of the world’s almonds, 20 percent could cure various ills. of the peanuts, and 8 percent of the Many Europeans, including Italian adventurer and author sugar.

Giacomo Casanova, claimed • W hile sales of most food products in it was an inducement to the United States grow at an average romance. Called an “inflamer rate of 1 percent a year, chocolate of passions,” chocolate was said sales grow at 3 percent. to tempt monks to break their • A mericans consume more than 2 vows. Its romantic powers are billion pounds of chocolate in one likely the reason chocolate is year or 11 pounds per person per connected to Valentine’s Day. year. On Valentine’s Day alone, Americans will spend half a billion Chocolate spreads across dollars for chocolate.

Europe. The first country beyond Spain to enjoy www.50plusLifePA.com

chocolate was Italy in 1606. An Italian visiting Spain — Antonio Carletti — encountered chocolate and brought samples back to Italy.

Soon Italians were in search of their own source of chocolate.

France received chocolate as part of the dowry for the marriage of the Spanish princess Maria Theresa to King Louis XIV in 1660.

French royals, like their Spanish counterparts, were enthralled with chocolate. In fact, King Louis established a new court position: royal chocolate maker to the king.

It was a French citizen who brought chocolate to England when he opened a London shop in 1657, where he sold blocks of chocolate to turn into a drink. Soon cocoa pubs were appearing all over England, developing such a following that ale makers tried to restrict the sale of their new competitor.

the cocoa plant its scientific name: Theobroma cacao, literally “the food of the gods.”

The tree is cacao, the bean is cocoa, and the food is chocolate.

This plant bears no relation to coconuts or coca, the source of cocaine.

The Swiss produce a new chocolate texture. Rodolphe Lindt, a Swiss citizen, experimented with producing a smoother, creamier chocolate, one that would melt on the tongue.

To do this he invented the “conching” machine. To “conche” meant to heat and roll chocolate in order to further refine it. He conched chocolate for 72 hours, adding more cocoa butter until it became smooth and creamy.

Chocolate is heavenly and healthy. If you’re concerned that this delicious treat may not be all that good for you, take heart — some research indicates that chocolate may be the olive oil of desserts.

Three separate studies indicate that even when chocolate is consumed on a daily basis over a long period of time, it does not raise blood cholesterol levels in healthy individuals, while other forms of saturated fat do.

Those studies confirm what most of us already know — namely, that chocolate tastes good and may even be good for us!

It’s called the ‘Food of the Gods.’ In 1753 the Swedish botanist, Carolus Linnaeus, gave

North Americans experience chocolate. The first North American chocolate was manufactured in 1765 in the corner of a Boston factory by John Hannon, an Irish immigrant.

America’s most famous chocolatier was a Pennsylvanian named Milton Hershey. In 1894 Hershey presented Americans with the first Hershey bar. He made it out of simple, basic ingredients: sugar, cocoa, chocolate, and milk.

The Hershey bar, which sold for a few pennies, was affordable to most Americans and was an astounding success.

Your guide to choosing the right living and care options for you or a loved one.

Read it online, in print, and on mobile/tablet devices. onlinepub.com

22nd annual edition

Call today for your free copy!

(717) 285-1350

Workplace Sexual Harassment: Alive and Well As scandals in show business and politics demonstrate, sexual harassment hasn’t gone away.

From a study conducted

by Cosmopolitan magazine come these unsettling facts: • 1 in 3 women age 18-34 say they’ve been sexually harassed at work.

• Eighty-one percent say their harassment was verbal.

• Forty-four percent have experienced unwanted touching or sexual www.50plusLifePA.com

advances.

• Twenty-five percent have received lewd texts or emails.

• Seventy-one percent did not report anything.

• The three industries with the highest reported level of sexual harassment are food service/ hospitality (42 percent), retail (36 percent), and STEM (31 percent, tied with arts and entertainment).

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CCRCs/ Life Plan Communities Designed with their residents’ changing needs in mind, CCRCs (Continuing Care Retirement Communities)/Life Plan Communities offer a tiered approach to the aging process.

Healthy adults entering these communities can live independently. When assistance with everyday activities becomes necessary, they can transition to personal care, assisted living, rehabilitation, or nursing care facilities.

Some CCRCs/Life Plan Communities have designated dementia areas that address the progressing needs of people who have any form of dementia. In addition, some communities have sought out and earned accreditation from CARF International, signifying they have met CARF’s stringent set of quality standards. CCRCs/Life Plan Communities enable older adults to remain in one care system for the duration of their lives, with much of their future care already figured out—creating both comfort and peace of mind.

The listings with a shaded background have additional information about their center in a display advertisement in this edition.

Bethany Village

325 Wesley Drive Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 Stephanie Lightfoot Director of Sales & Marketing (717) 766-0279 www.bethanyvillage.org

Cornwall Manor

1 Boyd Street, P.O. Box 125 Cornwall, PA 17016 Jennifer Margut Director of Marketing (717) 274-8092 info@cornwallmanor.org www.cornwallmanor.org

Homeland Center

Homestead Village

Pleasant View Retirement Community

Woodcrest Villa Mennonite Home Communities

1901 North Fifth Street Harrisburg, PA 17102-1598 Barry S. Ramper II, N.H.A. President/CEO (717) 221-7902 www.homelandcenter.org

Enhanced Senior Living 1800 Marietta Avenue P.O. Box 3227 Lancaster, PA 17604-3227 Christina Gallagher Director of Marketing (717) 397-4831, ext. 158 www.homesteadvillage.org

544 North Penryn Road Manheim, PA 17545 Amanda Hall Sales & Marketing Manager (717) 664-6207 ahall@pleasantviewrc.org www.pleasantviewrc.org

2001 Harrisburg Pike Lancaster, PA 17601 Connie Buckwalter Director of Marketing (717) 390-4126 www.woodcrestvilla.org

Cross Keys Village The Brethren Home Community 2990 Carlisle Pike New Oxford, PA 17350 Amy Beste Senior Retirement Counselor (717) 624-5350 a.beste@crosskeysvillage.org www.crosskeysvillage.org

Landis Homes

1001 East Oregon Road Lititz, PA 17543 Sarah Short Director of Residency Planning (717) 381-3549 sshort@landishomes.org www.landishomes.org

If you would like your CCRC/Life Plan Community to be featured on this page, please contact your account representative or call (717) 285-1350.

The CCRCs listed are sponsoring this message. This is not an all-inclusive list.

Can Beet Juice Keep Your Brain Young?

Beet juice may keep your brain young and fit, according to an article on the Runner’s World website.

The article cites a study reported in the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences that found that a shot of beet juice an hour before exercise can have positive benefits to brains as they get older.

In the study, 26 sedentary men with an average age of 65 participated in six weeks of exercise. Some took daily shots of beet juice; others received a placebo.

The participants walked on a treadmill three times a week for six weeks,

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building up to 50 minutes per session at increased effort.

Comparing MRIs from before and after the trial, researchers found that the group that drank beet juice had significantly higher levels of “community consistency” within their brains.

The nitrate in beet juice, which converts to nitrite and then nitric oxide in the blood, has a strong positive effect on responsiveness in blood vessels, which, in turn, can increase the amount of oxygen reaching the brain and boost aspects of cognitive function. www.50plusLifePA.com

The Beauty in Nature

Wintering Feathered Commuters Clyde McMillan-Gamber

Several kinds of adaptable, whistling of duck wings as those birds wintering birds — including horned pass overhead. larks, Canada geese, mallard ducks, Sometimes those geese and ducks rock pigeons, mourning doves, land in croplands seething with pinkAmerican crows, red-tailed hawks, tinted, drifting snow. The geese mostly American kestrels, and screech owls — consume green blades of rye while the feed in fields harvested to the ground ducks shovel up corn. in southeastern Rock pigeons Pennsylvania, and mourning but they rest and doves eat weed digest their food and grass seeds elsewhere. and corn kernels Fields are in farmland. banquet tables Interestingly, flocks but not bedrooms of pigeons resemble between feeding gray-and-white forays for those confetti tossed common birds, across the fields except one species: when they land to horned larks. consume seeds and Sparrow-sized grain. horned larks eat Pigeons roost Mallard duck weed and grass on top of silos and seeds and bits in barns between of corn kernels feeding forays, but lying in harvested doves generally fields. These little perch on roadside brown birds, with wires and in attractive blacksheltering spruce and-yellow face trees on lawns. patterns, are the Gangs of only ones that wintering American winter exclusively crows ingest bits in those barren of corn and other fields. edible tidbits in They blend into cropland but roost bare ground, or overnight in stands nearly so, making of coniferous trees, Mourning dove them impossible deciduous trees in to see until they cities, or in larger fly. trees near shopping malls.

Canada geese and mallard ducks Red-tailed hawks hunt mice, rest on slow waterways and humansquirrels, and other critters in made impoundments but do much farmland but spend nights in spruce of their feeding in rye fields and trees in suburban areas. harvested cornfields. Both species are American kestrels and screech owls exciting to watch leaving their watery hunt mice in cropland — kestrels by roosts at sunset to fly to feeding fields. day and owls at night. But both these Flock after flock of them, for a few species roost in tree cavities, many of minutes, sweep swiftly up from the them in suburban lawns. water and power silhouetted across Fields are dining tables for these the brilliant sunset. One can hear birds. But each species rests and the excited honking of the geese and digests elsewhere. www.50plusLifePA.com

Put Your Parenting Experience to Good Use! Over the years you have developed patience, commitment, perseverance & determination; all skills needed to make a difference for children in foster care.

It may be challenging, but you won’t find anything more rewarding!

Become a Foster Parent.

Request an Information Pack:

(717) 900-4444 2550 Kingston Rd., Suite 202 York, PA 17402

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Tours and Trips Traveltizers

By Andrea Gross

In Their Shoes: Special Museums with a Personal Touch

It’s one thing to envision yourself as a fictional person who represents a group of anonymous folks, like a soldier or farmer. It’s another to imagine the thoughts of a real man or woman whose story has been well documented.

But here, in three extraordinary museums, each visitor actually takes on the identity of a particular individual whose future is still unknown.

Upon entering the museum, the participant is randomly assigned to follow a specific person who took part in a historic event.

Through a combination of digital technology, threedimensional displays, and a host of diaries, documents, and artifacts, he is able to see his alter ego’s actions and become privy to his thoughts.

According to the old proverb, you can’t truly know someone until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes. These are walks you’ll long remember.

Dioramas depict typical Civil War military camps at the National Museum of the Civil War.

Costumed interpreters fire canons at the National Museum of the Civil War.

The Grand Staircase has become symbolic of the opulence that defined the Titanic. It was 60 feet high and 16 feet wide.

A replica of a 1940s Pullman train, like that used by soldiers leaving for war, takes visitors to the first stop on their interactive journey through World War II.

A Civil War Soldier I’m communing with 13-year-old Delavan Miller, a drummer boy in the Union Army of the Potomac, circa 1862.

As I stop in front of a diorama depicting a typical military camp, Delavan confides that he had considered “falling out of line.” Across the room, my husband is listening to 21-year-old Eli Pinson

From cruise vacations to flights, hotels and guided tours, let Krouse Travel help you plan the adventure of a lifetime.

Landers, who fought for the South.

Delavan and Eli were real people, and my husband and I are using personal digital players to listen to their actual words, as recorded in letters and journals and spoken by actors.

The two boy-men fought for different causes, yet their thoughts were remarkably similar.

And this — the similarities of those on both sides of the war — is the overriding lesson of the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier at Pamplin Historical Park (www.pamplinpark.org) in Petersburg, Virginia.

As I don my headphones and listen to Delavan describe his experiences, I suddenly hear a gasp from another visitor. Her “comrade” was describing a battle when a loud shot interrupted his words.

“He was killed,” she says quietly.

A Titanic Passenger The stars are out tonight. The weather is chilly; I pull my wrap around me more tightly … Oh my! What’s that? The ship shudders. I reach for a chair to keep my balance.

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Special 2018 rates.

717-244-6410 • info@krousetravel.com www.krousetravel.com 12

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4 guests, 7 nights for only $6000 www.JamannSailingAdventures.com (717) 917-7118 Jim@JamannSailingAdventures.com

www.50plusLifePA.com

Tours and Trips My name, according to the He was quite a man — a “boarding pass” I received Medal of Honor winner, a POW, when I entered the Titanic and a member of the unit that Museum in Branson, Missouri, inspired the award-winning is Eleanor Widener, and my film Twelve O’Clock High. I feel cabin number aboard the illhonored to have known Lt. Col. fated ship is C-80-82.

Morgan, if only for a few hours.

The Titanic left I also feel incredibly lucky. I’ve Southampton, England, on accompanied three people on April 10, 1912, and was due my museum visits, and they all to arrive in New York seven survived. days later. Five days into the My husband wasn’t as Visitors stop at the “Wall of Stories” to The National World War II Museum journey and about 1,300 miles fortunate. His alter egos left him see if the Titanic passenger whom they has thousands of artifacts, northeast of its destination, it thrice dead. represent lived or died. from small helmets to huge jeeps. struck an iceberg. Most of the passengers drowned.

For more information on these Unlike other museums that museums and the surrounding and experiential journey through the jungles of match visitors with a real person and depict history areas, go to www.traveltizers.com. Photos © Irv Green Southeast Asia and onto the beaches of the Pacific. unless otherwise noted; story by Andrea Gross (www. through the diaries and photographs of that person, I begin in Europe, where, at various stops, I use andreagross.com).

Branson’s Titanic Museum (www.titanicbranson. my dog tag to unlock the story of John Morgan. com) recreates the past in its three-dimensional glory through a half-size replica of the actual ship as well as more than 4,000 artifacts.

Thus, in my role as the real Eleanor, I spend what may be my few remaining hours in this world February May climbing the grand staircase, shivering in the 14 Dutch Apple – Ring of Fire $89pp 4 Herndon on Rocks $65pp cold night air, and finally sitting in a lifeboat and 19 NYC on Your Own

$35pp 5,12 Springtime in NYC

$65pp praying that I’ll make it to safety.

19 Lion King on Broadway $175pp 13-18 Savannah & Charleston $ 999pp Dble Finally the real me goes to the ship’s Memorial $1299pp Sngle 20 Mt. Airy Casino –Basically Bennett $99pp Hall to find out what happened to my counterpart.

19 Ellis Island & 9/11 $115pp Eleanor survived. Her husband and son did not.

March 22 Blue Angels

$110pp In their honor, she donated more than $3.5 5,6,7,8,9 Phl Flower Show $89pp 23 Frozen on Broadway $210pp million to establish a Harry Elkins Widener Library 13 JESUS at Sight & Sound $115pp 28-1 Cape Cod $699pp Dble at Harvard University, at the same time insisting 15 St. Patrick’s Festival $115pp June that all Harvard students pass a swimming test 17-18 Williamsburg Escape $150pp Dble $225pp Sngle 2 DC on Your Own $50pp before graduation.

17 St. Patrick’s Parade NYC

$65pp

11-14 Vermont/New Hampshire

$789pp Dble After all, Harry might have saved himself had he $889pp Sngle 15-24 Gardens of the Deep South $1999pp Dble been able to swim.

16 Cape May on Your Own $70pp 21 The Producers – Bristol Theatre $135pp 22 Phila. Zoo/Camden Aquarium $85pp 28 Frozen on Broadway $210pp A World War II Aviator 30 Museum of the Bible

$65pp I’m so busy munching a beignet that I almost August 31 Springtime in NYC

$65pp miss my train.

13-16 Ark Encounter/Creation Museum $595pp Dble I sink into my seat on the recreated Pullman April October car and stare at my digital dog tag. It contains the 4 Dolly/Bernadette Peters $159pp 22-25 Ark Encounter/Creation Museum $595pp Dble individual story of “my” veteran, the person I will 7,21 Springtime in NYC $65pp follow as I go on a multimedia journey through 12 Dover Downs/Oh What a Night Show $99pp World War II. 14 Washington DC Cherry Blossom Festival $50pp Suddenly the train stops, and I’m in the 20 Mansions of Fairmont Park $135pp Campaigns of Courage Pavilion, a 32,00021 Alexandria Garden Festival $159pp square-foot exhibition hall at New Orleans’ 22-24 Presidential Trail $579pp Dble $729pp Sngle National World War II Museum (www. nationalww2museum.org).

Much more on www.lowees.com It contains two permanent exhibits: “The Road to Berlin,” where people become immersed in the Call or email ckelly@lowees.com to register sights and sounds of war-torn Europe, and “The Since 1984 Road to Tokyo,” which leads visitors on a digital PUC # A-00116038

ESCORTED MOTORCOACH TRIPS

717-657-9658

www.50plusLifePA.com

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Tours and Trips Savvy Senior

Jim Miller

Escort Services that Can Help Seniors with the Rigors of Travel If, however, your mom doesn’t require a lot of assistance, or if you can’t afford a travel escort, consider asking a trusted family member or friend that has some air travel experience.

Dear Savvy Senior, Do you know of any services that help seniors with the rigors of traveling? My youngest daughter is getting married in a few months and would love to have my 82-year-old mother attend, but she needs help flying across the country.

– Searching Daughter Dear Searching, Traveling can be daunting under the best circumstances, but for elderly seniors, those with disabilities, or those recovering or rehabilitating from an illness or injury, it can seem particularly overwhelming or unmanageable.

Fortunately, there are a number of companies that provide traveling companion/escort services to help older adults with the rigors of travel.

Whether it’s seniors going on vacation or grandparents wanting to join their far-off families for weddings and graduations, travel companions help clients who need help moving through airports, managing luggage, navigating busy terminals and hotel lobbies, and much more.

Some companion services even provide personal care, such as medication reminders, dressing, bathing, and feeding. And for those with specific medical needs, traveling nurse services are available too.

But be aware that these services aren’t cheap.

You will pay for the travel companion’s tickets, the companion’s hotel room if necessary, meals,

incidentals, and fees for the service.

The price to accompany a client on a plane trip within the United States — including the companion fees and travel costs for all parties — can range anywhere from $1,500 to $5,000 or more for coach airfare. Business or first class would cost more.

To locate a travel-companion service in your area, search online for “senior travel companion” or “senior travel escort,” followed by your mom’s city or state.

Or use an experienced national service, such as Flying Companions (www.flyingcompanions.com) or FirstLight Home Care (www.firstlighthomecare. com), which has a national network of franchises that provide in-home care for seniors and offers travel companion programs in about one-third of its 130 franchises.

Or, for medical travel companions, do a search for “traveling nurse escort” or “medical travel companion,” or check out Travel Care & Logistics (www.yourflightnurse.com), which provides registered nurses as escorts.

Questions to Ask If you’re interested in hiring a travel-companion service to help your mom, there are a number of things you need to check into to ensure you get the right escort.

First, if your mom requires personal or medical care while traveling, find out if the escort is trained to manage her healthcare needs. What sort of medical certifications do they have (nursing credentials, CPR training, etc.)?

Also, find out how many trips the companion has taken with clients. Have they completed trips with travelers like your mom? How long has the travel service company been in business?

What is the company’s safety record? And what sort of insurance does it carry, and what and whom does it cover?

Also, get a quote breaking down exactly what you’ll be required to pay, in addition to the companion’s fees. And, get a list of two or three clients/references who have used their service and call them.

Jim Miller is a regular contributor to the NBC Today show and author of The Savvy Senior Book. www. savvysenior.org

Watch Your Manners When You Travel Traveling abroad is stressful enough without accidentally offending the people you’re visiting.

Check out these warnings from the BuzzFeed

L & L Tours and Travel We’re going places and we’d love to have you join us! Many day trips already scheduled and a few multi-day excursions as well. Theatres, historic tours, the beach, national museums, and more.

Check out our website at www.lltourstravel.com for more information or call (717) 486-7061 for a 2018 travel booklet.

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website to steer clear of a faux pas in a foreign nation: China – Don’t give any kind of gift with the number four in it. The Chinese word for “four” sounds close to the word for “death.”

Denmark – You’ll show bad manners if you take the last item of food off a plate. If you want a little more, take only part of it and leave the rest.

India – Use your right hand when eating or passing food, never your left. The left hand is considered unclean in India, as well as other places like Africa and the Middle East.

Japan – Don’t stick your chopsticks straight up in a bowl of rice. Rice is presented this way during funerals.

Doing it at a meal will be seen as bad luck.

Mexico – Your server won’t bring your check to the table before you ask for it, so don’t assume he or she isn’t paying attention to you. www.50plusLifePA.com

Calendar of Events

Dauphin County

Support Groups Free and open to the public Mondays, 6:30-8 p.m.

Grief Support Group Mohler Senior Center 25 Hope Drive, Hershey (717) 732-1000

Feb. 14, 6-7 p.m.

Alzheimer’s Support Group Brookdale Harrisburg 3560 N. Progress Ave., Harrisburg (717) 671-4700

Feb. 1, 7-8 p.m.

Fibromyalgia Support Group LeVan Chiropractic 1000 Briarsdale Road, Suite C Harrisburg (717) 558-3500

Feb. 15, 6 p.m.

Alzheimer’s Support Group Country Meadows of Hershey Second Floor Training Room 451 Sand Hill Road, Hershey (717) 533-6996 astoner@countrymeadows.com

Feb. 7 and 21, 7-8:30 p.m.

ANAD Eating Disorders Support Group PinnacleHealth Polyclinic Landis Building, Sixth Floor Classroom 1 2501 N. Third St., Harrisburg (717) 712-9535 Feb. 13, 6-7 p.m.

Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support Group Greenfield Senior Living at Graysonview 150 Kempton Ave., Harrisburg (717) 561-8010

Feb. 15, 6-8 p.m.

Harrisburg Area Parkinson’s Disease Caregiver Support Group Giant Food Stores – Second Floor 2300 Linglestown Road, Harrisburg (717) 580-7772 Feb. 19, 6:30 p.m.

Support Group for Families of Those with Memory-Related Illnesses Frey Village 1020 N. Union St., Middletown (717) 930-1218

Senior Center Activities Feb. 21, 2-4 p.m.

Parkinson’s Support Group The Residence of the Jewish Home – Second Floor Library 4004 Linglestown Road Harrisburg (717) 697-2513 Feb. 28, 7-8 p.m.

Connections Support Group: Families of Memory Impaired Ecumenical Retirement Community Building 3, Second Floor 3525 Canby St., Harrisburg (717) 561-2590

If you have an event you would like to include, please email information to mjoyce@onlinepub.com for consideration.

Feb. 4, 10-11:30 a.m. – Mindfulness Hike, Wildwood Park Feb. 17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. – The Great Backyard Bird County, Wildwood Park Feb. 27, 7-8:30 p.m. – W ildwood Lecture Series: Rearing and Reintroduction of Regal Fritillary Butterflies, Wildwood Park

Library Programs

Elizabethville Area Library, 80 N. Market St. Elizabethville, (717) 362-9825 Feb. 3, 1 p.m. – Hors D’oeuvres: Bite-Sized Goodness Feb. 15, 6 p.m. – Thursday Theater Feb. 24, 1 p.m. – A Hospice Conversation Johnson Memorial Library, 799 E. Center St. Millersburg, (717) 692-2658 Feb. 8, 6:30 p.m. – D.I.Y. Travel Feb. 10, 11 a.m. – That’s (P)interesting: A D.I.Y. Club Kline Library, 530 S. 29th St., Harrisburg (717) 234-3934 Feb. 21, 2 p.m. – Friends and Readers Book Club Feb. 22, 6 p.m. – Knit 1, Crochet Too! Feb. 22, 6:30 p.m. – Kline Library Friends Meeting

www.50plusLifePA.com

Mohler Senior Center – (717) 533-2002 www.hersheyseniorcenter.com Feb. 5, noon – Presentation: Derry Township Police Department and Social Media Rutherford House – (717) 564-5682 www.rutherfordcenter.org Mondays and Fridays, 11 a.m. – Chair Yoga Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. – Art Class Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to noon – Computer Assistance Just a snippet of what you may be missing … please call or visit their website for more information.

Community Programs

PARKS & RECREATION

East Shore Area Library, 4501 Ethel St. Harrisburg, (717) 652-9380 Feb. 9, 11 a.m. – Basic Email I Feb. 12, 6 p.m. – A Hospice Conversation Feb. 24, 1 p.m. – Chinese New Year Celebration

Friendship Senior Center – (717) 657-1547 Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 8 -9 a.m. – Light Aerobics Wednesdays, 12:30 p.m. – Mah Jong

Madeline L. Olewine Memorial Library 2410 N. Third St., Harrisburg, (717) 232-7286 Feb. 13, 1 p.m. – Resume Writing Feb. 26, 6 p.m. – Cookbook Book Club McCormick Riverfront Library, 101 Walnut St. Harrisburg, (717) 234-4976 Wednesdays in February, 11:30 a.m. – Midday Getaway Northern Dauphin Library, 683 Main St., Lykens (717) 453-9315 Feb. 17, 12:30 p.m. – Mary Sachs Series: JobSearching Tips Feb. 22, 6 p.m. – Knit 1, Crochet Too! William H. & Marion C. Alexander Family Library, 200 W. Second St., Hummelstown (717) 566-0949 Feb. 7, 6:30 p.m. – Novel Thoughts Book Club Feb. 14, 6 p.m. – Second Wednesday Cinema Feb. 20, 1 p.m. – Novel Thoughts, Too! Book Club

Free and open to the public

Feb. 1, 7 p.m.

Central Pennsylvania World War II Roundtable Meeting Grace United Methodist Church 433 E. Main St., Hummelstown (717) 503-2862 charlie.centralpaww2rt@gmail.com www.centralpaww2roundtable.org Feb. 7, 7 p.m.

World Culture Club of Central Pennsylvania Meeting Penn State Hershey Medical Center Fifth Floor, Lecture Room B 500 University Drive, Hershey www.worldcultureclubpa.org Feb. 8, 7:30 p.m.

Central Pennsylvania Vietnam Roundtable Meeting Vietnam Veterans of America, Michael Novosel MOH Chapter 542 8000 Derry St., Harrisburg (717) 545-2336 centralpavietnamrt@verizon.net www.centralpavietnamroundtable.org Feb. 23, 6:30-9:30 p.m.

19th Annual Chili Cook-Off and Square Dance Derry Presbyterian Church 248 E. Derry Road, Hershey (717) 533-9667 www.derrypres.org Feb. 27, 6 p.m.

Susquehanna Rovers Volksmarch Walking Club Bass Pro Shop – Hunt Room Harrisburg Mall 3501 Paxton St., Harrisburg (717) 805-9540 Feb. 28, 7 p.m.

Piecemakers Quilt Guild of Middletown St. Peter’s Lutheran Church Spring and Union streets, Middletown (717) 915-5555 gsk1308@gmail.com

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Soldier Stories

Robert Naeye

Near Chu Lai, Army Nurse Treated Civilians, Soldiers — and Vietcong

In the December 2017 issue of 50plus LIFE I told the story of Ann Thompson, who served as an Army nurse during the early period of direct American involvement in the Vietnam War. Now I turn to her friend and fellow nurse, Linda Goodhart, who served in Vietnam four years after Thompson, from October 1969 to October 1970.

Although she now resides in Central Pennsylvania, Goodhart was born in Philadelphia in 1947 and graduated from nearby West Chester High School. She went directly into a three-year nursing program at Philadelphia General Hospital, where she received her diploma.

The Army helped pay for her training in return for two years of service and four years of active reserve — although she was never specifically

Goodhart at the 91st Evacuation Bunker near Chu Lai Air Base, 1970.

told about the additional four years.

“The Army was my way of saving

Stories of ordinary men and women called to perform extraordinary military service.

From 1999–2016, writer and World War II veteran Col. Robert D. Wilcox preserved the firsthand wartime experiences of more than 200 veterans through Salute to a Veteran, his monthly column featured in 50plus LIFE. Now, for the first time, 50 of those stories— selected by Wilcox himself—are available to own in this soft-cover book.

Simply complete and mail this form with your payment to the address below to order Salute to Our Veterans.

On-Line Publishers • 3912 Abel Drive, Columbia, PA 17512 Name_ _______________________________________________________ Address_ ______________________________________________________ City_______________________________ State_ ____ Zip_ ______________ Phone_ _____________________ Email______________________________ Number of copies_ ______ (Please include $20.80 for each copy) Credit card #______________________________________ Exp. date________ Signature of cardholder_________________________________CVV #________

Or send a check made payable to On-Line Publishers, Inc. You can also order online at www.50plusLIFEpa.com!

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Linda Goodhart today, right, with Ann Thompson, a fellow Vietnam nurse, in Goodhart’s backyard.

money for college,” says Goodhart.

Like Thompson, Goodhart attended officer’s training school at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. She learned basic navigation skills and how to shoot 45-calibre pistols. She also performed tracheotomies on goats to learn basic combat surgery.

But she agrees with Thompson that her Army training was woefully inadequate for the grim realities of wartime medicine.

“I wasn’t expecting to go to Vietnam, so I didn’t think about it,” she recalls.

But her Philly hospital would often treat very sick patients or victims of gunshot wounds or domestic abuse.

“You really got to see terrible things, so I felt, ‘I can do this, no problem,’” Goodhart says. “I thought it couldn’t get much worse than this — then I found out it could.”

Goodhart took a flight across the Pacific to Saigon. When she arrived, the heat and humidity hit her hard.

Making matters worse, nobody at the airport had her name, so she had no idea where to go. But she eventually figured things out by asking questions.

A few days later she was flown by helicopter to the 91st Evacuation

Hospital in the area of Chu Lai Air Base, about 100 miles south of the demilitarized zone. The pilot flew over the South China Sea to avoid enemy fire.

She spent her first three months in the South Vietnamese ward, treating primarily civilians and children. She was overwhelmed by the sight of so many patients.

“It was difficult at times dealing with that population because you couldn’t speak their language, but eventually we could figure out what they wanted,” says Goodhart.

Goodhart recalls one tragic incident where she and her colleagues were treating a comatose boy about 2 or 3 years old. His brain was swollen from malaria.

As was common in Vietnam hospitals, family members came to stay with the patients. The boy’s mother spoke very good English, so a nurse took her to the intensive care unit to translate for an enemy patient.

Shortly thereafter, the boy went into cardiac arrest. The doctors and nurses tried everything they could to save him, but he didn’t make it.

“When the mother came back, I had to tell her that her son had died and that we did everything we could,” recalls Goodhart.

The mother spent the night holding her baby. The next day the mother thanked Goodhart for trying to save her child, and Goodhart broke out in tears. But that was the last time she cried in Vietnam.

Goodhart’s evacuation hospital was relatively small, with about 70 beds and 20-25 nurses. But her Army base also had a surgical hospital.

Goodhart’s hospital was located on a gorgeous beach, but with 12-hour shifts six days a week, she had little time to appreciate it.

Conditions were often primitive.

The hospital’s only air conditioning was in the ICU. All personnel were given daily doses of antibiotics to fend off infections. And they had to www.50plusLifePA.com

contend with pouring rain without adequate clothing and footwear.

Goodhart asked her parents to send her a heating blanket, which she used to prevent items on her bed from collecting mildew.

Officers had to pay for their meals.

The Army food wasn’t great, but it was edible. To spice things up, Goodhart wrote home and asked her parents to send bottles of A.1.

“Pretty soon people started sitting with me so they could use my steak sauce,” she says.

Her parents also sent her copies of The Philadelphia Inquirer, which would generally arrive about a week late.

“I would read these stories and think, ‘This isn’t what’s going on here.’ The secret war in Cambodia was secret to the news people and to the people in the United States, but it wasn’t so secret to us because we’d get those folks [at the hospital].”

The hospital had a triage system that prioritized military personnel over civilians. Abdominal wounds usually came first, and brain injuries often came last. Patients with less severe injuries were kept either in “the rear” or at another hospital.

“Our philosophy was that if they live 12 hours, they’ll live for the rest of the time. But if they get too well too quickly, they get to go back to the fight. That’s what Army medical is for — to preserve the fighting strength.”

Goodhart frequently cared for enemy prisoners. There was always a military police officer present — two if prisoners were numerous — so Goodhart felt safe.

North Vietnamese POWs sometimes showed genuine appreciation for the care they received. Goodhart befriended two North Vietnamese captives who were later shot in cold blood by South Vietnamese soldiers while being driven to a POW camp.

In stark contrast, Goodhart describes Vietcong prisoners as “very scary people” who would sometimes threaten to slit the throats of the doctors and nurses. These guerillas

were often from the local area, so from their perspective, they were defending their homeland against foreign invaders.

The movie M*A*S*H came out in 1970, when Goodhart was on leave in Hong Kong. She says many of the characters were similar to doctors and nurses in Vietnam. The movie was set in the Korean War, but it was really about Vietnam.

One thing the movie (and television series) depicted accurately was what happened when wounded soldiers were coming in fast and furious. The doctors would have to practice “meatball surgery,” meaning they’d have to sew up patients and move them on.

“One of the biggest problems is that when we had new doctors coming in, they wanted to practice their specialties; they wanted to practice stateside medicine,” says Goodhart. “We would say, ‘No, you can’t do that.’”

Goodhart came home in October 1970 and attended college in Connecticut. She later went on to earn two master’s degrees in healthcare from Yale University. She moved back to Pennsylvania in 1980 to work in a nursing administration job at the Lebanon VA Medical Center.

After meeting at a Vietnam nurses group more than 25 years ago, in 1997 Goodhart and Thompson traveled with other nurses to Vietnam.

The trip was pleasant and cathartic, and most of the locals were very friendly. She even got to reacquaint herself with one of her Vietnamese patients.

Besides their friendship born of common hardship and experiences, Goodhart and Thompson got together with three other Vietnam War nurses to coauthor the book Another Kind of War Story, which is available through Amazon.

Robert Naeye is a freelance journalist living in Derry Township. He is the former editor-in-chief of Sky & Telescope magazine.

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Across 1. Flying mammal 4. Biz supervision (abbr.)

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25. Legal document 27. Time zone 30. Anticipate 33. Buckeye State 34. Card game 35. Solid; unwavering 38. Large and scholarly book 39. Morsels 40. Aeries 41. Fruit drink 42. Mirth 43. Mature 44. Noah’s creation 45. Replete

47. Used to be 50. Netherlands Antilles island 53. Coolest 55. Common grape vine 56. Byron poem 57. Contest 58. Oil source 59. Greek god of war 60. Swear 61. Discourage 62. Time periods (abbr.)

63. Fish catcher

19. Muse of poetry 23. Designer name 24. Boost 26. BBQ choice 27. After place and door 28. Mild oath 29. High rocky hills 30. Ionian gulf 31. Golf club 32. Pinnacle 33. Demon 34. Escape 36. People in general

37. Wing bearer 42. Kitchen utensil 43. Gazetteer 44. Higher up 46. Eng. river 47. Interlace 48. Cravat 49. Goulash 50. Footless 51. Upset 52. Building block 53. Talon 54. Neighbor of Pakistan

Down 1. Find fault 2. Haywire 3. Sharp 4. Forms 5. Man-eater 6. Swarm 7. Duplicity 8. Existing 9. Actress Capshaw 10. Solar disk 11. Scarlet and cerise 12. Distant 13. Anxious feelings

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It Was 50 Years Ago Today

‘(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay’ Randal Hill

recent Monterey Pop Festival.

Aretha Franklin had taken his “Respect” to No. 1 on Billboard’s pop chart.

He had been listening to Bob Dylan and the Beatles.

He talked of starting his own record label.

15 and went on the road to sing with the Upsetters, Little Richard’s former Otis Redding was at peace — sort backup group. of — when he began his best-known Later on, Redding creation on a friend’s houseboat in hooked up — as Sausalito, California. lead singer — with On one lazy, sunny afternoon in 1967, Redding strummed his acoustic another Macon outfit, Johnny guitar and softly sang whatever lyrics Jenkins and the drifted into his head.

Pinetoppers. They He was going somewhere with a had scored a regional tune; he just didn’t know where. hit called “Love Twist,” and Atlantic Looks like nothing’s gonna change/ ••• “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay” Records was showing Everything still remains the same Otis Redding Born in 1941, interest.

February 1968 Redding had grown In October 1962 Were those lines meant to be up in Macon, ironic? At that point Otis Redding Atlantic invited Georgia, the home of Little Richard was really all about change.

Jenkins to do some recording in and James Brown, both early major He had wowed the Memphis. Jenkins didn’t drive, so influences. Redding left school at age Redding chauffeured his friend in a (overwhelmingly white) crowd at the borrowed station wagon. advertisement The Memphis house band that day included a future Redding collaborator, guitarist Steve Cropper.

The Jenkins session never came together, but in the studio that If you want a funeral with an expensive casket afternoon Redding cut an original soul ballad called “These Arms of and embalming, go to a funeral home!

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February 2018

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On Oct. 4, 1967, Redding met with Cropper in a Memphis recording studio to polish Redding’s “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay.”

“We knew we finally had the song that would cross him over to the pop market,” Cropper would say later.

But only Redding and Cropper believed in the future classic. The power people behind Volt Records (Redding’s label) hated what was offered and condemned the song as being too “pop” for Redding’s hardcore fans.

Where was that signature Otis Redding soul? And what was with that adlibbed whistling of Redding’s that showed up at the end?

Three days after finishing recording “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay,” Redding died at age 26 when his small private plane slammed into a Wisconsin lake.

He and his five-piece band, the Bar-Kays, had been heading to Madison for a club date. One band member survived the crash.

Steve Cropper ended up tinkering with Redding’s work by adding sound effects of gently lapping waves. The result was a fine point on what rock historian Dave Marsh once declared was “as whole, as fully realized and mature, as any record ever made.”

Music fans obviously agreed; by the end of the century, “Dock” had earned a phenomenal 6 million spins on the radio.

Randal C. Hill is a rock ’n’ roll historian who lives at the Oregon coast. He may be reached at wryterhill@msn.com.

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Winter Care for Seniors with Complex Medical Conditions

By Angela Norris For many of us, winter brings its own unique challenges. But for seniors with complex medical conditions, the winter months present serious health risks.

Families, caregivers, and long-term senior care facilities can, however, minimize the risk during the chilly winter months with a few simple measures to make sure loved ones emerge healthy when the first crocuses appear.

The most crucial step you can take is utilizing your caregivers. If your loved one has been in post-acute or long-term care, talk with caregivers and ask questions.

You can develop a holistic approach with clinical, rehabilitation, wellness, and nutrition specialists, and by working together, you’ll minimize the risk of complex medical conditions and gain the emotional support you need to provide the best quality of care.

Because chronic conditions, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, weaken immune systems and wound healing, the winter months present elevated risks of lost tissue strength, complications from the cold and flu season, and reduced circulation because of inactivity.

According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 6.5 million Americans suffer from chronic wounds at an annual cost of $25 billion.

First and foremost, wounds must be dressed and proper winter clothing must cover the area when outdoors.

If a chronic wound is on the hand, for example, make sure your loved one never leaves the house during the winter months without adequate winter gloves to protect the wound from the elements.

Additionally, the cold and dry weather reduces moisture levels surrounding chronic wounds.

Special wound dressings, such as collagen and alginate dressings, hydrocolloids, foams, and hydrogel dressings, have been developed to increase needed moisture at the wound site. Talk with your clinician to find the best dressing to use for your loved one.

Moisturizers can also be used around the wound area to help reduce irritation. If your loved one is averse to the feeling of moisturizers (a common problem with men), try “non-greasy” moisturizers instead.

Further, the cold and flu season presents a significant risk to a loved one with an already compromised immune system. To reduce the risk of a secondary infection, families, caregivers, and long-term senior care facilities must use precautions.

First, hand-washing is a frontline defense in preventing colds and flu.

Whenever you visit or care for a loved one with a complex medical condition, make sure you properly wash your hands before any interaction. If you catch a cold or the flu, arrange for another caregiver to fill in while you recover.

Poor circulation due to inactivity is another of winter’s significant problems.

If your loved one is part of a long-term senior care facility, make sure they have a good exercise and activity schedule.

If your loved one is at home, remember that any movement is better than remaining sedentary. Work together with your loved one to perform any activity that requires them to get up and move around.

If your loved one has difficulty walking, “chair yoga” provides significant benefits and gets their circulation moving.

As you gather together around the fire during the winter months, remember www.50plusLifePA.com

with just a few simple steps, you can significantly reduce additional complications so you all emerge happy and healthy when the days begin to lengthen again.

Angela Norris is senior vice president for StoneGate Senior Living LLC (http:// stonegatesl.com), an award-winning, fullspectrum senior care and housing company. She has deep experience in nursing, payments, and accountable care models and previously served as vice president of an accountable care organization for the aged, blind, and disabled.

Volunteer Spotlight Teacher Shares the Joy of a Green Thumb fields, which provides fresh The RSVP Dauphin produce to students and a County Volunteer of the Month for February is good quantity of food for the Central Pennsylvania Bernadette Rhodes. She Food Bank; more than has volunteered at Steelton1,000 pounds were Highspire Middle and donated last year.

Senior High schools in the Garden of Youth for six “I love working with the students and watching years.

Bernadette Rhodes their excitement as their Rhodes was born in boxes start producing,” Harrisburg and graduated Rhodes said. “Every eggplant, from East Stroudsburg University watermelon, and zucchini is with degrees in psychology and education. She is currently working celebrated with a shout of, ‘Ms. on her master’s degree. In 1999 she Rhodes, come see my eggplant!’”

Rhodes has volunteered in several was hired at Steel-High as a special other programs: church nursery, education teacher.

In addition to helping install the Girl Scouts, PTA, and twice as a science fair co-chair. pond and provide plants around it, Rhodes, the students, and Rick Although volunteering comes with the added responsibility of Sayles, RSVP Dauphin County cross-generational coordinator, plan people counting on her, Rhodes considers herself rich in the rewards Earth Day activities that include germinating flower seeds, cleaning that come with the commitment.

For further information about and preparing for the growing season, planting seedlings, weeding, RSVP’s volunteer opportunities in Dauphin County, contact Sayles and trimming.

Rhodes drives a van for field trips at (717) 541-9521 or crossgen@ rsvpcapreg.org. to Strites Orchard to glean their Do you know a 50+ volunteer who gives selflessly to others? Tell us what makes him or her so special and we will consider them for 50plus LIFE’s Volunteer Spotlight!

Submissions should be 200 words or fewer and photos are encouraged. Email preferred to mjoyce@onlinepub.com or mail nominations to 50plus LIFE, Volunteer Spotlight, 3912 Abel Drive, Columbia, PA 17512.

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5 Things Everyone Should Do to Stay Safe Online, Particularly Older Adults

By Davis Park As we increasingly depend on an interconnected world, we also have a responsibility to practice safe internet behaviors every day of the year.

Unfortunately, as the number of adults 65 and older using connected devices continues to rise, so does the population of individuals most at risk for cyber crime.

Sixty percent of Americans aged 65 and above have reported using the internet. Yet for every incident of violent crime, three incidents of internet crime are committed against seniors. Older adults are estimated to lose $2.9 billion annually to financial abuse.

Although internet “hygiene” may seem overwhelming to people unfamiliar with new technologies, including the older adult population, anyone can feel confident and empowered by following a few easy steps.

This is exactly why the not-for-profit Front Porch Center of Innovation and Wellbeing offers five tips for internet safety for older adults, families, and caregivers everywhere.

1. Choose a Password.

Passwords are important “keys” to give us access to specific resources on the internet (such as email or bank accounts) and inform the websites we’re doing business with who we are.

While it can be a challenge keeping track of passwords, it’s important we avoid reusing them and protect this information.

Instead of changing your password: • Use a strong password rather than changing passwords regularly.

to help us stay connected while we’re traveling and wherever we go — but be wary. Hackers also love free or less secure Wi-Fi networks because they can use tools to intercept your internet communications.

Not all free Wi-Fi connections are created equal.

Confirm that the business Wi-Fi connection you want to join belongs to the business you know and trust. If you aren’t sure, ask.

• Using different passwords on each of your online accounts prevents hackers from accessing additional accounts.

• Add another layer of protection, if available, such as fingerprints or security questions.

Don’t panic. These guidelines can go a long way to keep you safe. Most websites, applications, and software limit the number of password guesses, which prevents someone from “nonstop guessing” your password.

2. Keep that Antivirus Software Up to Date!

Your antivirus company is doing its part to be a step ahead of hackers. To get the best use of the software, stay current on your updates!

Antivirus software can: • Help prevent people from hacking your computer, laptop, smartphone, and even, in some cases, your smart home device (like Amazon Alexa or Google Home) • A lert you to websites and downloads that could be an entry point for suspicious software • Reduce the likelihood that malicious software is installed on your computer

• Strategically place special characters or symbols to avoid patterns rather than grouping them at the end.

3. Use Only Trusted Wi-Fi Resources.

Who doesn’t like free Wi-Fi? Many mobile devices come with wireless internet capabilities

Puzzles shown on page 19

Puzzle Solutions

• Create passwords of 12–15 characters; focus on length over complexity.

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February 2018

• Avoid conducting personal business on community devices, such as public computers.

Software may have been installed to track what you type and where you go on the internet to steal your information.

• W hen in doubt, try to use your personal WiFi, hotspot, or the network connection on your smartphone.

4. Google it! Yahoo it! Bing it!

Regardless of what search engine you favor, use it to research an unfamiliar website before giving up your information.

Oftentimes, hackers create a link that may appear, at first glance, to be a legitimate website to trick you into giving up your personal data.

5. Safeguard your personal information.

Personal information, such as date of birth, Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, and passwords, are like gold to nefarious hackers, so treat and protect them as such.

Be wary of unsolicited phone calls and emails.

Did you know that most banks are not allowed to ask you for passwords or personal identification numbers (PINs)? Asking for password/PIN information is a breach of “terms of service.”

• A sk which websites will have the personal information you have provided.

• A sk who else can access your information.

• Be careful where you put your current or past information. Dispose of everything as safely as possible (whether online or on paper).

The internet is a lively, expansive world of information, resources, and experiences. As many more older adults increasingly go online to take advantage of these conveniences and powerful tools, it’s important to use responsible and safe internet practices!

Davis Park is the director of the Front Porch Center for Innovation and Wellbeing in Glendale, Calif. FPCIW has an ongoing mission of using technology to enhance well-being among older adults. For more information and resources, visit http://fpciw.org.

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Why 50+ Is the Dental Tipping Point

By Michael Tischler, DDS Baby boomers ages 50-75 should be assessing their dental health with their dentist as they head toward their later years in life.

As people age, so do their dental restorations. Crowns, bridges, and fillings have a finite lifespan, and baby boomers should have a dental professional examine their teeth regularly to determine the best course forward.

This assessment at this point in life is called the “dental turning point for baby boomers.�

As people age, they are often on medications that help keep them healthy. What most people don’t realize is that a side effect of many medications is dry mouth.

Saliva has a protective effect on teeth, so when a person has a dry mouth, there can be an increase in tooth decay and around dental restorations. This is an important consideration for a patient who is looking at redoing older dental work.

Dental implants can replace a person’s missing tooth or teeth.

Because of the high success rate of dental implants, it sometimes makes sense to replace teeth likely to decay with dental implants, which will not decay from dry mouth.

Having a healthy mouth and teeth is important for every age, not only baby boomers. Teeth, of course, help a person chew food and obtain nutrition, so when teeth are missing, the ability to chew food is diminished — this can affect a person’s digestive system and overall health.

Teeth also affect a person’s selfwww.50plusLifePA.com

esteem. When someone feels good about their smile, they feel more confident. This confidence positively translates to many social and business situations.

Cosmetic dental procedures can dramatically improve a person’s life by creating brighter and more attractive smiles. Crowns, bridges, implants, and veneers are just some of the cosmetic dental procedures that can be performed.

Many baby boomers are on a fixed income, so the financial cost of dental treatment needs to be considered.

Medicare has limited dental coverage, and dental insurance only covers partial payment on most dental procedures.

This is unfortunate, as dental health is intricately related to a person’s overall health.

Besides the issues of nutrition and self-esteem, infection and periodontal disease have been directly related to heart health and other systemic conditions.

A dental professional should make an assessment of a baby boomer’s gum health as part of an overall dental-health examination. Baby boomers are at an important time in life with respect to their dental health. As baby boomers head into their later years, a dental professional’s examination should be done to help make oral-care decisions for the patient’s future.

As an internationally recognized leader in the dental implant field, Dr. Michael Tischler developed the Teeth Tomorrow franchise network to bring a new technology to dental patients throughout the U.S. http:// teethtomorrow.com

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