50plus Life York County – July 2022

Complimentary | York County Edition

July 2022

Keeping wild animals wild page 4

How to get covid funeral assistance funds page 6

Johnny Mathis still touring at 86 page 16

Please Join Us for These 2022 Events!

omen’s Expo

LANCASTER COUNTY

Sept. 28 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

York Expo Center Memorial Hall East 334 Carlisle Ave., York

23rd Annual

YORK COUNTY

Oct. 12

9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Carlisle Expo Center 100 K St. Carlisle

CUMBERLAND COUNTY

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10th Annual

Spooky Nook Sports 2913 Spooky Nook Road Manheim

Sept. 17 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

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9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Spooky Nook Sports 2913 Spooky Nook Road Manheim

omen’s Expo Cumberland County

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Nov. 12 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Carlisle Expo Center 100 K St. Carlisle

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Lebanon Expo Center 80 Rocherty Road Lebanon

Oct. 22

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5 Compassionate Questions to Ask a Seriously Ill Family Member

By Doug Wenners

4. What outcomes are unacceptable to you?

Of all the questions, this can be the most difficult one to discuss.

It requires delving into what could happen in the future and what your loved one wants as their health circumstances progress.

Too often, it’s the doctors and specialists debating amongst themselves, according to their values, what is right for the patient.

But your loved ones deserve a choice. It’s critical to give the patient the opportunity to speak up about what they’re comfortable with when their boundaries are at risk of being crossed.

Any person who is seriously ill is likely to have had a conversation with their family and/or attorney about advance healthcare directives such as wills, powers of attorney, trusts, etc.

These conversations, while important, are the usual and expected way we engage with ill family members.

However, there are other even more personal conversations that need to happen when someone is seriously ill.

Here are five of the most important, and compassionate, questions to ask a family member to help facilitate them in having the best quality of life possible.

1. What is your understanding of where you are and your illness?

This is a collaborative question that helps both the person asking and the person answering get on the same page about the reality of the situation.

It’s not uncommon for children and spouses to just assume their loved ones understand more about the situation than they do.

Emotional reasons or cognitive impairment can mean a family member may not have fully grasped or come to terms with their situation or what it means for their future.

In some cases, the opposite can also be true. Family members may assume their loved one understands virtually nothing about their situation.

Asking this question helps move past assumptions and clarifies the reality of the situation for both parties.

Additionally, the dialogue that comes out of asking this question allows the other person to talk about their comprehension of the situation.

2. What are your fears or worries for the future?

When a loved one suffers from an illness, it’s natural for them to start thinking about their own mortality and what lies ahead.

“What are my kids going to do without me? Is my wife going to have enough money to live? What if I miss my daughter’s wedding?” These are the type of thoughts that people are often encumbered with in this situation.

The problem is that if these concerns are not given space to be expressed, then nothing can be done to help address them.

Even after being poked, prodded, and run through the medical system, many people in this position have never had the opportunity to simply talk out their worries and fears. When they are given the chance, the experience can be cathartic and empowering.

3. What are your goals and priorities?

This is the ultimate goal of what caring for someone with an illness is all about: giving that person the opportunity to articulate what’s important so the people around them can support those goals and priorities.

Too often we assume our loved ones have the singular goal of getting better. The problem with this assumption is that it ignores the likely scenario that they have other goals as well that haven’t been addressed.

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5. What would a good day look like?

The opportunity to say out loud what a good day looks like, with the hope that it can truly be achieved, is fundamental to the human spirit. This question is about what truly, in a person’s heart, makes them happy.

When a loved one or care provider knows the answer to this question, they can work in service of that goal.

I experienced this with my father who, during his ongoing illness, responded to this question by saying, “I just want to go to lunch with my children.” I knew I was able to take action and help make his day just a bit brighter despite everything else going on.

Unfortunately, in healthcare today, almost everything is imposed upon the patient, and often, the sicker you become, the more disempowered you are.

The sad reality is that many people die on everyone else’s terms. These five questions of empowerment are meant to generate deeper conversations about the quality of the end of life so the person can die on their own terms.

Douglas J. Wenners is the cofounder and CEO of Prospero Health, providing home-based care for people living with serious illnesses. Doug is a strong advocate for changing the way society views healthcare from being system-focused to patientand family-focused. Learn more at Prospero-Health.com.

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July 2022

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Cover Story

Keeping Wild Animals Wild

By Gabriele Amersbach Corporate Office

P.O. Box 8049, Lancaster, PA 17604 Phone (717) 285-1350 (610) 675-6240 Fax (717) 285-1360 Email address: info@onlinepub.com Website address: www.onlinepub.com

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for Young. She wanted to find a way to help wild animals that were hurt.

Within a year, in 2010, Young was horrified by the devastation caused by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the largest marine spill in history.

Large areas of the affected seabed became dead zones, and nearly a million birds suffocated or sickened from oil exposure, while contaminants from the spill were found in bird eggs as far north as Minnesota years later.

The massive devastation of the natural environment from the spill was a graphic example of a lesson Young would learn throughout her career.

Raven Ridge volunteer Janine spending “When wildlife intersects some outdoor playtime with Gigi the with humans, animals groundhog. always lose,” she explains.

Desperate to help the suffering animals she saw on TV, Young signed up to volunteer but never got off the waiting list, since most volunteers were trained wildlife rehabilitators. At that point she was a graphic artist but was ready to change her career.

“I always knew I wanted to do something unique that makes a difference,” she says. “I found it taking care of animals.”

On a rainy night, when the wind is howling and the rest of us are safe and warm in our homes, Tracie A. Young, licensed wildlife rehabilitator, knows she’s going to have a busy night.

“In drastic weather when the wind is high, our phone rings like crazy,” she says.

“Nests fall out of trees, bats are grounded and can’t fly. People call us to get baby birds back into their nests and bats back into colonies.”

Young has spent the last 12 years passionate about a career where saving an eagle with lead poisoning or raccoon with a hurt leg is part of her daily workday.

“It’s a job that requires seven days a week, 365 days a year,” says Young.

“You can be sitting having Thanksgiving dinner, and someone calls with an injured animal that you’ll want to help. It’s a calling, not a job.”

Young’s journey to caring for wild animals began when she and her husband saw a snow goose that had been hit by a car.

“We drove home with me holding the bleeding goose with a broken wing on my lap,” says Young.

“It is illegal to have wild Bunnies and Chipmunks animals in your home, so in the Closet we hid the goose in my inIn Pennsylvania, the laws’ garage, trying to find process of becoming help for it. Like most people a licensed wildlife who see a hurt animal, I Center ambassador Barron Von Vulture rehabilitator is arduous and was so stressed. I didn’t has his own Facebook page complicated. Currently, know what to do, what to (facebook.com/barronvonvulture). only 31 rehabilitators cover feed it. Finally, three days the whole state. later, we drove one-and-aYoung began by volunteering with a local wildlife half hours to get it to a wildlife rehab center.” rehabilitator. For 250 hours, she cleaned cages, fed animals, and learned how to care for hurt animals.

A Turning Point: The Deepwater Horizon Oil Next, she started as a subpermittee, which required Spill her to get further training under the supervision of Holding the hurt goose touched a deep cord

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the licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

Young regularly attends workshops, Young tells the story: “At this stage, classes, and an annual conference where I was required to take animals home to she can talk shop with other wildlife care for them. My husband and I were rehabilitators and stay current in her field. living in a townhouse. Raven Ridge Wildlife Center started in the closet. I had Swimming with the Sharks chipmunks and bunnies on heating disks.

When Young is ready to relax, it is not At lunch I would hurry home from my job surprising that her dream vacation also to feed everybody.” involves animals.

After successfully completing more “To dive with the great whites is my exams and training, she received her onedream,” she says. “I love sharks — they’re year novice permit that finally led to a so incredible, so smart.” general permit.

A master scuba diver, Young has After five years of training and SCUBA dived with several different certification through four separate species of shark. She will go to the Great agencies, Young set up Raven Ridge Barrier Reef in Australia this October Dottie the opossum likes to hide in a bin of stuffed animals.

Wildlife Center at her home in to dive with great white sharks and visit Washington Boro. She works with two rehab centers for fruit bats, wallabies, and volunteers and her husband, Kurt, to care for about kangaroos.

30 animals each month.

Young is quick to defend sharks against their “It can be more or less, depending on the time of deadly reputation. year,” says Young.

“We are not what they want,” she says. “We’re too She also works with several local vets who donate bony! Sharks are looking for seals and fish.” their time.

She enthusiastically describes a diving“We now specialize in raptors, like eagles, trip highlight that would haunt most people’s vultures, and hawks, and rabies-vector animals like nightmares. raccoons, bats, groundhogs, and deer fox,” says To avoid antagonizing a group of agitated sharks, Young. “If we don’t have room, we refer people to “We go to the ocean bottom, kneel, and cross our other centers.” arms,” says Young. “A Caribbean reef shark swam Wildlife rehab centers do not receive funding toward me, and at the last second went right over from state or federal agencies. Last year, Young my head. It was awesome.” relied on money from giving 30 community It is helpful to note that annual unprovoked shark presentations, donations through Lancaster’s annual attacks kill about five people globally, while in the Extraordinary Give, and private donations to cover U.S. alone, cows kill about 22 people yearly. her annual budget of $150,000-$200,000.

Young concludes with her hope to eventually buy “My husband has a day job,” Young adds with a a new, larger facility that allows her and her team to Monster the skunk came to Raven Ridge as a smile. “We couldn’t do this otherwise.” care for more wild animals. baby two years ago with a maculed sinus and “We tell people, if you find a hurt wild animal, deviated septum. Deemed non-releasable, she The Dangers of Lead Shot don’t feed them or try to care for them yourself. now lives in the Youngs’ home.

The cost of bringing just one lead-poisoned eagle Call us. Our quality of care is their quality of life.” back to health can run into the thousands.

Tracie Young feels a compelling obligation to give “We may use at least three to eight tests to determine levels of lead — 28 the wild animals that are losing their habitat a second chance. tests cost about $700,” Young explains. “Then we have to ship in frozen mice “Animals usually get hurt when they collide with humans. We owe it to and rats, hand feed the animal, and conduct chelation therapy. Fortunately, a them to provide an environment that keeps them wild for the next generation.” year ago we had a $3,000 donation so we could purchase an oxygen chamber.”

Tracie and her staff are happy to come to your location with a presentation that According to Young, “It is sad how many raptors are affected by lead includes “ambassador” animals that were not able to be returned to the wild. Check poisoning and rodenticides. People put out poison traps, or hunters leave part out her Facebook page at facebook.com/ravenridgewildlife or call Raven Ridge of the deer in the field. Scavengers eat the rest and get lead poisoning — as Wildlife Center at (717) 808-2652. can the hunter.

“We need to keep spreading the word to hunters and fishermen about the On the cover: Tracie Young handling a red-tailed hawk during its dangers to wildlife if you use lead shot and fishing equipment. Even ingesting rehabilitation. just two BB pellets can kill an eagle.”

For Young, who has a special place in her heart for the power and beauty of raptors, the payoff comes when the bird is able to fly away after weeks of intensive care.

“It makes my heart stop when they fly back into the sky where they belong,” she says.

While a career in wildlife rehabilitation is rewarding, it can also be depressing. Sometimes, when the animal is too hurt, it requires euthanasia, a difficult part of Young’s job.

“It’s easy to burn out and become financially depleted,” she explains. “You View online at: need to find support to combat compassion fatigue.” (under supplements)

Information and support whenever you need it www.onlinepub.com

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50plus Life

July 2022

5

Savvy Senior

Jim Miller

How to Get Underutilized COVID Funeral Assistance Funds

Dear Savvy Senior, I recently saw a news segment on TV about a government funeral assistance program available to families who lost loved ones during the pandemic.

What can you tell me about this? I lost my 78-year-old mother to COVID in 2021 and want to find out if I’m still eligible for any funeral funds, and if so, what I need to do to get them.

– Still Sad Dear Sad, I’m very sorry about the loss of your mother. The government program you are asking about is the COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (or FEMA).

This program is part of the American Rescue Plan, a stimulus package passed in 2021 in an effort to help the country financially manage amid the pandemic.

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This program, which has no end date, offers up to $9,000 to cover the cost of a funeral for someone who died of COVID19 as far back as January 2020.

Unfortunately, less than half the people believed eligible for funeral assistance have actually applied for it. Here’s what you should know about the program’s requirements and how to apply.

Where to Start?

To apply for COVID-19 funeral assistance, you must do it over the phone by calling FEMA at (844) 684-6333, any time Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern Time. The application process takes about 20 minutes.

After you apply, FEMA will provide you an application number, which you may use to create an online account at DisasterAssistance.gov if you choose.

You will then need to submit supporting documents, including a death certificate for your mother, but it must state that her death “may have been caused by” or “was likely the result of” COVID-19 or COVID-19-like symptoms. If you don’t have this, you won’t be eligible.

Her death must also have occurred in the U.S. on or after Jan. 20, 2020.

You’ll also need to submit proof of funeral expenses, such as itemized receipts, invoices, or funeral home contracts.

These supporting documents can be submitted either online through your DisasterAssistance.gov account; by mail to P.O. Box 10001, Hyattsville, MD 20782; or via fax to (855) 261-3452.

After the paperwork is received, it takes FEMA about 45 days to make an eligibility decision.

Families who had multiple deaths due to the coronavirus can also apply.

One family can receive up to $35,000 across multiple funerals.

Reimbursements can be used to cover any portion of funeral expenses, including burial plots, caskets, preparation of the body, cremation, urns, clergy, services, and headstones, as well as costs related to state or local ordinances and producing death certificates.

But be aware that prepaid funerals are not eligible for reimbursements.

Any payment made specifically for a funeral prior to death is considered a duplication and is not eligible.

If FEMA approves your application, the funds will either be deposited into your bank account or sent by mail via check, usually within a few days of approval.

If, however, you receive a letter from FEMA saying you’re ineligible, or if the amount awarded is not enough, you have the right to appeal within 60 days of FEMA’s decision letter.

For more information on the COVID Funeral Assistance program, visit FEMA.gov/disaster/coronavirus/economic/funeral-assistance.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit savvysenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of The Savvy Senior book.

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CROSSWORD

Puzzle Page

Solutions for all puzzles can be found on page 18.

SUDOKU

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Across 1. Evening in Paris 5. Orchestra section 10. Best seller 13. Like some floors and counters 15. Circus site 16. Lawyer’s org.

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28. Trampled 30. Funny lady Rita from Cheers 33. After-bath wear 36. Almost 38. Stout 39. Musical composition 40. Seven, Roman 41. Sketch 42. Little bit 43. Scot. terriers 46. Departure 47. The Little Tramp 49. Fish part 24. Residents (suffix) 25. December Bride sitcom star Byington 26. Slippery one 27. Attempt 29. Comic relief star Andy to Guy Madison in Hickok series 31. Jai ___ 32. Colorful salamander 33. Campus military org.

34. Moonfish 35. Half a comedy duo 37. Tire filler 41. Wooded hollow 43. Actor Gulager

51. Thug 52. Become wider 56. Agree 58. Unguent 60. Aurora’s counterpart 61. G.I. entertainers 62. Gracie’s funnyman mate 66. Insect egg 67. Former musical treat 68. Think out loud 69. Compass pt.

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July 2022

7

Brain Freeze: The Ice Cream Headache

By Nancy J. Schaaf, RN It’s summer. Have you had your brain freeze yet?

There’s nothing better than a bowl of ice cream on a hot day, except when you’re too eager to gulp it down, and suddenly your head feels like it’s on fire.

July, named National Ice Cream Month, gives us the perfect opportunity to eat as much ice cream as our hearts desire. But unfortunately, many of us will experience “brain freeze” as we sample the numerous ice cream flavors.

Brain freeze, one of the most mindnumbing types of headache, is associated with one of the best desserts ever created.

Ice cream is the No. 1 offender; over 30% of the people who consume ice cream regularly experience brain freeze headaches.

An ice cream headache is almost always intense, short-lasting, and stabbing. This short-term sensation is typically linked to the rapid consumption of ice cream, ice pops, or icy-cold drinks.

Most of us have experienced weird and brief headaches from consuming

July is National Ice Cream Month

Time is a Priceless Gift

Volunteer Spotlight

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, P.O. Box 8049, Lancaster, PA 17604.

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cold beverages and foods at least once in our lifetimes. Over the last few decades, the rising popularity of ice cream caused more cases of brain freeze or “ice-cream headache.”

While the pain associated with cold desserts has been well known for quite some time, it was not until 1988 that the International Headache Society formally recognized the condition, which they referred to as “cold-stimulus headache.”

Because cold-stimulus headaches are so often associated with the roof of the mouth, their scientific name is sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia. This term means “nerve pain of the sphenopalatine ganglion,” a bundle of nerves that transmits sensations from the top of the mouth to the brain.

These nerves, located behind the nose, are highly sensitive to temperature to protect the brain. Brain freeze is our body’s reaction to eating too-cold foods; these instantaneous headaches are a natural body reflex to temperature changes.

So, when we put something icy in our mouth, our body’s first response is to warm back up, starting a flow of reactions

involved in brain freeze.

Temperature sensors in that region send an instant danger response to the brain. The brain promptly reacts by ordering blood vessels in the head regions to contract, regulating blood flow and prolonging survival of the brain in the cold environment.

After several seconds, when the body is reassured the temperature change was not permanent, blood vessels dilate, which causes a rush of blood to the brain. The complete process lasts only several seconds.

The cure for brain freeze is simple: The moment you start to experience a brain freeze, press the tongue to the roof of the mouth.

The heat from the tongue will transfer heat to the sinuses behind the nose, which will warm the nerve bundles that cause brain freeze. Keep the tongue firmly against the roof of the mouth until the pain starts to dissipate.

Can we prevent brain freeze? Because it occurs when something icy-cold touches the upper palate, we can avoid some of the foods and drinks that are common causes of the sensation, such as ice cream, ice water, slushies, and popsicles. But, for many, these sweet treats are not so easy to give up.

There is no cure for this condition except the recommendation that those susceptible to brain freeze should eat slowly and try not to agitate temperature sensors on the roof of the mouth. Doing this may reduce the risk of developing brain freeze.

We can also prevent brain freeze by taking a sip of a warmer beverage immediately before and after the cold drink or food, thereby keeping the nerves warm.

Brain freeze is not dangerous. Indeed, it is uncomfortable, but perhaps not enough to deny ourselves the pleasure of ice cream.

Give these techniques a try while enjoying a scoop of ice cream. We might be able to stop brain freeze right away and enjoy that tasty treat.

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Don’t Panic When Someone Has a Seizure A seizure can be frightening to experience — and to witness.

You may feel helpless, but don’t panic.

Follow this advice from the Kettering Health website: Don’t automatically call 911. Most seizures don’t last long and don’t require emergency assistance. Instead of taking out your phone to call paramedics, use it to time the seizure.

Chances are, the seizure will stop in a minute or two. Only call 911 if it lasts for five minutes or longer, or if the person comes out of the seizure and then immediately goes into another one.

Don’t fight it. You can’t stop a seizure. Instead, ease them onto the ground so they don’t fall and injure themselves, and roll them onto their side in case they vomit. Place a pillow or rolled-up jacket under their head.

Clear the area around them of anything that might hurt them. Loosen any restrictive clothing, like a scarf, belt, or necktie. Then just stay with them until the seizure is over.

Offer support. Often a person comes out of a seizure with no memory of what happened. They may feel tired and disoriented and may have temporary difficulty speaking clearly.

Speak to them calmly, explain what happened, and wait until they feel alert and ready to get up again. If the person has never had a seizure before, they should probably see their doctor.

Otherwise, if they feel fine, you can usually both just continue your day.

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July 2022

9

The Beauty in Nature

Blooming Southern Trees Clyde McMillan-Gamber

One sultry, moonlit July eaten by squirrels, opossums, evening a few years ago, I wild turkeys, and other wildlife. enjoyed seeing, and smelling, the Crepe myrtles are originally large, white blossoms on a 30from India and Southeast Asia. foot-tall southern magnolia tree I see them blooming most on a southeastern Pennsylvania everywhere in Charlotte, North lawn.

Carolina, when we visit there And I was thrilled by scores toward the end of July. of fireflies twinkling their cold Many crepe myrtles have abdominal lights while perched hot-pink flowers in July and on the tree’s flowers and long into August, though some trees leaves during that lovely evening. have white or purple blossoms.

The moon, blooms, and blinking Green capsules, which turn dark, fireflies made a charming sight. develop from fertilized blooms.

That tree, and all its beauties, Each capsule splits open and made me think that a bit of the small, winged seeds fall out and South came north. blow away in the wind. Some of Southern magnolia, crepe those seeds are eaten by finches myrtle, and mimosa trees bloom and sparrows. in July in the eastern United Mimosas are from Asia. And States, including where they they are invasive, “weed” trees in Southern magnolia blossom. were planted in southeastern the South, spreading abundantly Pennsylvania. As trees adapted to along roadsides and in abandoned warm climates, they are more commonly planted in the South. And all these fields. trees have beautiful and fragrant blossoms, the main reason they are planted Mimosas have double compound leaves that resemble the fine foliage on lawns. on ferns. And mimosas grow pink, fluffy blossoms that, to me, resemble Southern magnolias are the largest and most handsome of these trees. explosions of cotton candy because of the silky, threadlike stamens that They are native to the coastal plains of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts in the stand upright. Those flowers provide nectar for hummingbirds, bees, and southeastern United States. butterflies.

Their white, showy flowers are 12 inches across and have six to 12 petals Flat, brown bean pods, which are 6 inches long and an inch wide, develop and the scent of lemon citronella. And, I think, their big flower buds are from pollinated blooms. The beans inside are consumed by squirrels and shaped like candle flames. other rodents.

These elegant magnolias have dark-green, leathery leaves that are 8 inches These introduced trees add beauty to lawns in the eastern United States. long and 4 inches wide and remain on the trees the year around.

They are well worth planting and admiring.

Large, red fruits develop after the blooms are pollinated. Those fruits are

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Nature’s Wonders

by Clyde

A nature blog

by Clyde McMillan-Gamber, retired Lancaster County Parks naturalist and longtime 50plus LIFE columnist

Each story is like a walk with your own naturalist.

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Direct Link for Suicide Prevention and Crisis Support Coming July 16 Pennsylvanians will soon have a new, easier way to connect to behavioral or mental health crisis services. Dialing 988 will connect callers directly to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Starting July 16, people who call, text, or chat with 988 will be directly connected to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

The existing Lifeline phone number, (800) 2738255, will remain available.

Callers can also connect with the Veterans Crisis Line or assistance in Spanish.

Who Can Call 988?

Trained crisis-response professionals can support individuals considering suicide, self-harm, or any behavioral or mental health need for themselves or people looking for help for a loved one experiencing a mental health crisis.

Lifeline services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at no cost to the caller.

What Happens When You Call 988?

Callers will be directed to a local 988 call center, based on a caller’s area code, where trained professionals are waiting to listen and assist. Counselors located at 13 crisis call centers around Pennsylvania can immediately provide phone-based support and connections to local resources.

Note: Callers will also be given the option to reach the Veterans Crisis Line (option 1) or a Spanish speaker (option 2).

If a local call center does not answer the call within 60 seconds, the call will be routed to one of Pennsylvania’s three regional 988 call centers.

If a regional call center is unavailable, the call will be routed to the national backup network able to assess the crisis and connect to local assistance.

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July 2022

11

Service Stories

Double-War Vet Wondered, ‘What is an Atomic Bomb?’

H. James Hulton III

Camp Hill resident Glenn Bushey is a two-major-war veteran of the U.S. Army.

A member of the Greatest Generation, he earned many awards during his military career, including a Bronze Star and Combat Infantry Badge with Star.

Now 96, Bushey was called up to serve in World War II in November 1943.

Glenn Bushey, left, with his friend and He was sent to Fort fellow veteran Bill Blando.

Benning, Georgia, for basic training. In March 1944 Bushey was sent to the 86th Division at Camp Livingston, Virginia, where soldiers were trained for combat.

In September 1944 his unit transferred to Camp Cooke, San Clemente Island, and Camp Luis Obispo, California, for amphibious training to prepare to invade Japan.

But because of the need for more troops in the Battle of the Bulge in

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Europe, the Department of Defense in Washington, D.C., decided to send the 86th Division to Europe.

After intense training in California through January 1945, Bushey and his division arrived in France in March 1945.

On April 27, 1945, as a member of the 7th Army, Bushey was severely wounded Bushey with his dog, Amy. when a German machine gun nest suddenly shot him in the lip, left arm, and right hamstring in the Danube River area. He was just a 19-year-old private 1st class.

Bushey would not have survived this attack had his wounds been closer to major bodily organs and arteries. Medics treated him in a field hospital and then airlifted him to a hospital in Paris for further treatment.

He was later sent to a hospital in Cambridge, England, in May 1945.

On May 8, 1945, V.E. Day (Victory in Europe), the Germans officially surrendered, and Bushey’s division shipped to New York City to participate in a big ticker-tape parade. Shortly after that, his unit was deployed to the Philippines; the war with Japan continued.

Being not fully recovered from his wounds yet meant no parade and no redeployment for Bushey.

“I really wanted to go,” he said, “but they wouldn’t let me. I was very disappointed … They were my buddies. You want to be with your buddies, right?”

Bushey left Europe to return stateside in July 1945 and arrived in New York in August. It was at this time that the U.S. Army/Air Force dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, on Aug. 6 and 9, 1945.

“We had no idea what an atomic bomb even was when we heard this had happened!” Bushey recalled. “We never heard of any such thing as an atomic bomb!”

This wartime project had been a top U.S. military secret.

Following the bombing of Japan, Bushey was transferred to train and work at Fort Indiantown Gap to work in the Army Separations Center preparing active-duty soldiers for discharge and, for a short time, as a military police (MP) member.

Bushey was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army in March 1946.

That summer, Bushey enrolled in Gettysburg College, where he majored in mathematics and graduated in 1949. He enrolled in the U.S Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), where he was paid $20 per month as a cadet.

Upon graduation from Gettysburg, Bushey was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant. He later acquired a master’s degree in education at Penn State University in January 1955.

In spring 1951, Bushey received notice to report to the Armed Forces Entrance and Examination Station in Philadelphia, and in June he was sent to the Fort Meade, Maryland, Induction Center to begin training for the armed conflict in Korea.

Bushey became a platoon leader as a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S Army 43rd please see DOUBLE on facing page

www.50plusLifePA.com

The Reel Deal

Where the Crawdads Sing Randal Hill

In the film version of Where the Crawdads Sing, lives. The evidence gathered against her is daunting.

Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People, Fresh) stars Scriptwriting chores went to Lucy Alibar (Beasts as Kya, whom everyone in the North Carolina of the Southern Wild): “The cinematography jumped backwater burg of Barkley Cove calls “the swamp right off the page,” she says. “As soon as I started girl.” reading, I could see everything.”

Edgar-Jones, who’s 24 and hails from London, But she still spent two years tweaking the script says, “I read Where the Crawdads Sing during the until she felt she had effectively captured the fervor pandemic, and it made me feel really connected of the book. to Kya and her isolation … She has such an inner The forthcoming film is directed by Olivia strength that I would love to have myself.”

Newman (First Match, Chicago Fire), who later Edgar-Jones tore through the entire book the admitted to not reading the bestselling work for fear day before creating her self-taped audition. Later, she would be heartbroken if she wasn’t hired to steer she worked with a vocal coach to master a North the big-screen version of the story.

Carolina drawl.

Co-producer Reese Witherspoon, who read the Georgia-born author Delia Owens couldn’t be novel in two days, says, “I fell in love with Kya as a more pleased with the onscreen main character. main character, as a little girl who’s growing up in “If I had a million people to choose from, I would this very rural area, who’s shunned by society, and is never have found a better Kya than Daisy Edgartrying to find a way to just save herself, just survive Jones,” Owens enthuses. …

The debut novel by the 73-year-old former nature “If you’d come to me when I was 23 [Witherspoon writer (who holds a Ph.D. in animal behavior) has is twice that], I would’ve loved to play Kya … I’m now sold over 12 million copies. always interested in a story where a woman saves Crawdads is a lyrical stew, a coming-of-age herself, because women save themselves every single romance, a grim crime thriller, a tale of survival, day.”

Image copyright (©) Sony Pictures or related entities. and a celebration of the natural world. Kya has lived Where the Crawdads Sing opens nationwide July Used for publicity and promotional purposes. alone in a desolate marshland after being deserted by 15. her family.

Eventually, two town boys, Tate (Harris Dickinson) and Chase (Taylor John Randal C. Hill enjoys getting sneak peeks of forthcoming movies from his home on the Oregon coast. He can be reached at wryterhill@msn.com.

Smith), enter her world. She becomes involved first with Tate but is accused later of murder when Chase is found dead near the isolated swamp where Kya

DOUBLE from facing page Infantry Division. In October 1951, the Army sent him to Fort Benning, Georgia, for basic officers training school, where he was promoted to 1st lieutenant before deploying to Korea in April 1952.

Bushey became the Army’s 40th Infantry Division executive officer and later the battalion intelligence officer.

In Korea, the unit’s mission was to go on night patrols to identify locations of Chinese enemy troops.

“The only combat I saw was in the form of back-and-forth artillery fire.

Nevertheless, there were casualties,” Bushey said.

As a reserve officer, he was then rotated out from Korea early five months later.

“I had enough,” he said, and so he quit the reserves.

In October 1952, about eight months before the end of the Korean War, Bushey returned to the U.S., where he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army.

He has been awarded a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, and a Combat Infantry Badge with Star for his combat roles in both World War II and Korea.

For the next 29 years, he taught mathematics and algebra for the seventh through 12th grades at Lemoyne Middle and High schools, from which Bushey www.50plusLifePA.com

himself had graduated in 1943.

He also served as a school administrator for 11 years before officially retiring in 1982.

In his retired life, Bushey likes to walk a mile every morning, goes to physical therapy three times per week, drives his own car, is active in his local church, and cuts his own lawn at home on a riding mower.

Bushey’s wife passed away in 2012; he has a 91-year-old brother who lives in Audubon, Pennsylvania.

In April 2022, Bushey attended the 10th Annual Veterans Breakfast and Recognition Ceremony at the First Church of God Community Center in Mechanicsburg, hosted by State Rep. Sheryl Delozier of Pennsylvania’s 88th District.

Over 200 veterans attended and were recognized. Some were World War II veterans, one of whom turned 100 on the day of the event.

He recently said he “feels and believes that every young person, male or female, should serve sometime in the U.S. military. Veterans are better students than if they were not veterans.”

Bushey attributes his “lucky longevity in life” to his “strong faith in God.” H. James Hulton III is a U.S. Air Force veteran and freelance copywriter.

50plus Life

July 2022

13

The History of Ordinary Things

Ladies’ Stockings over Time Doris Montag

Stockings refer to overthe-knee hosiery, a term derived from the AngloSaxon word “hosen,” meaning covering.

Hosiery was worn as early as the 15th and 16th centuries, almost exclusively

by European noblemen for horseback riding. In 1560, Queen Elizabeth I began wearing knit silk Roll garters with original retail packing, stockings for their softness circa 1950s. and comfort. They were not elastic or supportive and had to be kept up by garters attached to a belt.

In the early 1900s, full-fashion, thigh-height hose was knitted flat, cut, and sewn together down the back of the leg. This created the famous seamed leg, which, incidentally, was not popular among women, who wanted to appear as if they were not wearing stockings.

Imagine the scandal of appearing in public with bare legs! And then there was the matter of getting the seam straight on your leg.

Full-fashion stockings came in sizes 8.5-10, which considered the shoe size and leg width. They tended to bag at the ankles because the thread had no elasticity, and stockings were overcut to get your foot through the ankle.

As dresses became shorter in the 1920s, it was simply unheard of for a woman to leave the house without a leg Garter belt with clips. covering. (Pants were not an option.)

Stockings were typically of silk or rayon. Rayon, introduced in 1917, was the first manmade silk substitute made from the inner bark of the mulberry tree.

A mix of silk or rayon and cotton supplied the best of both materials and the longest stocking wear.

Fishnet stockings revealed too much leg for most women. In the 1920s, they were worn only by showgirls and those especially naughty flappers.

The flappers created the rolled garter (like the covered elastic bands that

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brides throw). Their stockings were rolled below the knees and held up with the decorated elastic bands. Your grandmother, or great-grandmother, may have created a makeshift rolled garter with a rubber band.

Flappers were also known to apply a little leg makeup to their bare knees to tease men with a risqué glimpse of skin.

In 1930, the DuPont Company created nylon, the first synthetic fiber made entirely from chemicals.

DuPont touted its new fiber as being “as strong as steel, as fine as a spider’s web” and introduced it for fishing Early stockings had no line, toothbrush bristles, and surgical elasticity and had to be held sutures. up with a garter belt.

Nylon and nylon stockings were shown to the American public at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Women loved them!

In 1937, Louis Goldschmidt, a German sock maker, invented a finegauge knitting machine to create a circular sock. They were shaped by pressing them on a form. Women soon had a tubular stocking with no seams.

In 1942, nylon went to war, replacing the Japanese silk in parachutes and tents. Nylon factories were repurposed to produce wartime necessities. Bare legs were still unacceptable, so women used a leg makeup to stain their legs and drew Author with early rayon stocking leg seams with an eyeliner pencil to prior to elasticity (so cut long). give the impression they were wearing The foot was reinforced with a highly prized stockings. second layer of fabric joining the In 1948, those war factories began back seam with a point or a flat top, known as the Cuban heel. producing nylons again. Women rejoiced!

In the 1940s, Dunlop chemists (the tire people) developed Lastex, thin strands of rubber wrapped in cotton threads. Girdles made of Lastex made them great for firming but hot, as rubber does not breathe.

In 1949 DuPont created a type of stretchy polyurethane fabric trademarked under the name Lycra. It was also referred to as Spandex or elastane and was introduced in bras and girdles in 1959.

Panti-Legs were introduced in 1959 and took hold in the ’60s with the popularity of the miniskirt. Pantyhose made girdles unnecessary.

The “control top” previewed in 1970. Pantyhose became a staple in every teen girl and woman’s wardrobe. Sales expanded as more women headed into the workplace.

Manufacturers marketed new colors and textures, but the glory days of stockings came to an end in the 1990s. Women were wearing pants with trouser socks, and the casual fashion styles had arrived.

Exposed skin is the norm today. The hosiery life cycle now features the footless Spanx leg coverings that incorporate Spandex. What will be next?

Doris Montag is a homespun historian and an exhibit curator who researches and displays historical collections of ordinary things, such as can openers, crochet, toy sewing machines, hand corn planters, powder compacts, egg cartons, and more.

Contact or follow her on Facebook, HistoryofOrdinaryThings.

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50plus Life

July 2022

15

Tinseltown Talks

Nick Thomas

Singing Legend Johnny Mathis Still Touring at 86

recorded my first album in 1956.”

Chances are, every time velvet-voiced Currently in his 66th year as a recording Johnny Mathis takes center stage during his current U.S. tour, the atmosphere could turn artist, the Mathis career statistics are impressive, including 79 original albums, “misty.”

Sure, some devoted Mathis fans might 43 singles on the Billboard Pop Chart, five swoon teary-eyed with waves of emotional Grammy nominations, as well as a 2003 nostalgia witnessing the 86-year-old singing Lifetime Achievement Grammy and songs used in over 60 films and television shows. icon in person.

But many will just dutifully sway to the Then there’s his historic 1958 Greatest Hits familiar, soothing melodies as the veteran album, released just two years after his debut performer delivers some of his signature album, which became the first greatest hits ballads: “Wonderful! Wonderful!,” “Chances album issued by any pop artist.

Are,” and, of course, his 1959 hit, “Misty.”

“Mitch Miller was responsible for that,” said Interrupted briefly by the pandemic last Mathis, referring to the conductor and record Photo courtesy of Mathis’s publicist. producer best remembered for the ’60s musical year, Mathis continues his 2022 Voice of A young Johnny Mathis recording in New York City Romance Tour with stops around the country show Sing Along with Mitch on NBC. in the '60s. (see johnnymathis.com). Although the viral Mathis signed with Columbia Records in menace is still lurking, it has not deterred the 1956 and, to cash in on the growing Mathis soulful singer from performing this year. phenomenon, Miller wanted to release a new album in the late ’50s, but the “Well, it’s what I do,” said Mathis from his home in Los Angeles during singer was in Europe. a tour break. “Except for earlier in the pandemic, I’ve been touring since I

please see SINGING on facing page

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Pennsylvania’s Highways Rank near Bottom of U.S.

By Victor Skinner Pennsylvania’s highway system is among the worst in the nation, ranking 39th out of 50 states in the Reason Foundation’s Annual Highway Report.

The annual report examines the cost-effectiveness and condition of each state’s highway system using 13 categories: total disbursements per mile, capital and bridge disbursements per mile, maintenance disbursements per mile, administrative disbursements per mile, rural interstate pavement condition, urban interstate pavement condition, urbanized area congestion, structurally deficient bridges, overall fatality rate, rural fatality rate, and urban fatality rate.

The Keystone State received its lowest rankings for structurally deficient bridges and urbanized congestion, which ranked 46th and 45th, respectively.

Pennsylvania was one of only five states that reported more than 15% of bridges to be structurally deficient, a figure that’s 1.5 times higher than New York and three times higher than Ohio.

The 35.53 peak hours Pennsylvanians spend in congestion is more than six times higher than the 5.68 hours for Ohio drivers, though significantly better than the 53.60 hours New Yorkers spend stuck in traffic.

“The state … could improve its 45th-place ranking in congestion by building variably priced managed toll lanes in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, an area in which the state is lagging behind peer states,” the report read.

The Pennsylvania interstate system also received low marks for urban interstate pavement condition, ranked 43rd, and administrative disbursements per mile, ranked 37th.

“Pennsylvania spends $102,329 per mile of state-controlled road.

SINGING from facing page

Pennsylvania is 35th in total spending per mile and 24th in capital and bridge costs per mile,” according to the report.

“To improve in the rankings, Pennsylvania needs to reduce its percentage of structurally deficient bridges and its urbanized area congestion,” said Baruch Feigenbaum, lead author of the report and senior managing director of transportation policy at Reason Foundation.

“Given the poor condition of its bridges and its mediocre pavement condition, the state might consider reprioritizing its spending to focus more on roadway and bridge maintenance.

“While it may be challenging for Pennsylvania to have low costs and roadways and bridges in good condition, the state needs to prioritize bringing its infrastructure to a state of good repair.”

Pennsylvania, which operates the country’s fifth-largest highway system, received the best rankings for its rural fatality rate, which came in 10th, and overall fatality rate, ranked 22nd.

Compared with other states in the Mid-Atlantic Region, Pennsylvania’s 39thplace finish was just above Maryland in 38th, as well as Delaware’s 44th place, New York’s 46th place, and New Jersey’s worst-in-the-nation ranking.

The state’s western neighbors, Ohio and West Virginia, fared much better, ranking 24th and 30th, respectively.

Pennsylvania previously ranked 35th in 2016 and 39th in 2018 and 2019.

Nationally, North Dakota received the best marks overall this year, followed

by Virginia, Missouri, Kentucky, and North Carolina in the top five.

Victor Skinner is a contributor to The Center Square.

(“Misty”) on the piano with no lyrics. His piano introduction was about a minute and a half with all sorts of chord changes, and, oh man, I loved hearing it.”

Later, Mathis learned Burke had added lyrics to the melody.

“Columbia usually chose all the songs for me to record, but as soon as I got a chance to select something, I recorded ‘Misty.’”

While Mathis acknowledges the influence of many professional and personal buddies throughout his career, one always stands apart.

“I began singing because my dad sang,” says Mathis. “He was my best pal and my true blessing is that he lived long enough to see my success as a singer.”

Mathis had scored big with recent hits, so Miller bundled several together on one record and Johnny’s Greatest Hits would spend almost 10 continuous years on the Billboard Top Albums Chart.

Ironically, Mathis’s signature song, “Misty,” didn’t appear on the 1958 compilation since it would be featured the following year on his Heavenly album. Written by Errol Garner (music) and Johnny Burke (lyrics), Mathis first heard the tune at the Black Hawk nightclub in San Francisco where he grew up.

Photo courtesy of Mathis’s publicist.

“I used to go there as a teenager to watch Mathis in concert. the singers, and the owner would let me sit in the back where no one could see me,” recalled Mathis, who would eventually be discovered Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at singing at the club.

Montgomery, in Alabama, and has written features, columns, and interviews for numerous magazines and newspapers. See www.getnickt.org.

“Garner would perform several times a year and play this wonderful tune www.50plusLifePA.com

50plus Life

July 2022

17

The Bookworm Sez

Heiresses Terri Schlichenmeyer

Puzzles shown on page 7.

Puzzle Solutions

So you just received a million searching for their own happily-everdollars. afters among British princes and lords.

You won the lottery, hit the jackpot, Landing a title was good then. It married well, invested right, found was even more of a feather in Mama’s a long-lost rich aunt, whatever. cap.

Congratulations, but now what?

Barbara Hutton’s money wasn’t Throw a party for your hundred new good company. Dorothy Paget never besties at one of the mansions you’ll married, scandalously preferring buy? Or is that money doing fine in a her female lovers. Gloria Vanderbilt bank? reinvented herself. More than one Maybe you need to read Heiresses heiress couldn’t hack the life, says

by Laura Thompson to be sure you’re Thompson, and some used their prepared. money for good.

British and American literatures are A little windfall is nice, especially rife with women who are rich, spoiled, if you’re not expecting it, eh? So what and spurned by men who seem to do you do with it? Read Heiresses, and prefer their poorer sisters. But why a then think carefully. book that focuses on women? Surely, Granted, your windfall won’t be Photo credit: Richard Blower there were spoiled, rich men around, in the gazillion$, as it was with the Heiresses: The Lives of the Million-Dollar Babies right? women author Laura Thompson

By Laura Thompson True, but Thompson points out that profiles in this sometimes uneven c. 2022, St. Martin’s Press in early times, no matter what their book.

384 pages status might be when they married, You won’t have to contend with a women cleaved unto their husbands and lost their own identities. lifetime of wealth — and contend is what happened, as Thompson shows. You In many cases then, a husband made out like the proverbial bandit when won’t even need a staff to fetch you the illusion of happiness. such unions elevated his status as well as his finances. Sometimes, a woman Just remember that most heiresses you’ll read about were unhappy, lonely, ended up better, too, but that was often rare — at least early on. love-hungry, and afraid of all the wrong things. Yes, their lives were different Take, for instance, Mary Davies. from yours, but not always in a good way.

At the age of 12, Davies either owned or would own most of London, as well Still, go ahead and admit it. As Thompson says in her introduction, who as much of the surrounding area. Of course, she couldn’t remain single — it wouldn’t like to try the life of an heiress? Indeed, this book can make years’ was the late 1600s, after all — and so she was basically put up for auction by worth of money sound like cautious fun, like a two-year vacation, like never her own mother. watching your checkbook balance.

Fortunately, the winner was a decent man, but when he died young, Davies’s And reading Heiresses could feel like a million bucks. family stepped in and declared her mentally incompetent in order to seize what The Bookworm is Terri Schlichenmeyer. Terri has been reading since she was 3 years was left of her inheritance. old, and she never goes anywhere without a book. She lives on a hill in Wisconsin And then there was the whole “Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?” with two dogs and 14,000 books. thing, when American heiresses of the Rockefeller-Vanderbilt-Astor ilk began

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