Homage - Homage 01.17.18

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April 2017

Vol. 44, No. 3

Formerly Senior Focus

Published by The Daily Herald and Senior Services of Snohomish County

Senior Services to launch new brand Page 2

A house filled with pets — and love Page 7

Tips for boosting your recall ability Page 10

Program stimulates seniors with memory issues

www.homage.org

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Walker, 90, keeps on truckin’ Page 13

Columns

Savvy Senior . . . . . . . . . . 3 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Washington Watch . . . . . 6 Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Tech Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

VOL. 44 NO. 12 | JANUARY 2018

Learn about programs and services available to seniors by visiting www .sssc .org .

Meals on Wheels volunteer Pam Timm places food (Dan Bates / The Herald) in the refrigerator and freezer

By Caitlin Tompkins

Herald Writer

Pam Timm is standing door with a cart of brown at his front grocery bags. “She’s my favorite lady,” Mike Kerasotes, 67, said. Timm, 66, delivers meals to him each week. She has been a volunteer with Meals on Wheels for six months. During that time, Kerasotes has battled cancer. “When you get $80 in food stamps, it doesn’t go very far. Without you, I wouldn’t have made it through radiation,” he said to Timm. Last year, Meals on Wheels volunteers

and staff served more than ple throughout the county 1,000 peoof 152,000 meals. Senior — a total Snohomish County has Services of managed the local chapter of Meals on 42 years. Each of the meals Wheels for is approved by a nutritionist. Most are low sodium and have helped diabetics blood sugar under control, keep their said Martha Peppones, director of the nutrition program.

Since the program started, been a growing demand. there has Staff were able to bring the waiting list about 300 to 60 people last down from year.

Adaptation helps couple battle

Homage services help address the issue of food insecurity in seniors

Music wellness facilitator Noah Plotkin leads a drumming and singing session with Michael Folio as Cheryl Levin-Folio looks on.

NON PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID SOUND PUBLISHING 98204

(Mark Ukena, Chicago Tribune)

The Focus is a publication of SENIOR SERVICES OF SNOHOMISH COUNTY 11627 Airport Rd ., Suite B Everett, WA 98204-8714

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First accredited teacher when Monte Cristo was a rip-roaring mining site

for Lorna Jenkinson at

Broadway Plaza.

Meals on Wheels’ future uncertain under president’s propos ed budget “That’s 60 too many,” Peppones said. “Those are people who still need The program may be facing meals.” tial financial cuts if PresidentsubstanDonald Trump’s proposed budget approved. Nearly half of for 2018 is the program’s funding comes from the ernment through the Olderfederal govAmericans Act and Community Development Block Grants. The grants are removed under the budget slated to be plan. That would affect 150 meal recipients in Snohomish County, Peppones said. “Fortunately, it’s only a proposal,” she CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

early-onset Alzheimer’s

By Karen Berkowitz

Chicago Tribune

HIGHLAND PARK, Illinois Levin-Folio can’t anticipate — Cheryl milestone of memory loss every new as she and her husband, Michael Folio, navigate his Alzheimer’s disease. Sometimes quick thinking comes in handy, as it did when Michael forgot one day to take off his clothes before stepping into the shower. Rather than correct her husband, Cheryl joined him in the shower with her clothes on

for a laugh. “I think the next time we our clothes off,” she gently should take told him. “I made light of it,” she said. “I never correct him. That’s not fair to In the five years since Michael.” Michael Folio was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s at age 56, the Park couple has adapted Highland routine many times over. their daily They’d been together for years, but married less than four months, when CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

Music therapy enables stro to regain some languag ke patients e through song

By Rashod Ollison years, who sits within arm’s The Virginian-Pilot reach of him, nodding. They’re all in a small NORFOLK, Virginia — When the Johnny Cash room inside Fort Norfolk melody frustrates James Medical Center — RodriRodriguez, he chuckles, guez in his wheelchair and Bowdish on a low stool shakes his head and says, sandwiched between “I don’t know.” an Tracy Bowdish gen- imposing keyboard and a tly pushes him, taking computer desk. Bowdish is his hand into hers as she a music therapist with Sentara’s Music and Medicine leans closer and sings in bell-clear perfect pitch lyr- Center. In a promotional ics from “I Walk the Line. clip for the program, she ” The goal is to get Rodri- mentions that her blindguez to find the words, still ness helps her to engage patients, to “see who they a difficult task since Music therapist Tracy J. his Bowdish plays the guitar stroke in summer 2011. are beyond the stroke.” As Bowdish holds Rodri- leads James “Jim Bob” Rodriquez in singing songsand But his progress has been during their session “remarkable,” says San- guez’s hand, singing lyrics in Norfolk, Virginia. at Sentara Neurology Specialists Rodriquez suffered a stroke dra, Rodriguez’s wife of 47 CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 2011 and Bowdish is helping him regain some in speech through music. (Bill Tiernan / The Virginian-Pilot)

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IPhones’ battery performance decreases as your phone ages Page 6

What foods to avoid if you’re taking certain medications Page 7

As you plan for retirement, ask yourself these four questions Page 8

Seattle to Snoqualmie: Travel the underground to the otherworldly Page 9

‘Marble Grandma’ knows how to roll with 20,824 marbles (so far) Page 11

Columns Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Tech Talk .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Savvy Senior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

NON PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID SOUND PUBLISHING 98204

Learn about programs and services available to seniors by visiting www.homage.org.

Hau Tran sings as Vietnamese seniors eat at Homage’s Center for Healthy Living on Jan. 10 in Lynnwood. Each weekday the center offers its room for various cultures to get together for activities and lunch while speaking their native languages. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Seniors of 4 cultures gather for food, fitness and fun By Megan Brown Special to the Herald You’re never too old to do karaoke. On Monday and Thursday, Korean-American seniors start their morning right: with a karaoke jam session. On Tuesday morning, Chinese seniors congregate for tai chi. Every weekday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Homage’s Center for Healthy Living in Lynnwood offers a venue for groups from four cultures to gather for activities and education, offered in their native language. The center’s multicultural senior program draws up to 100 attendees a day. The free service, funded in part by grants from Verdant Health Commission and Snohomish County, is one of three multicultural programs of its kind in Washington. It offers members access to bilingual social services staff and nutritional support. Center coordinator Shannon Serier organizes the meetings where seniors get socialization tailored to them. “They get to meet with people with similar cultural values,” Serier said. Or, similar enough. Members of the Filipino group speak many

“Now these people here are my friends. Sharing stories, eating and having fun.” — Joseph Tan, 76

different dialects, but can communicate in Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines. “We all grew up in the same place, even if we aren’t the same Filipino,” said Leonila Pipp, of Marysville. Pipp, 72, moved to the United States in 1997. Apart from helping to raise her three grandchildren and going shopping, Pipp didn’t have many hobbies after retiring. “I was working too hard,” Pipp said. In 2015, a neighbor and family friend suggested that they attend the meetings together. Now, they carpool every week. “If we’re not here, what are

we going to do? Especially if the weather isn’t good,” she said. The groups enjoy a hot lunch, catered to their cultural preferences. The meal has a suggested donation of $3. Most members also bring homemade snacks to share. Favorite activities for Korean members are karaoke, line dancing and bingo. The Chinese group meets Tuesdays. They’re fans of tai chi and mahjong. The Vietnamese group shares poetry and exercises together Wednesdays. The Filipino group meets Fridays for yoga, dancing and event planning. Each group organizes events. The group loves to gather for holiday parties. They gathered Christmas Day for food and festivities. For Halloween, members coordinated Alice In Wonderland costumes. Member Joseph Tan dressed as The Mad Hatter, outfitted with a curly orange wig, dapper purple suit and top hat. Tan, a bus driver for more than 30 years, didn’t have many close Filipino friends before attending the meetings. “Now these people here are my friends,” said Tan, 76. “Sharing SEE CULTURES, PAGE 12

Ethnic communities eagerly await Lunar New Year, coming Feb. 16 Senior Focus is a publication of HOMAGE (formerly Senior Focus) 11627 Airport Road, Suite B Everett, WA 98204-8714

By Homage Senior Services Ethnic communities around the world are getting eager and excited for one of the most festive holidays around, the Lunar New Year. Linked to the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar, the Lunar New Year typically takes place in late January or early February and this year, falls on Feb. 16. The Chinese, Korean and

Vietnamese are three groups in particular who’ve celebrated the Lunar New Year for thousands of years, each having their own unique holidays, traditions and festivities to celebrate a new time. For the Chinese, this is when their Spring Festival takes place. Family and friends come together, a number of community activities are held and doors are opened for good fortune. Firecrackers are lit to ward off evil spirits, and houses and streets

are heavily decorated in red. On Lunar New Year’s Day, children are given red envelopes with money inside for luck. Celebrations come to a close two weeks later with the traditional Lantern Festival. Koreans celebrate the Lunar New Year with a holiday known as Seollal. Seollal is a three-day long celebration that begins the day before the Lunar New Year SEE LUNAR, PAGE 12


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