re you looking for a healthier alternative to strengthen your bones?
In her own search to reverse her osteopenia, Liz Lehmann found this really interesting device, called a bioDensity machine. It's similar to a workout machine for muscles in a gym, but it's optimized for bones. The reason the bioDensity machine is so good at strengthening bones is because of...
Science of Osteogenic Loading (osteo bone; → genic producing) →
Since the 1880's, doctors have known that healthy bones remodel themselves after a load is placed on them, known as Wolff's Law.
As it turns out, bones and muscles are similar and different – both have the use-it-or-lose-it process. To build muscles you have to do long workouts a couple times a week and your muscles need a day or two to recover.
Bones, on the other hand, only require five seconds of stress and the recovery time is a week. But the stress needed to start the bone building process is multiple times a person's body weight. For a 130 lb woman, it would take about 550 lbs of force on the leg bones to make them stronger, which is not really possible at a gym.
“What is unique about the bioDensity machine is that it isn’t doing anything to them,” Lehmann explained. “They’re pressing or
pulling on the machine on their own. It's simply measuring their muscle efforts and therefore how much stress is applied to their bones. People have complete control over their sessions and they get a chart of their progress.”
During each session, a client tries to produce maximal force for five seconds in four different exercises: chest press, leg press, core pull, and vertical lift. The force would be similar to pushing or lifting a heavy object, but in a controlled manner.
As a result, these exercises build stronger bones from the inside out by remodeling and strengthening the interior bone matrix – the way bones naturally get stronger.
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Story ideas? Information about advertising? Email editor@roc55.com or call 585-421-8109.
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ON THE COVER:
50
• How the
44 BASKETBALL
• Local guys carry basketball skills to the national level
48 WORKFORCE
•
• Friends spend nine days and about 630 miles to circle Lake Ontario by bike 24
• Group of veterans from Rochester takes part in the Honor Flight program 28
• Why you should consider tai chi 30
• Arena Art Group: creating abstract
Bruce Barnes: Preserving the legacy of George Eastman
• A growing number of older Americans continue to work
50
• Retired doctor busy teaching, taking classes, traveling
52 HEALTH
• It’s never too late to care for your skin
54 TUTORING
• Notre Dame Learning Center: Making a difference in the lives of inner-city kids
58 PETS
• Local counselor pens grief book
• Pet cremation becomes more popular
• Caring for our fur family
68 VISITS
• Stay regional yet get out of town with these nearby autumn escapes
The area’s largest consignment shop features quality brands like Stickley, Ethan Allen, Arhaus and MacKenzie-Childs... all different styles, all gently used and all reasonably priced.
By Jim Miller
It’s an unfortunate reality, but many single women — whether they’re divorced, widowed or never married — face much greater financial challenges in retirement than men.
The reasons behind this are because women tend to earn less money — about 82 cents for every dollar that men make, on average, and they have shorter working careers than men due to raising children or caring for aging parents. And less money earned usually translates into less money saved and a lower Social Security benefit when they retire.
In addition, women live an average of five years longer than men, which requires their retirement income to stretch farther for living expenses and healthcare costs. And, according to some studies, women tend to have less confidence about financial issues than men, which means they don’t always manage their money as well as they should.
Because of these issues, it’s very important that women educate themselves on financial matters and learn how to save more effectively. Here are some tips and resources that may help.
• Start Saving Aggressively — If your employer offers a retirement plan, such as a 401K, you should contribute enough to at least capitalize on a company match, if available. And if you can swing it, contribute even more. In 2023, you can save as much as $22,500 in a 401(k), or $30,000 to those 50 and older, due to the catch-up rule.
If you don’t have a workplace plan, consider opening a Traditional or Roth IRA. Both are powerful tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts that let you contribute up to $6,500 annually, or $7,500 when you’re over 50. And if you’re self-employed, consider a SEP-IRA, SIMPLE-IRA and/or a solo 401(k), all of which can help reduce your taxable income while putting money away for retirement.
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Also, if you have a high-deductible health insurance policy (at least $1,500 for self-only coverage or $3,000 for family coverage), you should consider opening a health savings account (HSA). This is a triple tax advantage tool that can be used to sock away funds pre-tax, which will lower your taxable income; the money in the account grows tax-free; and if you use the money for eligible medical expenses, the withdrawals are taxfree too.
• Pay Off Debts — If you have debt, you need to get it under control. If you need help with this, consider a nonprofit credit-counseling agency that provides free or low-cost advice and solutions, and can help you set up a debt management plan. To locate a credible agency in your area, use the National Foundation for Credit Counseling website at NFCC.org (800-388-2227), or the or the Financial Counseling Association of America FCAA.org (800-450-1794).
• Find Help — To help you educate yourself on financial matters like retirement planning, saving and investing, health care, annuities and more, a top resource is the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement at WiserWomen.org.
And to help you get up to speed on Social Security, visit SSA.gov/people/ women. This web page, dedicated to women, provides helpful publications like “What Every Woman Should Know,” along with links to benefit calculators and your personal Social Security account to help you figure out your future earnings at different retirement ages.
You should also consider getting a financial assessment with a fee-only financial adviser. Costs for these services will vary from around $150 to $300 per hour, but this can be very beneficial to help you set-up a retirement plan you can follow. See NAPFA.org or GarrettPlanningNetwork.com to locate an advisor in your area.
Editor and Publisher
Wagner Dotto
Associate Editor
Stefan Yablonski
Writers & Contributors
Deborah J. Sergeant, John Addyman Mike Costanza, Donna Jackel
Todd Etshman, Lynette Loomis Jean Sica, Jane Eggleston
Columnists
John Addyman, Laurie Haelen Jim Miller Advertising
Anne Westcott • 585-421-8109 anneIGHsales@gmail.com
Linda Covington • 585-750-7051 lindalocalnews@gmail.com
Office Manager Allison Lockwood
Layout & Design Angel Campos-Toro
Cover Photo Chuck Wainwright
55 PLUS – A Magazine for Active Adults in Rochester is published six times a year by Local News, Inc. at PO Box 525, Victor, NY 14564, which also publishes In Good Health — Rochester's Healthcare Newspaper.
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Phone: 585-421-8109
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Welcome to The Village at Unity, where it’s all about living each day with purpose while contributing to your community in new and exciting ways and, most importantly, on your own terms.
Designed for older adults seeking an active lifestyle, our residents have everything they need to keep on rocking. Maximize independence with our dynamic activities calendar, enjoy homemade meals in our full-service restaurants, and make meaningful connections every day.
Call 585-209-3785 today for more information and to schedule your visit.
The original “SECURE” Act was approved into law in 2019.
SECURE stands for Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement.
The purpose of the act is to help prevent Americans from outliving their savings. SECURE 2.0 Act was enacted in December 2022 to finish the job by helping workers save more money for retirement and leave their savings untouched and untaxed for longer.
As is the case with most legislation, the details can be complex and overwhelming to navigate. Here's an overview of the act's changes to the complicated rules that govern tax-advantaged retirement accounts. Although by no means a complete list, these are some of the pertinent provisions.
The 2019 SECURE Act raised the age at which retirement savers must begin taking taxable distributions from their traditional IRAs and most work-based retirement accounts to 72. SECURE 2.0 raises that age again to 73 beginning in 2023 (for those who reach age 72 after Dec. 31, 2022) and to 75 in 2033. If the funds are not needed for retirement expenses, this enables the funds to grow tax deferred for a longer period.
Current law requires those who fail to take their full required minimum distribution (RMD) by the deadline to pay a tax of 50% of the amount not taken. The new law reduces that tax amount to 25% in 2023; the tax is further reduced to 10% if account holders take the full required amount and report the tax by the end of the second year after it was due and before the IRS demands payment.
Bringing Roth 401(k)s and similar employer plans in line with Roth IRAs, the legislation eliminates the requirement for savers to take minimum distributions from their
workplace Roth accounts (starting in 2024).
The amount eligible for a qualified charitable distribution from an IRA ($100,000) will be indexed for inflation starting in 2024. In addition, beginning this year, investors will be able to make a one-time charitable distribution of up to $50,000 from an IRA to a charitable remainder annuity trust, charitable remainder unitrust or charitable gift annuity.
Not all charitable organizations are able to use all possible gifts, so it is prudent to check first. The type of organization selected can also affect the tax benefits the donor receives.
Individuals who are 50 and older can make an additional catch-up contribution of $1,000 to their IRA. Starting in 2024, this amount will be indexed annually for inflation, similar to employer plan catch-up contributions (limited to $7,500 in 2023).
Also, starting in 2025, the catchup contribution for people 60 to 63 will increase to a minimum of $10,000 for 401(k)s and similar workplace plans ($5,000 for SIMPLE plans). However, beginning in 2024, all catchup contributions for workers with incomes above $145,000 will be aftertax (Roth) contributions.
Distributions from retirement savings accounts are generally subject to ordinary income tax. In addition, distributions prior to age 59½ also may be subject to an early-withdrawal penalty of 10%, unless an exception (such as death or disability) applies.
SECURE 2.0 ushers in several new exceptions to the early-withdrawal penalty, including an emergency personal expense, terminal illness, domestic abuse, to pay long-term care insurance premiums and to recover from a federally declared disaster. Amounts, rules, and effective dates differ for each circumstance, with some
exceptions effective immediately.
Beginning in 2025, the act requires most new employer-sponsored plans to automatically enroll employees with contribution levels between 3% and 10% of income and automatically increase their savings rates by 1% each year until they reach at least 10% (but not more than 15%) of income.
Workers will be able to opt out of the programs.
The new law permits employer matches to be made to Roth accounts. Currently, employer matches must go into an employee's pre-tax (traditional) account. This provision takes effect immediately; however, it may take time for employers to amend their plans to include this feature.
Beginning in 2024, the legislation permits employers to automatically enroll non-highly compensated employees into emergency savings accounts where they can set aside up to $2,500 (or a lower amount that an employer stipulates) in a Roth-type account. Savings above this limit can go into a Roth retirement account, if the employee has one, or would not be accepted. Employers may also help workers who are making qualified student loan repayments to simultaneously save for retirement by investing matching contributions in a retirement account in their name.
When parents or grandparents contribute to a 529 college savings plan for a student, the investment earnings accumulate on a tax-deferred basis and withdrawals are tax-free if they are used for qualified education expenses. But for withdrawals not used for qualified education expenses, earnings may be subject to taxation as ordinary income and possibly a 10% tax penalty. Thus, when there is money left over in a 529 account that won't be used for a family member's college expenses, the owner may end up with the tax bill that would come from cashing out and
repurposing the money.
Fortunately, starting in 2024, account beneficiaries will be able to directly roll over up to $35,000 from 529 plan accounts to Roth IRAs, provided the 529 accounts were open for at least 15 years. The rollover amounts would be subject to Roth IRA annual contribution limits ($6,500 in 2023 and indexed for inflation thereafter). Distributions from the Roth IRA will be tax-free and penalty-free as long as the five-year holding requirement has been met, and they are taken after age 59½ (or an exception applies).
As with other investments, there are generally fees and expenses associated with participation in a 529 savings plan. There is also the risk that the investments may lose money or not perform well enough to cover college costs as anticipated. The tax implications of a 529 savings plan should be discussed with your legal or tax professionals because they can vary significantly from state to state.
These are just a few of the pertinent provisions of the SECURE Act 2.0. As always, it is a good idea to check with a financial professional when navigating through changes, versus ending up with an unexpected tax bill or another unpleasant surprise. There are many benefits to the changes in the act, but the complexity makes it imperative to proceed with caution to ensure the impact on your financial plan is as expected.
Laurie Haelen, AIF (accredited investment fiduciary), is senior vice president, manager of investment and financial planning solutions, CNB Wealth Management, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Company. She can be reached at 585-419-0670, ext. 41970 or byemail at lhaelen@cnbank.com.
Unless further legislation intervenes, a few aspects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will phase out by the end of 2025 and 2026, making tax brackets higher for most households.
According to the Tax Policy Center in Washington, D.C. the Trump-era TCJA passed in 2017 lowered taxes for an estimated 65% of households. Only 6% pay more than before.
Planning can help mitigate the effects of losing those tax cuts for both households and businesses.
Until it ends, the effects of the TCJA include 27% of the lowest income households receiving a tax
break; those between $49,000 and $86,000 receiving an average tax cut of 1.4% of their after-tax income; those with incomes between $308,000 and $733,000 received a 3.4% cut; and the highest bracket of those more than $733,000 received a 2.2% break.
“Predominantly the biggest impact to low- and middle-income families will be the change to the tax brackets and the standard deduction,” said Diana Apostolova, investment consultant with Rochester Investments in Rochester. “The standard deduction will be reduced to pre-2019 tax levels adjusted for inflation. The tax brackets will be increased to their pre-2019
tax levels.
“When that takes place, tax filers will have to use qualified itemized deductions and hopefully reduce their taxable income that way,” Apostolova said.
One issue is that not every 55plus taxpayer can generate significant itemized deductions. Many have paid off their mortgages by this point and some have downsized into a smaller home and participate in the NYS Enhanced Star program.
“They don’t pay as much in real estate taxes as younger homeowners,” Apostolova explained.
She foresees that for people with large estates, the reduction in estate tax deduction will provide “the biggest shock.”
“Because tax brackets are set to increase, proactive tax planning will make profound impact on people’s unique tax situations,” she added.
She does see some advantages of not extending the TCJA.
“People will be able to deduct investment advisory fees, tax preparation fees, medical expenses,
charitable contributions and alimony and childcare payments, to mention a few,” she said. “Also, taxable gains and dividends for taxpayers below the 25% tax bracket will be zero.”
Businesses will also feel the effects of losing aspects of the TCJA. John C. Saunders, owner of John C. Saunders CPA P.C in Rochester, believes that the biggest TCJA effects that will impact people will be expense deductions
and depreciation, along with benefits for investing capital gains into small businesses.
“There’s a scaling back of accelerated depreciation that will be widely felt,” Saunders said. “There were some very good things that came from this Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to be stimulative to the economy.”
He views the coming repeal of these measures as particularly injurious to the business world considering the continued fallout from businesses shaken by the pandemic’s effects. Many business owners incurred significant setbacks from lost business, skyrocketing costs and rising wages.
“There’s a lot of stuff that’s getting to critical failure level, particularly as the government seeks to take more and more control over every personal and business decision,” he said.
Discussing the upcoming changes with a tax preparer or other financial professional and how these changes relate to a particular household or business can help mitigate some of the negative effects of losing aspect of the TCJA for those impacted.
The Trump-era Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will phase out by the end of 2025 and 2026, making tax brackets higher for most households. Planning can help mitigate the effects of losing those tax cuts for both households and businesses.
Right off the bat, it’s hard to dislike Strange Design in Geneseo.
The brewery, describing itself as a public house, takes on many hats. Yes, brewery is obviously one of them. It also is a purveyor of comfort food, historical preservation and simply good vibes.
To go off of the Phish song Strange Design takes its name from, the band pianist Page McConnell croons, “Just relax, you’re doin’ fine.” This is what the establishment is going for.
The space evolved into Geneseo’s first brewery; the owners had no choice
to set a precedent.
Aside from a clean atmosphere, the exterior and interior of the former Livingston County Poor House is beautiful. Some may think the place is haunted just by the looks of things, but kudos go to its owners for keeping and caring for many of the historical aspects. And with consideration to such care, the same value should be felt by its patrons, right?
Our family felt completely welcome when we walked through the door. We, along with our two-legged and four-legged children in tow, were seated comfortably. Our baby was
provided a highchair and our dog was gifted water. The friendliness of the staff continued the remainder of the meal.
We kicked off the meal with a couple flights ($24), which I’m not going to go through the entire gamut of what we ordered but we enjoyed many of the styles Strange Design has crafted, especially the stout and an IPA on tap. We even walked away with a hazy IPA to go ($15 per fill, $3 per howler).
We kicked off the meal with Brussels sprouts nachos ($15), which was a huge portion starter living up
to the definition of shareable. The house-made crispy cool ranch chips were joined by crispy sprouts, banana peppers, and squash — all of which were covered by a blanket of cheddar cheese. It also comes with crumbly gorgonzola, which we asked for on the side because any member of the blue cheese family is gross and ruins food due to the overpowering nature of moldy cheese — but that’s my opinion.
So we could get our little dinosaur of a child fed before she began roaring, Strange Design was very cool with cooking up a chicken breast ($5) to go with a side portion of macaroni and cheese ($5). The chicken was very well seasoned and the mac and cheese was super cheesy and hit the spot. She ate the other food we ordered, too, and enjoyed what was placed in front of her perhaps too much.
Beer-braised corned beef was eye catching while reading the description of the Reuben sandwich ($15). Nestled between toasted slices of rye sat the savory meat, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing — the usual suspects all of which were guilty of stacking up deliciously.
The size of sandwich was just enough. The corned beef was far from dry, which made each bite even better.
When it comes to Reubens, you either like ‘em or you don’t. How this fared to others I’ve had, it’s up there in the Top 5.
The mockingbird sandwich is a good ol’ fried chicken sandwich ($15) with a little kick. The incredibly crispy chicken, not to the point where the battered and fried fowl cuts your mouth, is buttermilk battered and dipped in hot sauce. To up the ante, the chicken is joined with dill pickle spears and white barbecue sauce.
Similar to the Reuben, the sandwich packed a flavorful punch, coming across larger than it actually was. The coated chicken boasted a nice crunch giving way to white, tender meat.
The sandwiches came with sides and we opted for fries and a side salad. The hand-cut fries had the light crispiness, but were soft to bite into. The side salad, dressing aside, was made up of fresh vegetables. There were countless crunches with each bite.
There was no room for dessert, unfortunately.
After food, taxes, tip, credit card surcharge and the extra growler of beer brought back with us, the bill came to $130.
There’s nothing to complain about
when it comes to Strange Design. On a personal note, I wanted to season Phish references into this article but feared not everyone would understand the references. But I’ll end on this note: Strange Design had me bouncing around the room.
4570 Millennium Drive Geneseo, NY 14454
585-245-9015
Sunday: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 4-9 p.m.
Wednesday – Thursday: noon – 10 p.m.
Friday – Saturday: noon – midnight
strangedesignbrewing.com facebook.com/ strangedesignbrewing instagram.com/ strangedesignpublichouse
Sometimes, when life gives you lemons, you make…uh, tracks. After three thieves made off with my beloved Hyundai Sonata on May 1, I was forced to do just that — make tracks to used car dealerships.
Much as I’d sometimes like to do without a car for financial and environmental reasons, I need one in order to shop, work and travel. Plus, I was raised on Long Island, where only the terminally uncool are wheel-less. I heard someone once died of that. OK, he got hit by a truck while hitchhiking, but it still counts.
The thieves wrecked my Sonata, (see July’s 55-PLUS) so my insurance company deemed it a “write off,” sent a check for its value and covered most of the cost of renting a car for 30 days.
By Mike CostanzaI carefully researched used cars to find affordable models that could give me the best value, (Consumer Reports became my bible) then looked online for ones I thought I could afford. They had to be roomy — I just can’t scrunch into a tiny car anymore.
Once I found a likely candidate, I looked up its accident record on CARFAX, which sells information on car histories online. One minor accident was OK and two minor fender benders a concern. Three accidents of any kind? Fuhgeddaboudit!
Day after day I called dealerships, winnowing the possibles from the fuhgeddaboudits before heading out into Car Dealer Land. My journey initially took me all around Monroe County, to Syracuse and its outlying
towns and as far away as Pulaski, which is 40 minutes north of that city. Who knew Car Dealer Land was so big?
Every car I checked out was too expensive, in poor condition or had some kind of problem I couldn’t accept. A Chevy Impala I found drove well and looked pretty good, but for the half-inch of water in the bottom of its trunk. It sloshed around when I made turns. When the sales manager asked what the problem was, I couldn’t resist.
“It’s a swimming pool,” I told him.
He didn’t even smile. You’d think someone who works with people all day would have a sense of humor.
A dealer in the Syracuse suburb of Fayetteville offered a fairly good-
Writer Mike Costanza next to the car he recently bought. His 2014 Hyunday Sonata was stolen in May.looking Mazda that rode well, was in my price range but had the cutest, brightest little “check engine” light on, indicating the car definitely had problems.
“Oh, I didn’t see that light,” the salesman said.
The Malibu also smelled like an ashtray — a no-no for this exsmoker. After I left that dealership, the salesman called twice to try to get me to come all the way back to Fayetteville.
“I really think we got that smell out,” he said. Twice.
Then there were the salespeople who seemed incapable of hearing me. All too often, the conversation went something like this:
“What are you looking for?” the salesman asked.
“I’m looking for a Mazda 3 that’s no older than 2015 and has no more than 79,000 miles,” I said.
“We got a 2014 Jetta with 120,000, but it’s in reeeaaaally good shape,” he said.
“I’m looking for a Mazda. A Mazda 3. Under 80,000,” I said.
“Hey, we just got a 2016 Chevy in. When would you like to take a look at it?”
I considered looking at it, but didn’t. Who knows what I’d find in the trunk?
After three weeks, I began to get desperate (the clock on the rental car was ticking) and turned my sights toward Long Island, where most of my immediate family lives. Car dealerships are all over the place down there and the selections and prices of used vehicles appeared much better than I’d found Upstate.
Hopping into my rental car, I headed down to “the island,” as we call it, to continue my search and try my relatives’ patience.
That wasn’t hard. My rental car broke down just as I arrived at my sister’s house. For much of the next two weeks, my relatives very generously ferried me from place to place to check out used cars. Their support and generosity helped keep me going as I traveled the difficult roads of Car Dealer Land.
It was a very frustrating and often maddening, journey. Some of the cars I found looked promising, only to come up short in the end. One car looked good online, only to be missing the inside of a fender.
“You really don’t need that,” the salesman said.
Right.
A 2015 Honda Accord looked like just what I wanted, but had one problem.
“It was a write-off,” the owner said. “I fixed it.”
A wreck that had been stitched back together? Fuhgeddaboudit!
A Subaru Legacy I test-drove had just about everything I wanted, but its touchscreen didn’t work. The saleswoman and I agreed on a price, conditioned on the repair of the problem.
The next day, the saleswoman called out of the blue to tell me that instead of repairing or replacing the Subaru’s touchscreen, the dealer had decided to auction the car off. I revisited that dealer sometime later, and the car was still on the lot.
Auctioned? Right.
Perhaps the most infuriating sales tactic is one that led my brother and me to drive nearly an hour in heavy rushhour traffic to a dealership. When we arrived, the salesman told us that the advertised price of the car we’d come to look at was the “internet price.”
“You pay that after a $3,000 down payment,” he said.
The asterisk by the “internet price” should have been a give-away, but I’d missed it. From then on, I always called dealers to find out what the real price tags for their cars were. Those who skipped the “internet price” malarkey were one up in my book.
After diligently searching for weeks, I finally found a shiny Subaru Legacy with relatively low mileage. Though the payments on the car will be hard to make, especially in my 70s, I need wheels. My newest and, I hope, last car now sits in my parking lot with a device that immobilizes its steering wheel locked in place. It’s not foolproof, but it’s always there when the car is parked.
The past few months have often been very difficult, but the experience has revealed to me how lucky I am to have loving relatives and good friends in my life. I will not forget how much they’ve done for me.
For the complete story on the theft of my Hyundai Sonata, see: https:// www.roc55.com/features/and-mycar-was-gone
Whether making �inal arrangements for yourself or making decisions for a loved one who recently passed away, you will �ind White Haven Memorial Park’s sta�f o�fers kindness and understanding. We o�fer in-ground, mausoleum and niche burial proper�y, a beautiful Nature Trail for cremains as well as a Green Burial option.
Our two chapels are available and are a per�ect place for hosting a memorial service. One of our Memorial Counselors can guide you through the process.
Call us at 585-586-5250 to schedule a tour of our Park.
210 Marsh Road, Pittsford • whitehavenmemorialpark.com
Since 1929, White Haven’s park-like setting has been a hidden gem in the Rochester area with over 180 acres to explore
What could be better than a ride along Lake Ontario with an old friend?
The answer for two avid cyclists and outdoor adventurers is nine days of riding 70 miles a day around the circumference of Lake Ontario, a journey of approximately 630 miles in total.
David Fergusson, 71, and Peter Mahler, 68, took that trip in late May–early June. They met at an outdoor adventure group, Pack, Paddle and Ski, a few years ago. The two previously biked the length of the Erie Canal but found the ride around the lake even more scenic.
“It’s hard to find someone to do a trip like this,” said Fergusson who previously rode across the country at
the age of 60 and around other great lakes by himself. One thing he likes about Mahler is the ability to pack light and be ready to go first thing in the morning. Having someone else to face challenges is practical and uplifting, Fergusson explained.
“It’s easy to be with Dave. We can talk about a hundred different things. We’re very similar in a lot of ways,” Mahler said.
Finding someone who wants to bike that far, has the time and won’t back down from unexpected challenges isn’t easy, but Fergusson found that companion in Mahler, who has a long outdoor adventure history himself.
The journey took them on a multitude of trails in the U.S. and
Canada, past bays, canals, locks, historical sites, parks and to an odd assortment of campsites. It took planning and cooperation between the two friends and the ability to adapt to impromptu situations that don’t show up on a map like bad weather, a meandering trail or a missing ferry in addition to finding food and bathroom facilities.
Making hotel or camp site reservations isn’t something they — and a host of other outdoor adventure enthusiasts — have to do. That’s because they embrace what is known as stealth or guerilla camping.
What that means is making a quick and efficient camp for the night anyplace that looks good — from a park to the dugout on a baseball
field, an outdoor theater or behind a building amidst boat storage.
You just have to respect the property and don’t leave a mess, Mahler explained.
“When we leave, no one would know we were there,” he said.
There were no confrontations from angry landowners or park rangers on the journey, but as Mahler noted, it helps that “this is just two old guys on bikes.”
It’s a practice the pair said is easier in Canada than the U.S. And it’s not always necessary. Campers are allowed to set up at Erie Canal locks for example.
The trip started well enough on the familiar Erie Canal trail until cold, rainy, windy weather hit on Day 3 at historic Selkirk Shores State Park. But having more time to read historic markers is one of the appealing parts of the journey and War of 1812 history abounds here.
“We read every historical marker. That’s the fun of it,” Fergusson said. Taking time to appreciate history and scenery is what makes the journey
appealing. The pair enjoys the fact that they don’t have to rush by in a car anymore. They also got to stop for ice cream whenever they wanted.
Once inclement weather passed, the riders had the wind at their back for the next challenge, finding the ferry at Cape Vincent to Wolfe Island, Canada, closed.
Fortunately, a woman stopped to help them get on their way into Canada and onto the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail.
Quiet scenic trails and roads through farms and orchards with lake views made for happy biking through the Canadian countryside.
Another ferry between Kingston and Cobourg operated as planned and the Canadian side was full of scenic bays, peninsulas and lilacs bigger and bushier than any you can see in Highland Park, Mahler said.
Trails aren’t always easy to follow on a map or on the trail for cyclists looking to go an extra mile or in their case, an extra few hundred miles.
In one instance, the trail led to a beach in Cobourg. Pushing their
bikes through the sand presented the pair with an additional upper body workout.
Heading toward Toronto the trail got better and more populated.
“Toronto was exciting with a twolane bike and walking path that leads all through the city with its own traffic lights and signs,” Mahler said.
“There are some real resort towns west of Toronto that you’d never notice if you were driving on the 401,” Fergusson noted.
Seeing giant freighters is hard to do in Rochester (there is only one, the McKeil Spirit from Hamilton) but there is no shortage of them on the Welland Canal at St. Catherine’s. The sheer size of the ship they saw was fascinating to see making its way through the locks from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie.
From there, the men walked across the Rainbow Bridge and back to the Erie Canal Trail for the ride home — and as Mahler noted, a more comfortable bed and a return to all the trappings of everyday life and the distractions of our post-COVID-19 world.
Peter Mahler at one of historical markers on the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail.Skips on the Ridge is all about serving up great meat for great value, but as fast as we’re growing, we need more great people right now.
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At the Frederick Douglass – Greater Rochester International Airport in June, a motorcycle procession, with American flags flying, rides through the roads. In the airport, hundreds of people gather. A group of veterans from World War II through the Vietnam War era walk proudly to the cheers of the waiting crowd. Tears flow and smiles widen. Hands are shaken. Veterans are thanked.
This is Honor Flight Rochester.
Many veterans were never welcomed back to America. There were no local ticker-tape parades, especially for Vietnam vets. Their return home was emotionally devastating as they were scorned and even spit on.
“For many veterans, this is a long-delayed thank-you that they never received,” said Richard Stewart, president of Honor Flight Rochester.
Bob O’Brien, 76, lives in Spencerport. He served as a sergeant
in the United States Marine Corps and was proud of his service in the military. When he came home in 1971, he recalled, “Veterans were not treated with the respect they deserved. However, if a group of Marines came home together, they were not harassed, probably not a good thing to do… Now people say, ‘Thank you for your service.’ The first time it happened to me it was a nice surprise.”
America has recognized the difference between supporting a war and supporting a soldier and its veterans. The purpose of Honor Flight is to take veterans on their “Trip of a Lifetime.” It is an opportunity for vets to visit and reflect together at the memorials built in their (and that of previous wars’ veterans) honor, in Washington, D.C.
Typically, Honor Flight Rochester sponsors six flights of 60 veterans, annually. Each veteran is accompanied by a guardian, a person between the
ages of 18 to 70, a family member (not the spouse), friend or volunteer, to ensure the safety of each veteran.
They start at 4 a.m. on Saturday, June 17, with breakfast at the airport by Dunkin Donuts, travel to Baltimore and are motor coached to the war memorials in Washington, DC, for a full day. Then the three motorcoaches of Mission 78 return late afternoon to BWI Airport Hilton Hotel (Baltimore) for a heroes banquet. The vets arise early on Sunday morning for a huge breakfast buffet, then are shuttled to BWI Airport for their return flight to Rochester.
The return to Rochester is an emotional experience for everyone.
The Patriot Guard Riders, a motorcycle brigade of veterans, ride around the airport road with American flags flying. The veterans are met and cheered by hundreds of well-wishers comprised of Vietnam veterans of America-Chapter 20 members and
previous Honor Flight vets, VFW and American Legion Post members, fire department bands, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, family, friends and other well-wishers. The closing ceremony is in the International Arrivals Hall and involves a local TV media personality as emcee, county and state representatives and an interesting keynote speaker. This is the welcome veterans will never forget.
Stewart believes there can be profound meaning for the veterans and our community beyond the obvious.
Uniquely, Honor Flight Rochester provides the younger generation with the opportunity to say thank you to the older generation for their service and sacrifice. Many of the younger generation are the children of veterans and were not yet born when their fathers and grandfathers served.
Stewart said that the Rochester hub is 100% volunteer with more than 800 active participants: There is no paid staff. Legacy Senior Living at Clover Blossom and the Frederick Douglass
Greater Rochester International Airport provide meeting room space at no charge.
“It costs around at $500,000 for six missions, each carrying 60 veterans with their 60 guardians and an Honor Flight Crew of 18,” he said. “The largest costs are for transportation and accommodation. Honor Flight Rochester is in this for long haul and currently has 1,000 veterans on our fly list.”
My brother Lee Loomis, 77, now lives in Pittsford. He was drafted on Dec. 5, 1968, spent 15 months at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and arrived in Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam, in March 1970.
He moved around South Vietnam; Hue, Phu-Bai, Da Nang and finally “China Beach,” where he was assigned to the US Army Strategic Communications Facility at Da Nang (“The Da Nang Signal Company”).
After almost six months in ‘Nam, he was separated from active duty and eventually honorably discharged. Loomis expressed his positive thoughts
on Honor Flight.
“Honor Flight was a unique, memorable and very moving experience, unlike any I’ve ever had before. It was the ‘home coming’ we had been denied, following our military service, as we each came home, alone, into an America that had begun identifying ‘The warriors, with the war they had grown to hate.’ We were frequently discriminated against and often rejected by the communities, industries, and even the veterans’ organizations that had been profiting from the protracted economic boom of the Vietnam War,” he said.
“Honor Flight provided a taste of a ‘brotherhood’ we had been missing, a warmth flowing from our families and community and a special closure to a conscious choice we had each made, long-ago, one that we might have even been doubting, for a half-century,” he added.
For Loomis, there were several touching moments. He said that the first was the opportunity that Honor Flight Rochester’s mission
LEFT: Lee Loomis, shown here in Da Nang, South Vietnam in 1970, said that during the two days of Honor Flight, he and other veterans found much-needed camaraderie and felt appreciated for the personal, emotional, and physical sacrifices they had made, so many years ago.
78 provided for him to share this important experience with his 18-yearold grandson, Ben Cave.
“Feeling his love and caring for me during the journey and watching as he interacted with the other veterans and their guardians was very special,” he said. “Second, was the opportunity Ben and I both had to listen, react to, and share experiences with other veterans and their guardians as we visited the US War Memorials on our trip.”
Eighteen-year-old Cave said, “The weekend I spent with my grandfather and many other veterans was a warm and thought-provoking experience. Never before had I been able to engage with so many first-hand accounts of history. The brotherhood and camaraderie shared by those veterans is something that can never be broken and I am proud not only to have had the opportunity to speak with these heroes, but also to be related to one.
“The arrival ceremony back into the airport in Rochester was the most touching part of the weekend for me. There were a large number of people that showed up to celebrate the veterans and give them the welcome
home that they deserved decades ago. Being able to walk with my grandfather down the airport terminal with my family there watching is something that I will never forget.”
Loomis relayed some of the words and feelings expressed by fellow veterans during their time together. For instance: “As we veterans get older, we mostly only remember and talk about the funny stuff that we saw and did; it wasn’t always that funny.”
Standing at the Vietnam Memorial Wall: “These are the REAL heroes of the war in ‘Nam.”
On Sunday afternoon, at the Rochester Airport, homecoming parade: “Now, at last, I’m feeling like I’m finally home.”
Nancy Damore, 78, of Rochester explained her reason for volunteering in a variety of roles for Honor Flight.
“My brother is a Vietnam War veteran and I have always been taken with the TV ads for veterans’ organizations such as Wounded Warriors. I realized that their needs did not match what I had to offer. I was excited to learn from the internet about a local opportunity, Honor Flight Rochester,” she said. “I have worked in
crowd control and at the merchandise table at the airport. As a caller I worked with veterans to tell them about their upcoming trip, including the itinerary and the process for selecting a guardian. Now I am one of the people who cheer the veterans as they parade through the airport.”
Miguel Llano, 75, lives in Brighton. He was raised in Geneva when his family moved from Puerto Rico as part of Operation Bootstrap. His father worked at the Seneca Army Depot. Llano was drafted when he was 19 and served 32 years in the Army. He was a radio operator in Vietnam and served 1.5 tours. (He extended his Vietnam tour so his brother would not have to go). He also served as a master sergeant in Desert Storm. In addition to the Bronze Star for Valor, he was awarded 13 other commendations.
“I had a wonderful surprise during Honor Flight. Another vet heard my name on the speaker in the dining room,” he said. It was his childhood friend Alberto Ortiz Baez who he hadn’t seen in more than 50 years. “We had been friends years ago in Geneva and lost touch. To see him on the Honor Flight was a shock — a
Miguel Llano (right) 23rd Infantry Division, was reunited with his friend Alberto Ortiz Baez, 1st Air-Cavalry Division, on Honor Flight Rochester – Mission 78, after a 50-year separation.
wonderful one.
“My 43-year-old son, Miguel, was my guardian. It was great to spend time with him and talk about things I had never shared with him when he was younger. He said it was amazing how we saw men that his father had never met and yet there was an immediate bond because of their shared experience. When I first came home decades ago, it was like the parting of the Red Sea. People
walked away from us. Other guys had it worse. When we arrived home this time, we were cheered and thanked. He said, ‘Dad, write a book for your grandchildren. You have seen and done so much.’”
His granddaughter Amaya said, “I knew about the Vietnam War, but my papi never talked about it. Being there for him now was very important to me.”
Funding for Honor Flight
comes from individual donations, testamentary bequests, corporations, grants, employer matches, military organizations (Vietnam Veterans of America-Chapter 20, American Legion Posts, VFW Posts), clubs and organizations, fire departments, schools, churches, scouts and service clubs.
n To learn about how you may volunteer, or to make a donation, visit https://honorflightrochester.org
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Group of veterans from Rochester took part in the Honor Flight program in June and visited Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.
By Jean Sica
Half of all Americans suffer from one or more chronic conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, COPD and arthritis. People are living longer, but what of the quality? And the costs?
The Centers for Disease Control estimates that health care costs for treatments of chronic disease accounts for more than 7% of all health care costs. There is a dearth of information about improving our health through proper exercise and nutrition. We are also advised to reduce our stress, adopt a pet, take long walks, and more.
And then there are more than 100 million people worldwide, including millions of Americans, who have found the ancient martial art of tai chi to be an invaluable addition to their healthy habits.
Tai chi chuan — literally translated as “supreme ultimate fist” — has been around for 3,000 years but is relatively new in the United States. Since its arrival here in the 1950s, it’s become almost as popular as yoga.
Tai chi consists of a series of upright movements performed in a slow continuous sequence. The discipline is based on the idea that in softness there is strength, of using the
breath, pointed attention and balanced groundedness; hence tai chi is often referred to as a “moving meditation.”
There are five leading styles: chen, yang, wu-hauo, wu and sun. Each style has its own unique characteristics of movements.
Several movements in a series are called a form. Some forms have as few as five movements, others more than 100. Some styles move more slowly than others. And some styles are more athletic than others. This myriad tai chi styles to choose from means there is a style for just about anyone.
Tai chi’s gentle, low-impact movements are generally safe and adaptable for people of all ages and physical abilities and has been clinically shown to be especially beneficial for older adults who are recovering from injury, dealing with disease or want to stay as active and healthy as long as possible.
• Tai chi may be just as effective as weight loss and lowered sodium intake for individuals concerned with lowering blood pressure. In addition, according to the American Heart Association, it was found that “… patients with coronary heart disease [in] a six-month tai chi program improved PA, weight, and quality
of life compared with a three-month intervention.”
• Tai chi is clinically proven to be effective as rehabilitation for people with cardiopulmonary conditions and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. According to Harvard Medical School, the movements safely and gradually strengthen the heart and major muscle groups. The deep breathing exercises enhance oxygen uptake, which can ease breathlessness.
• It can significantly reduce chronic pain for conditions like fibromyalgia and can improve neurological function for people with Parkinson’s disease. A study published in 2013 in the National Library of Medicine showed that tai chi, “…when implemented as a complementary exercise regimen, can be therapeutically beneficial to people with neurodegenerative conditions.”
• It’s beneficial as physical therapy and pain management for osteoarthritis, encouraging joints to become more flexible. According to the Osteoarthritis Foundation International, practicing Tai Chi relieve discomfort in people affected by arthritis, osteoarthritis or any other pathology that causes joint pain. And the practice can also delay the appearance of these in healthy people.
• Tai chi has been clinically proven to help cancer survivors. A 2004 study at the Wilmot Cancer Center in Rochester reported that women who practiced tai chi showed significant improvements in self-esteem and quality of life when compared with the women in the psychosocial support group. In addition, the deep breathing and the tiny unconscious muscular contractions of tai chi activate the lymphatic system to help your body eliminate toxins and waste.
• Regular tai chi practice can increase your energy. The slow, deep, regular breathing and movements combine to oxygenate your muscles and deep tissues. Strength and balance are enhanced resulting in stronger muscles and bones resulting in more energy and better weight-control.
• Tai chi improves balance and increases proprioception, which is the ability to sense the position of one's body in space. Fear of falling can make you more likely to fall. Some studies have found that tai chi training helps reduce that fear. In published guidelines for tai chi, the CDC explained that “tai chi addresses gait problems by teaching ‘correct’ movement of lower limbs.”
• Tai chi has been shown to help those who suffer from mood disorders and low self-esteem. “Accumulating evidence suggests that tai chi, a popular mind–body intervention that originated as a martial art, can significantly regulate emotion and relieve the symptoms of mood disorders,” according to Frontiers in Psychiatry in 2019.
How do you find a good tai chi program? How do you choose the right one for you? What makes a good tai chi instructor? A guiding principle is summed up by the Portland [Oregon] Tai Chi Academy: “A good tai chi teacher should not only teach you the right moves but also inspire you to prepare your mind and body to realize your true potential.”
Jean Sica is a certified personal trainer and tai chi instructor offering concierge group and private strength. She can be contacted at jsicafitness@gmail. com. For more information, visit kokorofitness.org.
What a blessing to be able to enjoy works created by local artists at the height of their game. And what an added blessing to partner with them as they challenge the limits of their own skills and pound through convention to offer things we’ve never seen before.
That’s part of the charge of the Arena Art Group, a collection of 60 artists who produce and explore ways of communicating visual images that make you ponder and react to. It’s abstract, expressionistic art that requires a connection.
You can look at what the Arena Art Group does at its show at the
Geisel Gallery in the Legacy Tower at 1 Bausch & Lomb Place in Rochester from Aug. 30 to Oct. 27, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. The show is free.
When you linger on the shapes and colors and whimsy and projections, remember the first rule of garage sales: “if you like it, don’t walk away from it.”
The artwork on display requires a little work. Some you’re going to love and be in awe of from the get-go; other pieces will require a second or third visit or moment of reflection to understand what the artist is saying to you.
Margery Pearl-Gurnett, 69, from Pittsford, and Chili resident Dan Scally, 68, will have some of their works on view. They’re a sample of what the Arena Art Group, founded in 1951, offers in hosting this community of artists in the wider area, but also what’s available to art lovers here and, frankly, around the world.
Pearl-Gurnett had an eye for color that started in the cradle.
“One of my early memories is being in a crib in my house. I had a box of crayons and a pale green crayon fell out onto the floor,” she said. “I remember reaching out between the bars of the crib and I couldn’t get it.
I remember my parents were eating in the kitchen. I was yelling and screaming because I needed that color, it couldn’t be any other color — color and visual things have always been my first language.”
“I always knew I was an artist,” she added. “There was not even a question.”
When she was 12 and living in New York City, her parents entered one of her artworks in an art show — for adults.
“On awards night, they called my name. I had my hair done. I had my hot pink dress mini-skirt. They asked me, ‘Are you accepting this award for your mother?’ I said ‘No, I’m accepting this for myself.’ I got a $150 check. I was in he New York Times.”
She graduated from CarnegieMellon University as a ceramics major. Her parents asked her what she was going to do with her new BFA degree.
“I’m going to make some pottery, I told them. That went over well,” she said. “They told me I had to make a living and sent me to dental school (the Magna School of Dental Laboratory Technology) to make porcelain restorations, capped crowns and bridges.”
Pearl-Gurnett liked the work.
“I made a lot of money and socked it all away to go to graduate school,” she explained.
After three years of study, she had a master’s degree from the School for American Craftsmen at Rochester
Institute of Technology, majoring in glass.
“I was a glassblower,” she said. “One of the first solo women glassblowers.”
She set up shop in downtown Rochester.
“I made a lot of perfume bottles, vases, dishes, plates — I probably made 10,000 perfume bottles over 15 years,” she said.
She attended two wholesale trade shows a year, each one allowing her to book enough business to keep her kiln lit for half a year. She was busy.
“Then the economy changed. People weren’t buying handmade items as much. The focus on my work changed when people from Delta Airlines came into my booth and they saw some tables I was doing, which I had sandblasted and painted. I started getting work from architects and interior designers through Delta Airlines. I did a lot of glasswork for the Delta Crown rooms in all the airports around the country and some in Canada and the Caribbean,” she said. “Some of those jobs paid better for the big projects than making all these little perfume bottles. I really liked blowing glass, but the bigger stuff was much better monetarily. I was still getting my vision out into the world in public places.”
She got married. Her work changed. She spent years concentrating on mosaics. Then her artistic technology changed again.
“I started doing the pieces I work on now, figuring out how to make pieces come together without actually firing them and putting them in a kiln,” she explained. “What I’m using now is glass, paper, found objects and I imbed them into resins, in layers. It has a glass-like feel to it, and there’s some glass in it.”
She has a bright, friendly hightech studio, Pearl Glassworks Ltd. in Fairport.
Dan Scally: ‘Doing better’
“My best subject in ChurchvilleChili High School was art,” said Dan Scally, whose workshop is close to his home. “I got a partial scholarship to RIT and got my BFA in 3D design. I ended up getting a job right away as a model maker. I did prototype work in plastics at Faro Industries, for Kodak and Xerox. If they had 3D printers back then, that would have been my job.”
He picked up some extra skills at night by earning a certificate in model-making at Genesee Community College.
“I pretty much had it made. I was getting paid pretty well, but I thought I could do better,” he said.
“Doing better” meant starting an electronics business, Pacer Electronics, with his brother and two others. After a time, the company split up, the brothers went separate ways, “and I started working at Kodak in the digital print business. I’m not talking desktop
Dan Scally's "Adrift," a digital collage. Dan Scally's "2020 Vision" on canvas.printers, I’m talking printers the size of a minivan,” he added.
He was one of the select 40 people developing this new business.
“I did all the trade shows and traveled the world. I met with customers, helped sell this milliondollar piece of equipment. It was a good ride. I spent time in all the demo centers around the world,” he said. “It was kind of cool. Customers would come in, I’d be all dressed up, the CEO of the company would come in, bring his high-level guys in, and I would have to talk them into buying, answering any of their questions. I was the demo guy — I actually taught people how to demo the equipment. Then I retired, after 25 years. I kind of had three careers.”
The digital print division at Kodak had given Scally access to the latest software programs and a very wonderful printer for output.
Life changed in 1998 when he was in a serious car accident.
“I saw the priest twice,” he remembered softly. “I had to learn to walk again. I was on my back for six months. I told my wife to go out and buy me some paint brushes; otherwise I’m going to go crazy here. I literally was on my back when I started painting. I came full circle to get back into the art thing again. I was like, ‘I can do this. I can still do this.’
“Then, I started creating more. Just toward the end of my days at Kodak I was getting fairly serious at it,
painting canvases and showing my art around town, entering shows here and there. I used to sell my work at the Tapas Restaurant, I knew the bartender there. He said, ‘Yeah, bring it in, we’ll hang it here, we’ll hang it there.’ I started doing this and I enjoyed it and I could sell the work.”
Scally joined the Chili Art Group and helped set up art shows and promoted new members. Still active, he managed an art show at Roberts Wesleyan University this spring.
Then came the epiphany. “I went to the Arena Art Group show in 2011. I walked in, saw what was being exhibited, and I said to myself, ‘This is me. This is the kind of art I want to make. This is not realistic; it’s not like taking pictures. These people are working from their emotions and they’re experimenting with different materials, and they’re riding the edge. This is terrific. I’ve got to join this group.’
I submitted the required artwork and application and was approved to join the group,” he said.
He said he likes “being in a group of people that I can learn from. Everybody I talked to in the early days when I joined Arena, something rubbed off on me. ‘That’s great. That’s brilliant. I like what you’re doing’ — that’s what I heard. I just felt so part of the whole. That’s what I liked, being involved with a group. It’s such an incredible learning experience.”
Scally has had his work at the Van Der Plas Gallery in New York City (“home to artists willing to explore unconventional modes of creativity”) and Pier 92/94.
Pearl-Gurnett heard about Arena from Jean Geisel, an archivist for Bausch & Lomb who hosted art shows in the factory on Goodman Street. The quarterly art shows allowed artists to submit about 15 pieces of their work — after a two-and-a-half-year wait. You could graduate from there to the Geisel Gallery, which is now in the Legacy Tower downtown. When PearlGurnett made it to Geisel Gallery, she brought 50 pieces of her work.
When she was taking down her artwork after her show, PearlGurnett had a talk with Geisel, who recommended she join the Arena Art Group.
“Because of the respect I have
Dan Scally and Margery Pearl-Gurnett in Pearl-Gurnett's gallery, playing with new techniques. Both are artist-members of the Arena Art Group.for Jean, I looked into it,” said PearlGurnett. “She is very friendly to the artists in our community and even in her own galley she would hang things and never take a commission.”
Scally had a show at Geisel and is famous for getting a phone call from the building inspector.
“He told me I had to take one piece down because of all the rubber bugs I had on it. They were coming around the corner right into the picture frame. I thought it was funny, but the building inspector didn’t.”
“Somebody freaked out,” PearlGurnett remembered.
“Art isn’t always pretty,” Scally added.
The 60-some artists who form the Arena Art Group are always looking for new talent. The membership process requires a submission of artwork (which can be done through flash drives, CDs or website), an application, and a review by the eightmember steering committee, which Scally and Pearl-Gurnett serve on. If the committee thinks the applicant is deserving, the application goes out to all members, who vote on the final say. And there are definite benefits in joining.
“We’re a group that is mainly involved in showing artwork,” said Pearl-Gurnett. “We have also been
a social group. We did a picnic in the park last year and we’ll have a dinner this year — most of that gets paid through our $70 dues per year. Important for our member artists, they don’t have to pay anything to show their work with us.”
“A lot of the people in Arena were once art educators,” Scally added. “[Member] Jim Thomas was my 3D design teacher at RIT. I took a class from him in the summer, ‘modern industrial plastics.’ I immediately got
a job because I took that course they could have cared less what I did in fine arts.”
The fact that Arena doesn’t demand a fee for its shows is an important feature, Pearl-Gurnett and Scally agreed.
“Nowadays in the gallery world it’s pay-to-play,” Scally said. “You want to show your work at a gallery? Well, you can rent the gallery for $4,000 a month. Then if you sell anything, they get 25%. It’s scary out there.”
Pearl-Gurnett said Arena “is an older group of people. One of our concerns is that we’re looking for younger people who will take our places when we become elders. The average age of people in the group is probably 60-plus.”
To contact the Arena Art Group, start at the website (www. arenaartgroup.org) or go on Facebook or Instagram to see the latest goingson.
Free Exhibit
Arena Art Group is sponsoring a show at the Geisel Gallery in the Legacy Tower at 1 Bausch & Lomb Place in Rochester from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, Aug. 30 to Oct. 27. The show is free. For more information, visit www.arenaartgroup.
org
Arena Art Group works on display at the Little Theatre in Rochester (photo by Cheryl Amati Martin).
For years, older adults took a baby aspirin a day to help ward off a first-time heart attack or stroke. Now yet another study is showing the risks are not worth it for most.
Specifically, researchers found the risk of brain bleeding while using lowdose aspirin outweighed any potential benefit against stroke for relatively healthy older adults — that is, those with no history of heart disease or stroke.
In fact, among more than 19,000 older adults in the study, those who took daily low-dose aspirin for several years showed no reduction in their risk of an ischemic stroke (the kind caused by a blood clot).
They did, however, have a 38% higher risk of bleeding in the brain, compared to study patients given placebo pills for comparison.
Experts said the findings align with the latest recommendations on low-dose aspirin: Most people with no history of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack or stroke, should skip it.
“What’s becoming clearer and clearer is that aspirin, for primary prevention, is not indicated for most people,” said Anum Saeed, a cardiologist who was not involved in the study.
“Primary prevention” refers to prevention of first-time strokes or heart attacks.
The new findings do not apply to people who have been prescribed aspirin because they already have a history of those conditions, said Saeed, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and a member of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Prevention Council.
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Bruce Barnes with actress and filmmaker Jodie Foster. He gave the actress a tour of the museum during her stay in Rochester to receive the George Eastman Award. The picture was taken on May 25.
Photo provided.
After a long and successful career in business, Bruce Barnes was ready for a change.
“Some men run off with a 24-year-old and some people buy a fast car,” the 61-year-old said. “I decided not to do either of those things.”
Instead, Barnes decided to express his love for museums and the arts by devoting his great energy to a good cause. Oct.1, 2012, he became the Ron and Donna Fielding director of the George Eastman House, now known as the George Eastman Museum. The nonprofit is a leading museum of photography, the cinema and the technologies that have made them possible and continue to do so.
Since he took the George Eastman Museum’s helm, Barnes has helped add rare finds to its collections, improved its capacity to safely store photos and overseen extensive renovations of its physical structure. Not bad for someone who lacks what some might call the right background for the job.
“I’m not a photography person, historically,” Barnes said. “I’m much more of a contemporary art person.”
Barnes was born in Inglewood, California, and raised in Cortlandt, a town in Westchester County. After acquiring a Bachelor of Arts and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, he turned away from academics to work in New York City, where he held executive positions at such firms as the Ziff Communications Company and the Reservoir Capital Group, and served as the CEO of
the Rochester-based online learning company Element K. While heading Element K he regularly traveled to Rochester, where he got to know the George Eastman Museum.
It was in New York City that Barnes met Joseph Cunningham, a Ph.D. student in philosophy. The two grew close, and eventually married. Among other interests, they share a love of art museums — they’ve visited more than 200 of them in the U.S. alone — and of collecting art.
“I’m a very serious collector of American decorative art and design from the period around 1900,” Barnes said, with a grin. “My husband collects works by contemporary, obsessivecompulsive artists.”
Those shared interests led the pair to collaborate on two books on specific forms of art. Cunningham wrote, and Barnes edited, "The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs." The award-winning book, which was published in 2008, is a comprehensive examination of the works of Rohlfs, a Buffalo-based turnof-the-century furniture maker who was one of the most creative furniture designers of that period.
Cunningham and Barnes also joined two other authors to write "The Jewelry and Metalwork of Marie Zimmerman." The 2011 volume depicts the life and work of Zimmerman, a creator of remarkable early 20th century metalworks.
In addition to engaging in such pursuits, Barnes and his husband have sought to foster interest in the
art forms they value through the Leeds Art Foundation. The nonprofit, which Barnes founded and Cunningham heads, collaborates with U.S. museums to generate the appreciation and understanding of circa-1900 American decorative art and design.
Though such pursuits were rewarding, Barnes eventually felt the urge to give his energy and skills to an art museum. When Anthony Bannon, the George Eastman Museum’s longtime director, decided to retire, Barnes expressed interest in the position.
Kevin Gavagan, a longtime member and former chairman of the museum’s board of trustees, was on the committee that searched for Bannon’s replacement. Barnes’ lack of a background with museums or the arts made him stand out from the other applicants for the job.
“He was an economist; he had worked at running a company; he had a Wall Street background, but he also had a very deep, clear, personal affinity for the arts,” Gavagan said. “This was a strange set of backgrounds, impressive but not necessarily out of central casting for museum director.”
After extensive discussions with Barnes, the committee made its pick for the directorship.
“He kind of came away as not just intriguing, but over time, compelling,” Gavagan said of Barnes. “So, we gave it to him.”
Barnes moved to Rochester to take up his new position, and set out to expand the George Eastman Museum’s collections. Though it had world-class agglomerations of photos, films and photographic and cinematographic technologies, he did not think it was reaching its full potential.
“The institution was clearly not doing as much as, at least in my view, it should be doing with respect to contemporary art photography,” Barnes said.
To remedy that, Barnes has striven to add to the museum’s holdings the works of contemporary artists who use photography as their medium.
“One of the key things was to make sure that the institution was keeping up with what was considered important that was being made today,” he said.
As part of that effort, Barnes and Paolo Cherchi Usai, who was then the George Eastman Museum’s
Bruce Barnes on the grounds of George Eatman Museum in Rochester on July 18.
senior curator of the moving image department, sought to convince wellknown South African artist William Kentridge to donate his works to the museum. In 2015, Kentridge presented the masters for all of his films, videos and digital works to the institution.
“He reached the conclusion that the museum was going to be better at preserving the works than any other institution,” Barnes said.
Usai, who is now the museum’s senior curator-at-large and makes his home in Milan, Italy, called the acquisition a “curatorial coup,” and praised Barnes’ for his part in it.
“The acquisition of the complete moving image works by William Kentridge was a highlight of our collaboration,” he said.
Though overseas, Usai continues to work with Barnes on projects of this kind.
“It is like working with three people at once: a museum administrator, a fellow curator, an inquisitive manager
with a flair for detail and razorsharp logic, under the skin of a suave conversationalist,” he said.
Cunningham and Barnes also cosponsored an exhibition of some of the works of internationally recognized photographer Judy Glickman Lauder, whose subjects include the Holocaust. “Resistance and Rescue: Denmark and the Holocaust” presents the pictures and stories of Danes who helped thousands of Jews and their relatives escape from Nazi-occupied Denmark during World War II. The photos depict common people who showed uncommon courage.
“We’re talking about a group of people who put their lives at risk to save people who were different from them,” Barnes said. “Ninety-five percent of the Jewish population in Denmark was boatlifted to Sweden.”
Altogether, about 7,200 Jews and 700 of their relatives made it safely to neutral Sweden in 1943. Barnes believes the exhibition’s message
about helping others is particularly important today.
“We’ve had this tremendous increase in hate crimes,” he said. “Now is the time where we all need to remind people that they need to be morally courageous.”
While adding to the museum’s collections, Barnes has also sought to safeguard the items it has.
“Two of the collections we have are two of the most challenging things to care for, from an environmental perspective,” he said. “Film is more demanding than basically anything else and photographs are more demanding than other works on paper.”
Unfortunately, when Barnes came on board, the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems of the museum’s photo and technology vaults weren’t completely up to the task of preserving the items they stored.
“There was too much variation in humidity, the principal problem, and
they couldn’t maintain temperatures as needed,” Barnes said.
To remedy the problem, in 2018 the museum undertook a $1.2 million project to replace the storage areas’ HVAC systems. Both vaults can now maintain the optimal conditions for preserving the photographs, negatives and technological devices they store.
While attending to the needs of the George Eastman Museum’s collections, Barnes has also overseen extensive renovations of its premises. Gavagan has worked with him on a number of infrastructure projects, including the almost $1.7 million renovation of the long colonnade that joins George Eastman’s original mansion and the 1989 addition to the museum.
“The colonnade was in very rough shape,” Gavagan said. “It was actually designed by George Eastman.”
The renovation project included the replacement of the colonnade’s roof, support structure and floor, the installation of a new climate control
system and the erection of a wall of specially treated glass that can stand up to the weather. The wall also provides a great view of the adjoining Schuyler C. Townson Terrace Garden. Barnes was involved every step of the way.
“Bruce was very effective not only in helping to raise the money to make it happen, but the overall management of the project,” Gavagan said. “He’s very detail-oriented.”
Gavagan helped secure a $1 million donation for the project from the late Bruce B. Bates, a longtime museum trustee, The Bruce B. Bates Colonnade opened to the public in 2020.
Gavagan also worked with Barnes on another major construction project, that to relocate the museum’s entrance and give the building a new visitors’ center. Museum patrons first walked through the doors of the $5.75 million Thomas Tischer Visitors’ Center in October of 2020. The center is named after Thomas Tischer, a longtime
supporter of the museum who was the largest donor to the project.
Gavagan has continued to work with Barnes on museum projects since then and considers him a good friend.
“He’s working hard, he puts in very long hours, and he’s just a very dedicated, enthusiastic, pleasant guy to work with,” Gavagan said. “I’ve enjoyed it immensely.”
During Barnes’ time as the George Eastman Museum’s director, the nonprofit has invested more than $5 million in the restoration of its mansion and gardens. He recognizes that that work is not finished.
“I expect that over the next five to 10 years, we’ll invest that much again,” Barnes said.
Though he has a home in Rochester, Barnes spends many weekends with his husband in New York City. Even after almost 11 years on the job, he still looks forward to coming to work.
“What we’re doing is deeply satisfying,” he said.
1905
Entrepreneur and photography pioneer George Eastman completes construction of his mansion on Rochester’s East Avenue. The three-story building sat on an 8.5acre tract that eventually came to include formal gardens, working farmland, greenhouses, stables, pastures and barns.
1948
The University of Rochester donates the mansion and its surrounding property to the museum.
1989
The museum completes the construction of an addition that greatly increases its overall size. The 73,000-square-foot addition includes exhibition galleries, climate-controlled vaults and laboratories for the conservation of photos and the preservation of films.
1932
Eastman dies, leaving his 35,000-square-foot home and the property surrounding it to the University of Rochester.
1949
George Eastman House opens. Among all American museums, only two had a photography department and only two that had a film department. The museum had both.
1990
The museum completes a restoration of the mansion’s most important rooms.
1947
The New York State Board of Regents charters George Eastman House, Inc. as an independent nonprofit educational institution. The nonprofit was specifically created as a museum of photography and its associated pursuits and a memorial to George Eastman.
1951
The 500-seat Dryden Theater opens, and begins screening films for the public.
2015
George Eastman House changes its name to “George Eastman Museum.”
For more information on the museum and all it has to offer, go to: www.eastman.org
Currently, the George Eastman Museum has an annual operating budget of about $9.4 million and employs 83 full-time and 27 part-time employees. About 125 volunteers help make the place function.
Photos provided by George Eastman Museum. George Eastman and inventor Thomas Edison. Circa 1928. Young George Eastman in an undated photo.
He’s still shooting.
“You’ve got to take shots to make shots,” said Dana Wolcott, who, at age 75, has earned the right to be thought of as a basketball sage.
But unlike most sages, he’s still on the court, playing the game.
Wolcott and a group of Rochester septuagenarians are a team good enough to compete at the National Senior Games Association championships that were held in July in Pittsburgh. Some 11,576 similar athletes joined Wolcott in going for the gold in 20 sports. In the basketball division alone, 116 teams from all over America hustled half-courts in threeon-three contests to claim a title and bragging rights.
Rochester’s team, which Wolcott captains, finished fourth in the 75+ age
class, against 12 other teams.
The youngest NSGA teams competed in the 50+ age class. The oldest athletes were burning the court in the 85+ age class.
And the name of the Rochester team?
“The Immortals.”
Some of the other teams in the national finals were The Old Gold, Remaining Few, Rhode Kill, Code Blue and the Albany Fossils.
In the Immortals’ class, the Iowa Westerndorf Bucketmakers took home the gold medal, beating Hoops for Life from Illinois in the championship game. The Immortals lost a close contest to the Massachusetts Black Bears in the bronze medal game.
Garry Bonnemere, 76, is an Immortal who has been part of the Rochester basketball scene for more
than 20 years. Raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, he played basketball at Hiram Scott College in Nebraska and graduated with a degree in sociology, which led to a career in fuel-oil sales at Cities Service, then electrical products sales for 3M. He’s coached girls’ jayvee basketball at Irondequoit and boys’ jayvee at School of the Arts.
“A Rochester basketball league started around 2000,” he said. “It was an over-50 league. I was looking for a place to play and saw an article about the league in a newspaper: they were looking for players.”
Wolcott explained that the league started with six teams, eight or nine guys on each team. Games were at the DePaul Rec Center on Buffalo Road, with a season that went October to March. Those were good times.
Rochester assembled two all-star
teams in 2003 and tried to qualify for the NSGA national tournament, which meant winning in the New York state tournament held at Cortland State. The all-star team, named “The Lions,” qualified for the national championships in Hampton Roads, Virginia. With 20 teams in their 65+ class, they finished fifth that June, the Rusty Pistols from Texas winning the crown.
In 2017, Rochester sent a team of allstars called “Billy’s Barnstormers” and placed second at the championships in Birmingham, Alabama. Code Blue from Alabama won the event.
Wolcott said there’s a measure of satisfaction when it comes to state and national competition. “You get to beat up guys from other states whom you don’t know. They get so disappointed when we win.”
“And when you compete, you’re challenged,” added Bonnemere. “You will more than likely, especially in basketball, run into people who are better than you. You try to at least stay close to improve your game. But you know what? You get better as you age.
“I still work out. I play on Sundays with a bunch of younger guys. It’s all I
can do to keep up with them, but that’s OK. Competing against younger guys earns a measure of self-satisfaction and integrity. They ask, ‘How old are you?’ And I tell them. And they’re like, ‘Yeah, right…’”
Wolcott, who is a lead innovation coach at RIT after 38 years at Kodak, has had a similar experience.
“A couple of years ago I played in a league at RIT. One of my students, a kid who was 6-foot-8 and could dunk, asked me to play. And we came in second place. I played almost the whole time in every game. I just had to make sure I started downcourt to the basket ahead of everyone else,” he said.
Bonnemere also admits the reality. “The game has changed. When I was in high school, there was no three-point line. The skill level of the players today is off the charts totally. There are some moves that I can’t do today. The spring in the legs is gone,” he said.
The two men also have military backgrounds. Wolcott was in the Marine Reserves and the Army Reserves; Bonnemere retired from the Army National Guard as a major, after 25 years of service.
Aging has been kind to both men, and to the guys who joined them on the court for their Thursday practice at the Sports Garden in Henrietta, a perfect venue.
What has kept them young?
“Staying active,” said Bonnemere quickly, adding a measure of determination. “To show that even though I’m older, I can still do active, competitive things. That’s my drive. Sometimes it’s difficult because of my age, but put me on a basketball court and it’s play to win. I’ve matured in the fact that losing, particularly in pick-up games, doesn’t bother me as much as it did. I still want to win. Coaches along the way instilled in me the attitude to try hard and do your best — that’s all you can do is do your best. If you do your best, then you can rest.”
“Working with students every day” keeps Wolcott young, he said. “That’s amazing when they ask me to go play basketball with them. One young lady asked me to go skydiving with her. And others have asked me to do other things with them. You’ve got to stay young. If you want to work on any new ideas with these students, you have to keep up with what all the new
technology is; you’ve got to be on top of the AI [artificial intelligence] stuff. There are some crazy things going on. You have to be on top of that because everyone is going to know everything about you all of the time.”
Bonnemere said younger players tend to wrongly judge the value of an older, experienced player.
“The young folks would laugh at us. They would think, ‘What’s with these guys?’ They don’t understand, they have no clue. They think the world revolves around them, that they are it; particularly if you’re playing basketball,” he said. “I played Sunday two-on-two with a young guy, never saw him before. We played a game of 11 and I think I took three shots the entire game. He would get the ball, do his one-on-one moves, and I’m standing like this, waiting for a pass. It really pissed me off. I didn’t say anything. He didn’t understand the concept of teamwork. If you’re open, if you’re there, give me the ball.
I’ve got my clippings from when I was in high school and college," Bonnemere added. "I can read them a thousand times. I just want to be able to win and contribute.
“There’s something that’s been on my mind of late: when do I stop? Will I know when to stop? There’s going to be a time when I can’t get my arm up, when I can only jump so high off the floor…my intent is to play until the wheels come off.”
“I should hope so,” agreed Wolcott.
He noted some of the players expected at the practice, which was just starting — Cecil McClary, a construction company owner who has a pronounced rainbow shot; Lawrence Guttmacher, a professor of psychiatry at RIT; Jon O’Connor, a former Kodak manager — and others.
The door is open for more guys to join the Immortals and perhaps restart a league.
“This focuses you on a goal, to get out there and be active,” he said. “If
someone is interested, they can show up on a Thursday night at the Sports Garden at 5 p.m. We would like to resurrect the league and have five or six teams. We need a commissioner to organize it. Steve Edgerton was the commissioner who set up over50 basketball in Rochester. We need someone like him. He would set up our trips. He knew everybody. We had a lot of fun playing up in Maine and having a lobster dinner on the beach.”
Practice began this Thursday night. Instead of playing three-onthree in a half-court game, as they would in the NSGA competition, the Immortals went whole-court, five-onfive. The pace was brisk. There were blocked shots, fast breaks, and in-yourface defense. Everybody was active. Everybody got their hands on the ball.
Once again, here were young guys cruising a basketball court with their buddies in the evening. Yesterday wasn’t so far away…for the Immortals.
MAIN: Rochester Immortals' Cecil McClary drives for the basket while Dennis Turner trails the play.Loneliness is not good for your health.
In fact, the US Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy’s recent report “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation” states that it “is far more than just a bad feeling — it harms both individual and societal health. It is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety and premature death.”
The general surgeon goes on to add: “The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity. And the harmful consequences of a society that lacks social connection can be felt in our schools, workplaces and civic organizations, where performance, productivity and engagement are diminished.”
Ann E. Cunningham, executive director of Oasis Rochester, agrees.
“The physical and health implications of loneliness are huge,” she said. “At a state level, the governor has put together a task force on aging and that’s an area that’s being looked
at: to reduce social isolation and increase our connections with each other.
“Coming out of the pandemic, we know the impact on our students was huge and the impact on older adults has been monumental. We’re seeing it here. I’ve seen people who’ve aged so much more quickly during the pandemic because they didn’t have that contact with others like they did. It’s a huge issue right now that many of us in the aging profession working with older adults we’re trying to tackle.”
Although delivery services helped people stay supplied and fed during the pandemic, it also isolated them. And since then, many of these services have become more routine, promoting continued isolation. These newer supports differ from some that were popular pre-COVID-19. For example, Meals on Wheels provides a point of connection for older adults, as delivery drivers take a moment to chat and get to know the recipients. That’s not part of the job of food delivery drivers for Grubhub or Instacart to make those connections.
Area organizations have stepped up to help older adults combat loneliness. Oasis Rochester is one longstanding example.
“We bring people together around a shared love for a certain topic, like history, crafts, music, dance or exercise,” Cunningham said. “It serves two purposes. It’s not only about lifelong learning but a quest for connections with each other.”
Despite this, Cunningham said
that some older adults still do not want to risk mingling because of COVID-19. To meet their needs and the needs of those who no longer drive, Oasis offers online classes which at least allow participants to interact virtually.
Bryan Guzski, doctor of physical therapy, nutrition coach and owner of Motive Physical Therapy in Rochester, has also linked loneliness with physical inactivity, especially for older adults whose muscle strength and physical endurance deplete at a more rapid rate than younger people.
“The more socially isolated someone is, the less everyday activity that person will have,” he said. “The pandemic clearly demonstrated this. With the cancellation of community events, group exercise classes, and closing of fitness centers, dramatic drops in daily activity coexisted with feelings of social isolation and loneliness.”
Even worse is that it’s typically even tougher for older adults to regain physical strength and vitality once it’s lost compared with younger adults. Guzski recommends seeking programs that offer both movement and camaraderie.
“Group exercise classes at fitness centers or community centers, as well as programs like Silver Sneakers, are incredibly beneficial as they promote social interaction and physical activity, a win-win,” Guzski said.
Local YMCA chapters, fitness classes at a gym, neighborhood walking groups, dance classes, bowling leagues or other group-oriented clubs can also help.
Retirement is the long-awaited reward after years of work. While the average age of retirement in the U.S. is 63, a growing number of older Americans continue to work either by choice or necessity.
Currently, 38.4% of the American workforce is 55 or older, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. By 2030, 9.5% of the labor force is expected to be 65 plus; the number of workers 75 and older is projected to increase from 8.9% in 2020 to 11.7% by the end of this decade.
The transition is already underway. Many older workers are shifting gradually into retirement, transitioning from “demanding, fulltime work into less stressful, part-time work,” according to The University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a large, national representative sampling of more than 20,000 Americans over the age of 50. The study, conducted by the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan and funded mostly by the National Institute on Aging, is updated every two years. Information collected includes income, work, pension plans,
By Donna Jackelhealth insurance, disability and health care costs.
Matt Taylor, chief executive officer of AP Professionals, a local placement firm, has observed that clients 55 and older tend to choose contract work over permanent positions.
“They also like variety in work tasks and workplaces,” Taylor said. “They don’t want the same level of responsibility they previously had, but still want to contribute.”
Retirees often segue into a job that allows them to use the skills they performed during their career, according to Amanda Sonnega, Ph.D., a research scientist for the Health and Retirement Study. “Most workers don’t pursue a career change after 55 — it’s not worth the investment. A small fraction chooses self employment.”
Little data has been amassed regarding what types of work older Americans perform, Sonnega said.
“It’s hard to make predictions,” she said. “Everyone is stumped as to how things are going. And the late baby boomers — those born between 1959 and 1965 — are just starting to retire.”
But some patterns are emerging.
The most commons jobs for men 62 and older, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, are delivery workers and truck drivers, janitors and building cleaners, farmers and ranchers, post-secondary teachers and lawyers. Women in this demographic are most often employed as teachers, administrative assistants, health care aides, registered nurses and child care workers.
While some post-retirees return to work for the mental stimulation, a segment of the population cannot afford to stop working.
“It’s most worrisome for the late baby boomers because their retirement portfolios were hit hard by the great recession and haven’t rebounded,” said Sonnega.
The money crunch is more dire for those who were unable to save for retirement and find themselves depending on Social Security as their only source of income, which was designed to supplement earned income.
“Many jobs no longer provide pensions [so] older people have to work longer,” said Ann Marie Cook, president and CEO of Lifespan of
Greater Rochester, a nonprofit that provides many services for older adults and caregivers. “It’s sheer economics.”
Nearly a quarter into the 21st century, older workers are still encountering ageism and limited job options. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act forbids age discrimination against people who are 40 or older, yet in a 2022 survey of 2,945 people 50 and older conducted by the American Association of Retired Persons, 91% said age discrimination is common in the workplace.
“The current workforce shortage wouldn’t exist if society wasn’t biased against older workers,” said Cook. “People are being passed up for training, passed up for opportunities. Older workers want meaningful jobs. They don’t want reinvent themselves— they want to use the knowledge they’ve gathered and continue to contribute.”
Young enough to be costar Harrison Ford’s granddaughter, actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge, 38, provided most of the hard-hitting physical action — along with her stunt doubles — in the summer action flick “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.”
Still, spry co-star Ford, 80 at the time of filming, held his own and didn’t lag behind with a walker or IV pole as derided in memes about the film.
The action star’s fifth installment in the franchise depicting the fedorawearing professor–archaeologist mirrors real life.
More octogenarians are skipping retirement compared with the sameaged cohort of just a decade ago.
In June, the U.S. Census Bureau said that 18% more 80-plussers — about 650,000 — continue to work compared with 10 years before. Of those, 50% are full-time, perhaps not at their lifelong career, but working a paid job, nonetheless.
Furthermore, the bureau estimates that among those aged 75-plus, working paid jobs will increase from 8.9% in 2020 to 11.7% by 2030 as the rate among every other age group decreases. And it’s not just because the wobbly economy and rising inflation requires older adults to work (although that represents one factor).
The age of the baby boomer generation is one reason. Just as with every other life milestone, the advancement of huge boomer population will swell the number of 80-plus-aged adults in the workforce.
Current day labor shortages have also drawn many octogenarians to eschew retirement. The workplace needs more hands. Why not continue to call on those with decades of experience and a track record of reliability?
Ann E. Cunningham, executive
director of Oasis Rochester, believes that the high rate of working 80-plussers is reflected locally.
“We’re seeing more people who are in need of that income,” she said. “Of course, our older adults want to remain active and vital and have skills they want to share with others. But there are lots of reasons why people need to remain in the workforce. The stock market crash hit a lot of people as far as their savings. Maybe they didn’t save as much. In a lot of ways, people want to remain active and they can do that through working.”
For many in this age group, additional training may be needed to stay relevant in the job market. Cunningham said that learning to set up email, store electronic files or use Excel spreadsheets is a commonplace need. More recently, it’s been learning to use Teams and Zoom, as the pandemic required remote meetings.
“At Oasis Rochester, we offer oneon-one tutoring, where we can help update those skills,” Cunningham said. “We have some online portals which are training sessions that people can go through on their own. There are other agencies helping with that digital inclusion and update of their skills.”
Although some older adults at Oasis want to improve their electronic communication to keep up with family members via texting, Zoom and social media, Cunningham said that many want to level up their skills to continue in the workforce, whether in their original field or working an entrylevel job that simply gets them out of the house for a few hours a week. Almost every type of employment requires tech savvy of some sort. For older adults who take an entrylevel job it’s typically more about maintaining a sense of productivity, staying connecting and continuing to feel purposeful in life than earning money, so entry-level pay is fine.
Ann Marie Cook, president and CEO of Lifespan of Greater Rochester. Amanda Sonnega, Ph.D., a research scientist for the Health and Retirement Study.Gynecologist Victor Poleshuck is making the most of his retirement and enjoying it all.
“Retirement has been wonderful,” he said. “I’ve been able to indulge so many interests, which I had no time for when I was in practice.”
Born and raised in New Jersey, Poleshuck graduated from Dartmouth College, and then attended medical school at The University of California at Irvine. An internship at Strong Memorial Hospital brought him to Rochester.
At that time, the Vietnam war was raging. They needed doctors, so
he enlisted in the Air Force and was fortunate to be stationed in Greece for his two-year commitment.
Returning to Rochester in 1970, he did his residency in OB-GYN at Strong, and then practiced at Joseph C. Wilson Center for five years before opening his own practice in 1979. His practice was successful, growing to 11 doctors before he retired in 2006.
“The very first educational thing I did after retiring was to take a course in constitutional law at the UR with Thomas Jackson who, at the time, was the president of the UR,” he said. “Then I joined Osher Lifelong
Learning Institute at RIT, known as ‘The Athenaeum’ until 2009 — and haven’t looked back!”
Osher is a member-led organization of over 50 people who enjoy learning.
“Osher has been a place to indulge my thirst for learning and to teach subjects I love,” he said. “It’s really true that you never know something as well as when you teach it. My love of music has only grown as I co-taught a four-semester course in the history of western music and then taught many composer-specific courses. Most recently I taught a course on Shostakovich [fall 2022] with 63 people taking it! Can you imagine? — 63 people wanting to take a course on Shostakovich!”
To date, he has led more than 65 courses. In addition to the music courses, which usually include an Eastman School of Music chamber music group coming to perform — a much-anticipated event — his courses have covered medical issues, travel and topics such as “The Meaning of Life,” “Science and Religion,” “Hamlet” and ”Richard III.”
His medical courses are always
popular, including “Medical Ethics,” “Up Yours” [what medical scopes see], “Medical School” and “The Right to be Well-Born.”
In addition to taking and leading courses at Osher, he was also a member of the course offerings committee for many years, reviewing and approving courses to be offered. Also, he has presented several talks on various travel adventures as part of Osher’s travel special interest group.
An avid lover of music and supporter of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Poleshuck is a member of the board of directors, where his efforts are specifically focused on community education. He enjoys attending as many concerts and Eastman School recitals as he can.
Another passion of his is travel and he has shared his experiences with Osher members through his courses.
Although he and wife, Joyce,
Sarah Rizzo, licensed esthetician and owner of Sarah Rizzo Skin in Rochester. “You don’t look at a healthy runner and say their skin looks terrible,” Rizzo says. “People who are active and have a good diet look better.”
If you don’t like what you’re seeing in the mirror, you can still improve your aging skin’s appearance.
“At any age, it’s never too late to improve,” said Sarah Rizzo, licensed esthetician and owner of Sarah Rizzo Skin in Rochester.
By age 55, changes in the body have begun to affect the skin in noticeable ways.
“With women, there’s hormonal changes that affect suppleness and plumpness in the skin,” Rizzo said. “The cell renewal process slows as well.”
Since the skin turns over more slowly, it’s helpful to stimulate it through exfoliation. Facials, peels, microderm abrasion and laser treatments can help. These modalities break down the skin’s top layer, the epidermis, and reduce the appearance of discoloration and fine lines as the skin renews itself. It appears less dull.
“You’re helping let your skin breathe and function,” Rizzo said. “After exfoliation, at-home products are better absorbed into the skin.”
She advises receiving regular facials — at least once per month — noting that these treatments include facial massage, which also helps promote healthier looking skin.
“We have over 60 muscles in the face alone,” Rizzo said. “You’re creating firmness and tone through blood flow and oxygenating the skin.”
At home, using products with vitamin C as an antioxidant and skin brightener can improve skin’s appearance.
Although prevention is key to reducing the signs of aging in skin, Rizzo said that wearing sunscreen is still important.
“Wear SPF 30-plus,” she said. “I’m also a big proponent of mineral sunscreen, as it’s a physical block.”
Avoiding exposure to sunlight
between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and wearing a hat and sunglasses can also help prevent further damage.
It’s also vital to feed the skin with a diet rich in nutrients such as the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes vegetables, olive oil, fatty fish, nuts and seeds. Rizzo also cautioned to limit alcohol.
“I have clients who come in for a facial and want the most expensive facial, but we also talk about you as a person and their daily routine at home,” Rizzo said. “Many say when they wake up the first thing and have a cup of coffee. If you don’t get water to jumpstart your body from within, it won’t work. Look at a plant that hasn’t been watered in days: it shrivels. Drink that water before coffee.”
Staying fit and active can also promote healthier looking skin.
“You don’t look at a healthy runner and say their skin looks terrible,” Rizzo said. “People who are active and have a good diet look better. You need to get enough sleep as well.”
In addition, properly cleansing the skin at home also promotes healthier appearance. One widespread mistake is going to bed without washing with a mild cleanser, suited to the skin type.
“Someone who had oily, acne prone skin in their 20s may stay with the same routine,” Rizzo said. “As we age, we dry out and your skin might feel normal. If you had normal skin, it can be really dry. We have to compensate and use a thicker cream.”
Some people expect to see immediate results. However, Rizzo said that like working out in the gym, it can take some time to see skin look better as a person integrates positive lifestyle changes and skin care routines.
“We’re all going to age,” Rizzo said. “You can’t expect someone in their 50s and 60s to look like they’re in their 20s. Have realistic expectations. Let’s age gracefully.”
With women, there’s hormonal changes that affect suppleness and plumpness in the skin. The cell renewal process slows as well.”
Founded in Rochester in 2004, the learning center has helped over 1,500 inner city students so far. Nuns running the program are inviting people to become tutors at the program
“
They really love to come up here,” she said.
Others around the table nodded. They’d all seen it.
“We know that the relationship between the student and our tutor is really important, that the child feels like they have one specific person paying attention to them,” Evelyn Breslin said. “I think that’s what really attracts students to come up.”
Breslin, 77, a nun in the School Sisters of Notre Dame order, was
By John Addymansitting in a brightly lit room on the third floor of the Charles Settlement House in Rochester. There wasn’t a single light on in that room. The glow was coming from her.
She was talking about the Notre Dame Learning Center, which she heads — an after-school tutoring program that Lorraine Antczak, 92, a sister nun, founded in 2004.
All around were desks used for tutoring and bookcases full of brightly colored books.
Kids from grades one through
nine come once or twice a week to link up with their own tutor, someone who focuses entirely on that child, helping with reading, English or math. And unraveling mysteries, exploring wonders, playing games, doing drills, learning new words and expressing themselves.
“It’s not an easy thing for kids to do; after a day in school, to want to do more school,” explained Laura Canne, the program director. “The kids who are not in our program who are downstairs always beg to come up
Monday - Thursday September - May Grades 1-8
Assistance available for lesson planning No tutor experience needed, just a love for children. For more information, please call: call 585-254-5110 | email: admin@ndlcenter.org
here because they really like what we have, that one-on-one attention from someone who’s committed to them for that hour every week.”
Those downstairs kids participate in an after-school program hosted by the Settlement House that includes dinner, from 2:30 to 5 p.m. on school days. About 10 students come upstairs to the Learning Center for tutoring. Another 20 or so kids walk to the Settlement House or are brought by relatives to join their tutors.
Sister Evelyn described the tutors as the heart of the program. NDLC is looking for more. The 30 kids served now could become a larger group if more tutors signed on for a couple of hours a week.
Tutors include former teachers, grandparents and a group of college kids from SUNY Geneseo.
Canne hopes to see students from St. John Fisher, Nazareth and perhaps Roberts Wesleyan join the group. The college tutors work online with students at the center. High school students at Bishop Kearney High School help tutor a satellite NDLC
program there.
“Our students are typically not at grade level,” Sister Evelyn said. “They may be in eighth grade, but they’re not able to do eighth grade work. Some of our students bring in their homework and that’s where the tutors can tell where they are in their classes. Not only does the child get help with the homework, but tutors can see where they are academically.”
She said NDLC does as much as it can to connect tutors and school teachers “so our tutors know if their kids are doing graphing or multiplication or whatever. Our kids are not great reporters when they’re in first and second grade about what it is they’re doing in school.
“We had one student who was talking to his college-age tutor and he was asking her all kinds of questions: ‘Do you sleep there? Do you sleep in the classroom?’ He had no concept of what college was. He decided he wasn’t going to go to college because you had to sleep there.”
Notre Dame Learning Center believes that many inner-city kids do
poorly academically because of a lack of the life experiences many other children take for granted. So, the center took kids on a Riverie boat cruise and made it to a Red Wings baseball game.
“The kids saw egrets on the boat tour and were fascinated by those big white birds,” Canne pointed out.
“On one of the trips we made last summer, we took 25 kids and four tutors on a bus tour of historic Rochester, and ended up at Bill Gray’s,” added Sister Evelyn.
“We’re looking to boost their reading skills by giving them the background information other kids would have,” said Canne.
Sister Evelyn arrived in Rochester in 1968, a year after taking her vows.
“I taught downtown at St. Joseph’s Business School, I taught all the business subjects, including data processing, which I didn’t know in heaven’s name what it was all about, while I was studying at Nazareth,” she said. “I received my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Nazareth. Then I went to Bishop Kearney as a teacher and finally as administrator
Ja'miiyah and her tutor, Marcia (right). Tutor 1 or 2 children, one day per week. MATHEMATICS • READING ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS— 22 years there. In the next years, I was at School of the Holy Childhood, a school for children with intellectual disabilities, serving with the executive director. I’ve been here at NDLC for 10 years.” said.
“We are a tutoring center here. The reason we were even set up is that when many Catholic schools in the city closed, our sisters said, ‘What type of an imprint can our [religious] community leave in Rochester, since we’ve been here since the early 1800s?’ We, in Rochester, sent a proposal to our provincial government of the School Sisters of Notre Dame and said we’d like to open a tutoring center in Rochester. We had sent a survey to the schools and parishes, asking what should we do? It came back, ‘Stay in education.’ That’s why we opened the Notre Dame Learning Center,” she added. “It’s called a ‘sponsored ministry of the School Sisters of Notre Dame.’ We have 13 sponsored ministries across our Atlantic Midwest Province, which covers New England, Chicago, Canada, New York state, Boston. We are an international community. We’re all over the world. There are fewer sisters in Europe than here.”
She said she has about 4,000 fellow sisters worldwide, but the order is aging.
The learning center has a $100,000
budget, principally paying salaries and rent. Sister Evelyn confessed her salary makes her “basically a volunteer.”
If all you need is love to give kids a better start in life, the center’s love comes from the proceeds of a yearly golf tournament, a yearly appeal that’s mailed to 1,000 people, yearly “Thanks for Giving” calendar that comes out in November and features chances for raffle prizes.
The sisters of Breslin’s order are also sponsors; no funding assistance comes from the Diocese of Rochester. Donations include school supplies and backpacks, which Sister Evelyn was assembling in July.
Every day coming to work, the evidence of the need for the learning center is all around the folks who come there to serve kids. Canne said the future is waiting for more help.
“We’re only limited by the number of tutors we have. We don’t have to recruit students at this point. We would love to have to recruit students. But we need to get more tutors and then we would go to open houses at the schools (where parents learn about services available) and recruit more students,” she said.
Sister Evelyn said the door is wide open for tutors to sign up and help.
“We’re looking for people who love children,” she said. “Our tutors don’t have to have a college degree, but they do make a commitment that they’re here every week, at least once a week. If someone is interested, call us at 585-254-5110, we’ll set up an
appointment and bring them in, very often when the kids are here in the afternoon, to talk to them and get their commitment.”
There’s an application form to complete. Prospective tutors must complete the Diocese of Rochester background check and an online program about maintaining a safe environment for children.
“It’s an important thing to us that kids feel safe here —that they’re accepted and cared about,” Canne said. “That’s the feeling I got when I first came here; that the kids feel safe. I am amazed how well-behaved our kids are here. They love being here. They’re full of energy and questions and talking. They love being here.”
Sister Evelyn can unroll a tapestry of stories about the success of the program — the kids who have gone on to college scholarships, to studies in Europe and those who have found success in work and life.
She has seen, over and again, the outcome of equal doses of love and faith.
To find out how you can help in the mission of Notre Dame Learning Center, call 585-254-5110 or visit: www.ndlcenter.org.
TyShawn and his tutor, Warren.Q: I have two minor children at home and I plan to retire this fall. Will my children be eligible for monthly Social Security benefits after I retire?
A: Monthly Social Security payments may be made to your children if one of the following applies:
• They are unmarried and under age 18.
• Age 18 or 19 and still in high school.
• Age 18 or older, became disabled before age 22, and continue to be disabled.
Children who may qualify include a biological child, adopted child, or dependent stepchild. (In some cases, your grandchild also could be eligible for benefits on your record if you are supporting them.) For more information, see our online publication, Benefits For Children, at www.ssa.gov/pubs.
Q: I’m retiring early, at age 62, and I receive investment income from a rental property I own. Does investment income count as earnings?
A: No. We count only the wages you earn from a job or your net profit if you’re self-employed. Non-work income such as annuities, investment income, interest, capital gains, and other government benefits are not counted and will not affect your Social Security benefits. Most pensions will not affect your benefits. However, your benefit may be affected by government pensions earned through work on which you did not pay Social Security tax. You can retire online at www.ssa.gov. For more information, call us toll-free at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).
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By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
Losing a pet feels in many ways like losing a member of the family.
Noticing the mental distress such a loss causes, Rochesterian and licensed mental health counselor Anne Marie Farage-Smith, started a weekly
virtual pet loss support group at the therapy practice she owns, Counseling Connections, in Rochester. She also wrote a book on the topic.
“This loss is enormous, and the impact is huge,” said Farage-Smith, 75 “We need to value and appreciate
the relationship with pets. We wake up to them; we end our day with them. They add routine to our life, which is a good thing.
“It’s understandable that it’s a huge adjustment when we lose them. It’s a unique relationship. Those routines bring a sense of order and purpose to your lifestyle. There are secondary losses that go along with that, like the loss of that sense of order and the loss of the relationship.”
Farage-Smith’s book, “Healing Wisdom for Pet Loss: An Animal Lover's Guide to Grief,” will be in print in June 2024.
Farage-Smith’s first career was in education. At age 57, she returned to college, attending St. John Fisher in 2007 to earn a second master’s degree. She found the atmosphere at St. John Fisher very welcoming and even had a few classmates around her age.
Farage-Smith began working as a therapist in 2009. She had always wanted to work in mental health and when she left teaching, “a desire to have a mental health career bubbled up again. I loved teaching; it was great. But I wanted to do something else that had interested me for so many years. I love to learn; I’m a lifelong learner so it was an easy decision.”
One of the biggest surprises of her second career was the need for destigmatizing mental health treatment. She compares mental health to physical health. Seeking professional help for either should bear no stigma.
As for her book, that effort stems from her love for animals and that the loss of a pet is brushed aside.
“Some say ‘You can get another dog’ or ‘Get another cat,’” she said. “But every relationship with each pet is unique. That’s a good thing. I felt it was a loss that is also disenfranchised in our society.”
This is despite one-third of American households owning at least one dog and one-fourth having at least one cat, plus other pets.
“Pets are very important to us as they make our life richer in meaning, among so many things,” Farage-Smith added.
The book discusses the human–animal bond, why it’s important and why it hurts so much when death severs the bond and the types of grief triggered with the loss of a pet. It also offers strategies for working through the grieving process, including ideas for fostering comfort through honoring deceased pets.
“If you feel you might have complicated grief and you want to talk with a counselor, the book talks about how to find one,” Farage-Smith said. “It ends with embracing change and hope and new routines so you can carry on. People ask, ‘When is a new time to get a new pet?’ It talks about this. But even if you don’t get a new pet right away, there are still ways to interact with animals by volunteering like taking dogs for walks at shelters like Lollipop Farm or Verona Street. You can maybe walk your neighbor’s dog until you are ready to take a dog into your home. Or maybe you never will.”
Farage-Smith’s book is available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
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Cost to cremate a pet ranges from $110 and $340; individual burial in the cemetery in a casket is $850 for a small pet up to $1,400 for a large one
By Deborah Jeanne SergeantFor many people, pets are part of the family. Saying goodbye to a little friend is never easy. But finding a way to honor and memorialize a pet’s life helps make their passing a bit less difficult to bear.
“Sometimes, we’re the only people who want to hear the story,” said Polly Hanna, owner of Rush Inter Pet, Inc. in Rush. “We ask what happened because we care.”
The business operates a welltended pet cemetery with options including a headstone and casket or a general burial place. Either of these provides an option for people who either lack land or the ability to bury a pet or anticipate moving. Cremation is also a choice.
“People want to keep the ashes with them,” Hanna said. “This is a society that moves around a lot. This way, they can take the ashes with them.”
She added that when the pet owner dies, they can have their pet’s ashes buried with them.
Some clients view cemeteries as a waste of land and want their pets cremated to save space. But overall, “they definitely want to know what happens to their pet when they die,” Hanna said.
Her business cares for the remains of cats and dogs, but has also handled lizards, turtles, iguanas and birds.
Andrea Dunadee Harris, vice president at Pet Passages in Rochester, also said that the transient nature of the population explains the shift toward pet cremation.
“I lived in a townhouse,” she recalled. “When my first dog died, I didn’t have the option to bury him.”
Seeking an option for her deceased dog led her to Pet Passages where she met Mike Harris, the company founder whom she married two years later.
“If someone knows their pet is going to pass, they can give us a call,” Harris said. “We fill out forms. It mirrors the human funeral side. If someone in your family planning for their death, they can make arrangements prior to that time so it’s a little easier for the rest of the family.”
Pet owners can bring their deceased animal to Pet Passages or a company representative can pick up the remains either from the client’s home or from the vet’s office. They all receive a nose print and paw print and have the option to receive a claw paw impression and fur clipping.
Clients can also have their pet euthanized at Pet Passages through a traveling vet.
“Most pets aren’t comfortable going to the vet’s office,” Harris said. “You don’t want their last minutes and memories under stress. We offer a peaceful place to do that here if they choose. People should know that they have a choice as to who they use for their cremation services. A vet’s office is usually associated with a facility but that doesn’t mean that’s who you have to use.”
Pet Passages charges between $110 and $340 for cremation and an urn, depending upon the animal’s weight.
At Rush Inter Pet, individual burial in the cemetery in a casket is $850 for a small pet up to $1,400 for a large one. Cremation cost ranges between $150 and $250.
The U.S. Department of Labor reports that one in five businesses fail in their first year and 50% fail within five years.
But not this entrepreneur.
Karen Shraeder, owner of Barks & Bubbles Grooming Salon in Honeoye Fall, celebrated her 25th anniversary in 2022 and she is going strong.
Her interest in grooming began as she petted and combed her first pet, a cat named Fluffy.
Shraeder said that being only 10 she didn’t have much imagination, hence the name Fluffy. The pet menagerie grew over the years to include a horse, a domestic as well as a wild duck, gerbils, mice, rabbits an Amazon parrot, budgies, skunks,
By Lynette M Loomisraccoons, turtles and lizards.
In her 20s, Shraeder had a Westie named Ashley, who required regular brushing and clipping, which she did herself. Her knowledge of how to effectively keep Ashley looking wonderful was enhanced by two breeders.
“I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a groomer back then,” she explained.
When Ashley died, Shraeder realized that not only did she miss having fun with Ashley, but also missed grooming her. She wondered if she could learn to groom other breeds.
She researched the business.
“The internet was not as we know it today; 10 seconds and you have
hundreds of pieces of information. It was more the old-fashioned way of researching it, reading books and articles and talking to people,” she said.
She was excited to learn that there was school near her home.
“I went to take a tour of the school and I was hooked. I was fascinated watching these women groom dogs. I was in school from September until spring,” she said. “It was recommended that graduates do an internship. I was too excited to start my own and bring my dog to work with me, so I bypassed that step. I am happiest when my dog is with me. I spent the entire summer of 1997 looking for a suitable location for a grooming salon where I live,
Honeoye Falls.”
Shraeder has raised three puppies at Barks & Bubbles.
Dog groomers, pet owners and veterinarians combine their understanding of an animal to help pets live their best life. As a groomer, Shraeder tends to see animals more frequently than a veterinarian, perhaps every three to eight weeks. Whether it’s a new puppy or an adult dog, she does an evaluation at the first visit. She checks their coat and temperament.
“As far as working with frightened dogs, I work with them on a case-bycase basis. Some puppies are anxious in the beginning just because they lack grooming experience. Some older dogs are frightened because of lack of grooming experience, or occasionally a bad experience getting groomed elsewhere,” she explained.
She has been known to sit with a frightened dog for half an hour before beginning any type of grooming so she can ease their fears.
“With a lot of patience, fearful dogs almost always come around and are a joy to groom. For safety’s sake, dogs that are aggressive with me or my groomers I refer to a trainer,” she said. “No dog groomer should ever try to diagnose a medical problem. We are not veterinarians and that is not our job. I frequently refer my customers to their veterinarian for evaluation of some physical change I noticed. Since we do see our clients on a very regular basis, we often spot physical changes at an early stage.”
Shraeder has one dog, four cats and two deer mice that she rescued at 9 days old, and a reef aquarium. In her spare time she is an advanced, certified scuba diver through the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. She loves flowers and gardening, cooking and baking. If she has time, she enjoys crafts.
A very-timing consuming joy for her is her new puppy, Petey Pup.
“I am involved in attending dog obedience classes with Petey. Eventually I will have Petey tested by Therapy Dog International so he can become a TDI dog. That requires a lot of time and commitment so that’ll be a few years down the road. Then we will be able to visit nursing homes and probably hospitals,” she said. “My goal is to be able to have him do therapy dog work at Golisano Children’s Hospital.”
My son and I made a quick stop at our local supermarket. I zipped in and out with a bottle of soy sauce and a big plastic jar of mayonnaise.
When we jumped back into the car, I put the mayonnaise between my legs and parked the soy sauce next to me on the seat and started the car. It’s a sports car, and doesn’t have a lot of room.
“You’re not going to drive through town with a jar of mayonnaise between your legs, are you?” my son asked. His name is Mike. He’s 41.
“Sure I am. Why?”
“Isn’t that against the law?” Mike asked.
“Of course not,” I said.
“But you don’t see people driving around with jars of mayonnaise between their legs,” he said. Pause.
“Do you?” he pressed.
“Of course you do,” I told him as we pulled out of the supermarket parking lot. “Look out there at the other cars. I bet lots of those drivers are either going home with a jar of mayonnaise between their legs or wishing they had remembered to buy mayonnaise.”
Mike was looking at the cars going by and considering.
“I don’t think anyone out here is driving with a jar of mayonnaise between their legs,” he said. “Except you. I’m sure I’m right.”
“Nah,” I told him. “The chance of someone else out here with a jar of mayonnaise between his or her legs is a lot higher than what’s going on in this car right now.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean there are very, very few people driving out here right now who have BOTH a jar of mayonnaise between their legs and a bottle of soy sauce next to them on the seat.”
“Dad…,” Mike was thinking that this was either a game I was playing with him or that it had finally happened — that his old man had finally lost his marbles.
In point of fact, I knew that’s exactly what he was thinking because A) he’s been my son for a long time and B) he was catching a glimpse of the back of my shirt to see if marbles were rolling out of my ears.
At this point I should point out that I was driving a car with a six-speed manual transmission, shifting as we merrily went along and the jar was moving around pretty tightly in my crotch. The bottle of soy sauce was happily settled where it was.
Oh, and Mike and I had put the top down, something that brought a new concern to my son.
“Dad, people can see us,” he said. “So?”
“Well, they can look down into the car and see that you’ve got a jar of mayonnaise between your legs.”
“You don’t think they can see the soy sauce, right?”
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“Dad, maybe if they could see the soy sauce this all might make some sense, but no, I don’t think they can see the soy sauce.”
“Should I move the soy sauce to the other side of the seat?” I asked.
Mike made a sudden move and grabbed the soy sauce bottle.
“I’ll take care of this,” he said.
“Aren’t you concerned that people driving by will look down in the car and see that you’re carrying a bottle of soy sauce and wonder what you plan to do with it?” I asked.
Mike was thinking.
Then he put the soy sauce bottle on his lap between his legs.
I looked down at that scene. It was not good.
“Mike,” I advised, “having the top of a bottle of soy sauce stick out from your lap is a lot worse than having a jar of mayonnaise between your legs, know what I mean?”
He looked at me. He looked at the neck of the soy sauce bottle sticking up out of his lap.
“If we get stopped by a state trooper, what are you going to tell him about that bottle? I think the state trooper would ask you, ‘Son, you got a thing for bottles of soy sauce?’”
Mike grabbed the bottle and put it back next to me.
“You'd better take it, Dad,” he said.
“What do you think a state trooper would say to me if we get stopped?” I asked Mike.
“I think he’d ask you how long you’d been away from the home,” Mike said. “And did you really have a license to drive?”
“On the other hand,” I argued reasonably, “I think he’d thank me for reminding him that his wife asked him to bring home some mayonnaise when he’s done work. And we might have a pleasant discussion about our favorite mayonnaise.”
“Nothing about soy sauce?”
“Soy sauce is soy sauce. I’m sure the trooper would agree.”
“Would you get a ticket?”
“Nah,” I said. “We might exchange recipes.”
We drove along quietly, getting closer to home.
“I don’t ever want to do this again, Dad.” Mike said when we pulled into the driveway.
sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, political belief, marital status, disability, or sponsorship of payment source.
As a service to the community, the listed facilities are receiving properly packaged and containing used syringes. Please contact the facility nearest you for drop-off times, accepted packaging, and other information. It is the policy of the facilities listed below to admit and treat without regard to race, creed, color, place of birth, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, political belief, marital status, disability, or sponsorship of payment source. There is no distinction in eligibility for or in the manner of providing any resident service provided by or through the facility. All facilities are available to all residents that have to either refer residents to or recommend the health facilities listed below. The facilities are advised it do so without regard to the resident's race, creed, color, place of birth, national origin, sex,W. Ridge Rd. Rochester, NY 14615
Bob Larry’s eyes gleamed as he talked about his treasured 1954 Pontiac Chieftain Deluxe.
“I like the ride, the look, the sexy lines of this thing,” the 74-yearold said.
Larry was just one of the many classic car owners who showed their prized machines during Damascus Shrine Cruise Night on July 28. The weekly event has been held each Friday at the Damascus Shrine Center in Webster since June 16, weather permitting. Profits from the shows go to the Shriners Hospitals for Children.
Lines of cars filled much of the Damascus Shrine Center’s grounds that balmy evening. Beautifully restored pickup trucks that first hit the road in the 1920s sat with their hoods up, their antique engines for all to see. Muscle cars from the 1960s cruised the grounds, their huge engines growling. A customized Cadillac hearse that would have been welcome in a Halloween parade sat off to one side, its colorful lights blinking.
Even in that exotic collection, Dave Brye’s gleaming red 1961 Chevrolet Biscayne stood out. Brye bought it about three years ago.
“I decided that this would be a nice classic car because it’s one that’s not real popular,” the 66-year-old Irondequoit resident said.
Though he has always loved classic cars, the retired factory worker also had financial reasons for wanting to buy a vintage machine.
“I wanted to have something for retirement, something in the sport of classic cars,” Brye said.
Brye discovered the 1961 Chevrolet Biscayne with the huge 409-cubic-inch engine for sale in Webster and thought it attractive as an investment. Unlike many cars from that time, the vehicle did not need any work.
“I wanted an older car all complete, so I didn’t have to do anything but be the caretaker of the car,” he said.
The Chevy’s Ferrari red paint job was also a big plus.
“That’s one of the things that sold me,” Brye said. “I said to my wife ‘OK, I really want that car.’”
Though sold on the car, Brye put off making an offer for it, hoping to get the owner to drop his price.
“Two days later, I called him up and said ‘I want that car, what would you take?’” Brye said. “He was asking
36 ($36,000). He took 29 ($29,000). I did very well.”
Since then, Brye has only had to keep his investment washed, waxed and in good repair. He’s done most of the work himself.
Though he’s a grandfather, he’s learned what his Chevy’s powerful engine and four-speed manual transmission can do on the road.
“It gets up and moves,” Brye said.
Gerald Westfall seems to like cars that “move.” His first vehicle, a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro that he bought in 1971, came with a powerful 396-cubicinch engine. His second car was also a Chevy.
“I bought a 1974 Nova and built it up and raced it at an NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) strip and on the street,” the 69-year-old said. “Then I got rid of it, because I got in the service and I got married.”
Westfall served first in the Marine Corps and then in the US Army, putting in a total of 26 years for his country before returning to civilian life. He then worked as a security officer for the Greece Central School District until he retired in 2018. Then he bought himself another car, this one
a classic.
The gleaming blue 1965 Nova SS came with a high-performance 350-cubic-inch GM ZZ4 engine, an automatic transmission with overdrive and a special rear end, all of which were custom-installed sometime after it left the factory.
“When it’s in overdrive, you can cruise the highway at 60 at 1,800 RPMs (engine revolutions per minute),” Westfall said.
In short, the car can move.
Westfall has put a lot of additional work into his Nova SS.
“I did a lot of stuff on the engine,” he said. “I redid the whole interior. The trunk has been redone.”
Bending down, Westfall pointed out some of his handiwork on the trim at the bottoms of his car’s fenders and doors.
“I put the black strip with the red pinstriping here with the little Chevy bowtie,” he said, referring to Chevrolet’s distinctive logo.
Westfall displays his Nova at two or three classic car shows a week during the season. Preparing for a show can take a lot of work — just shining the stainless-steel trim takes three hours — but the time spent can be well worth it. On July 30, his Nova SS took a “Top 40” award at the Spencerport Canal Days Car Show.
Modern automobiles, with their plastic dashboards and light metal bodies, lack something in Larry’s eyes.
“I like classic cars,” he said. “I like the heavy metal. No plastic in the car.”
With its huge, gleaming grill, thick steel bodywork, metal dashboard and straight-eight engine, (modern eightcylinder engines are V-8s) Larry’s two-tone Pontiac Chieftain fits the bill. When the West Henrietta resident acquired the car about five years ago, part of its attraction was its three-speed manual transmission.
“Three-speed on the (steering) column,” he said. “‘Three on a tree’ they call it.”
The car needed a bit of work, so the retired heavy equipment operator rolled up his sleeves.
“I took and did all the mechanics on it,” he said.
Larry also took steps to bring the rest of the Pontiac back to its original condition. He had the car’s interior restored and the clock in its dash repaired.
“I sent it to four different places,” Larry said. “The last place knew what it was doing. It keeps perfect time.”
Larry had the Pontiac’s exterior paint buffed out until it shone as it did when it left the factory. He also removed the car’s trim, had it re-chromed at a Syracuse shop and reinstalled it. Finally, he replaced the vintage machine’s distinctive chrome hood ornament.
“I wanted the lighted ornament of a chieftain,” Larry said.
Larry found the part on the
Internet, bought it for $350, cleaned it up and installed it. Switch on the Pontiac’s parking or headlights and the ornament gives out a distinctive orange light.
Larry needed a lot of what are called “new old stock” parts to get his Pontiac in its current shape. The parts, which were made for the car decades ago but never sold, were difficult to come by. He had to look all over for the stainless-steel door guards that are mounted on the edges of the Pontiac’s four doors.
“The fella who sold them to me said I got the last set in the United States,” Larry said.
Shriners International, the Damascus Shrine Center’s parent organization, has built and supports hospitals and outpatient clinics in the US, Canada and Mexico that provide medical care for children regardless of their families’ ability to pay. Steve Michener, the 62-year-old leader or “potentate” of the Damascus Shrine Center, said the profits from its weekly car shows will help support two hospitals.
“The hospitals we support are in Erie, Pennsylvania and Springfield Massachusetts,” he said.
n The Damascus Shrine Center is scheduled to hold its last Cruise Night on Sept. 8. For more information about the event, go to: https://damascusshriners.org
Bob Larry’next to his treasured 1954 Pontiac Chieftain Deluxe.
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
Enjoy the crisp autumn air of harvest time with a long weekend within a couple hours’ drive of Rochester. It still feels like a getaway without the time and expense of traveling for days. Plus, Upstate has plenty of venues with incredible views and autumn experiences.
Ellicottville is known for its ski resort. However, before the snow flies, visitors can enjoy the mountain vistas for their foliage as well. Stay at The Inn at Holiday Valley (www.holidayvalley. com), where luxury rooms include a fireplace and jetted tub. The on-site
Sky Flyer Mountain Coaster and Sky High Aerial Adventure Park offer exciting ways to leaf peep among the treetops. Or for a more laid back fall experience, check out the hiking trails and birding opportunities at Allegany State Park (parks.ny.gov) in Salamanca and peruse the wares and activities at Pumpkinville Farm (https://pumpkinville.com) in Great Valley. During October, the Ellicottville Fall Festival includes a huge artisan craft show. Shoppers should also check out the mom-and-pop shops on Washington and Monroe streets. Known for its gorges, Ithaca’s
foliage-flanked waterfalls feel meant for autumnal hiking, including Robert H. Treman State Park, Taughannock Falls State Park, Buttermilk Falls State Park and Watkins Glen State Park (all at parks.ny.gov). The Cayuga Lakefront Inn (www.lakefrontinn. com) provides lodgers with sweeping bucolic views boasting plenty of fall color. The rooms have a private balcony, hot tub and a sumptuous ambiance that blends Mediterranean with Tuscany influences. If 1880s décor is more to your taste, stay at the William Henry Miller Inn (https://millerinn.com) and enjoy a
whirlpool tub in the room, proximity to restaurants, shops, Ithaca Falls and Cascadilla Falls (www.visitithaca. com). Indian Creek Farm (https:// indiancreekithaca.com) offers U-pick apples and pumpkins, doughnuts, freshly pressed juice and more on its 40 acres. In your trip is Sept. 29 - Oct. 1, enjoy Ithaca’s Apple Harvest Festival (www.downtownithaca.com/appleharvest-festival) downtown, with apple goodies, live entertainment, vendors, and food trucks.
Lewiston’s Niagara Crossing Hotel and Spa (www. niagaracrossinghotelandspa.com)
provides spectacular views of the Niagara River, along with suites equipped with a soaking tub and for a chilly evening, a fireplace. To get back to nature, enjoy hiking at Artpark (www.artpark.net) or Old Fort Niagara (www.oldfortniagara.org) in Youngstown, which offers Lantern and Lore Tours each Friday evening in October. Becker Farms (www. beckerfarms.com) in Gasport offers you-pick apples and pumpkins, along with a farm store, vineyard tours and its own beer and cider. You can also stay onsite in cabins or at the luxe 1830s brick farmhouse. Of course, Niagara
Falls (www.niagarafallsstatepark.com) is a must-do when in the area; but in fall, the stunning foliage framing the world-renowned wonder adds a special touch. Experience Cave of the Winds, Aquarium of Niagara, Maid of the Mist, Niagara Scenic Trolley, Niagara Gorge Trails and Schoellkopf Elevator, and Niagara Falls Observation Tower. To experience the best sites of the region, the Discover Niagara Shuttle (https://www.discoverniagarashuttle. com) offers a tour from “the Falls to the Fort” and other routes so you can relax to enjoy the foliage and stop where you want to explore.
Taughannock Falls State Park in Trumansburg, near Ithaca.
Fall foliage in Watkins Glen.
Photo courtesy of Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce.
What better way to buy the season’s bounty than to pick your own apples on a local farm? The area abounds with farms that provide U-pick opportunities.
Some also offer activities for children, gift shops and markets with regional goods.
• Bauman's Farm Market & Cider Mill also offers The Scary Pumpkin Room, hay maze and other fun for the grandkids. Pick up a jug of fresh farm cider to take home.
1340 Five Mile Line Road
585-671-2820
facebook.com/BaumansFarmNY
• Schutt's Apple Mill grows 16 varieties and offers a farm store, including its own hard cider. Check the website for special events all season long.
1063 Plank Road
585-872-2924
https://schuttsapplemill.com
Brockport
Fisher Farms grows with organic practices but is not certified organic.
467 Euler Road
585-690-8269
www.facebook.com/Fishersfruit)
Spencerport
Robb Farms uses integrated pest management practices to minimize pesticide application to its 19 varieties of apples. Pick up freshly pressed cider and fry cake style doughnuts made onsite.
800 Gallup Road
585-352-0814
www.robbfarms.com)
Rochester
Whittier Fruit Farm (219 Whittier Road. 585-594-9054. www.whittierfruitfarm. com) sells snacks and provides a picnic area. Take a wagon ride to the orchard to pick from among 32 varieties of apples.
Wickham Farms offers a concession stand, farm market with local goods, corn maze games and activities for the grandkids, mini golf, and farm animal petting zoo. Plan to spend the day.
1821 Fairport Nine Mile Point Road
585-377-3276
www.wickhamfarms.com)
Macedon
Long Acre Farms is also a good place to take the grandchildren picking for the day, with a huge children’s play area, corn maze, gift shop and farm market store. Wood-fired pizza, grilled items, ice cream and doughnuts are available on-site. Don’t miss taking home homemade fudge. Check the website for “Grandparent tickets.” The farm’s on-site winery, JC Wine Cellars, offers wine tasting and local beer and hard cider for sale.
1342 Eddy Road
315-986-4202
www.longacrefarms.com)
Newark
The Apple Shed offers a gift shop, fresh fudge and doughnuts, snacks and sandwiches, a picnic area, goats and a few other farm animals. Bring along the grandkids to enjoy the playground. Guests of any age can try the apple cannon, explore the haunted barn or take a hayride to the orchard. The Apple Shed charges no admission, but some activities have a nominal fee. The Old Goat Cidery in the farm market serves a variety of hard ciders on tap.
3391 Fairville Maple Ridge Road
315-331-6294
www.theappleshed.com)
Keep in mind that working farms may have uneven ground, wet conditions, and no public restroom facilities. Wear suitable footwear, clothing and sunscreen. Respect the rules of the orchard as they’re in place for your safety and to protect the trees and farm equipment. Check the farm’s social media page or call before heading out, as weather and other factors can affect U-pick activities. Some farms accept cash only. Farms with many activities often charge admission. If you just want apples, go to a farm with fewer activities.
Q. What brings you into the office every day?
A. Coming to work every day gives me a chance to make Brighton better for all of us. I also work with great dedicated people, and that is a real joy. I’m also very fortunate to be able to walk to work every day.
Q. What are your priorities for Brighton?
A. I focus on sustainability and diversity, equity and inclusion. Those are really very important policy drivers.
Q. How has Brighton sought to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive during your time in office?
A. We are the first town to have a diversity, equity and inclusion plan, what we call our IDEA Plan. Based on that plan, we made a decision to hire a chief diversity officer, Miriam Moore. She brings so much to the table in her own personal experience working in the diversity field. We’ve also engaged with other communities. We’ve done a whole raft of things in that area.
Q. What has Brighton done to make its operations more ecologically sustainable?
A. We have a volunteer sustainability oversight committee, people who in many cases make this their professional work. We’re developing our climate action plan. We’ve received a variety of grants over the years, all intended to reduce carbon emissions and make not only town government but the community as a whole more sustainable.
Q. Why did you go into public service after leaving your law practice?
A. Both of my parents held local nonpartisan elected office in the Detroit area. I saw how important community service and public service was in their lives and the difference they made in a community.
Q. Of your accomplishments as supervisor, which one makes you most proud?
A. The Brickyard Trail, I have to say, exceeded my wildest expectations.
It is a three-quarter-mile trail that runs through one of the largest, I think the largest, wetland areas so close to downtown Rochester. It’s a multimodal, ADA-compliant trail designed for pedestrians but also for bicycles. I walk on the Brickyard Trail every day. It really gets you away from the hustle and bustle of a fairly dense residential community.
Q. What challenges does the town face right now?
A. One of the things I’ve heard loud and clear is that this community would like to see us develop a community center that meets community needs.
Q. Where is the town in the process of creating a community center?
A. We have a consultant who we retained to do a study. There are a few different approaches that we could take. We could buy an existing property and develop it. We could partner with an existing community organization, like the JCC [the Lewis S. Wolk JCC of Greater Rochester] for example, or we could build a new community center facility on town-owned land. Our consultant is reviewing those options in the context of a lot of community input.
Q. What do you do for fun?
A. I walk, I play golf. This weekend was kind of special. There are a lot of Brighton’s in the world, but we all descend from Brighton on the south shore of England. Brighton has a soccer club, the Brighton and Hove Albion (Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club) in the Premier League, the highest soccer league in England and the world. I’m not as big a soccer fan as I am, say, baseball or football but I’ve really been taken by Brighton. They were recently playing as part of the Premier League’s American tour. I drove down to New Jersy to watch Brighton play Newcastle in a soccer match. The stadium was sold out.
supervisor works to make Brighton more diverse, sustainable. He discusses plans for a new community center
