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PROFILES OF OUR COMMUNITY
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SUDOKU by Myles Mellor Each Sudoku puzzle consists of a 9X9 grid that has been subdivided into nine smaller grids of 3X3 squares. To solve the puzzle, each row, column and box must contain each of the numbers 1 to 9. Puzzles come in three grades: easy, medium and difficult. Level: Medium Last week’s solution:
SOLUTION SOLUTION SOLUTION SOLUTION See today’s solution in next week’s issue.
On Life and Love After 50: By Tom Blake
The AARP Life@50+ in Los Angeles Inspiring E ach year, AARP’s Life@50+ National Event and Expo is held at a different city around the country. This year’s event was conveniently close—at the Los Angeles Convention Center—so my partner Greta and I attended it for two days. We’ve attended many of these events. We enjoy going because it’s always an enriching experience and an incredible value for the cost, a $25 entry fee for AARP members, $35 for non-members. No where else would you ever be able to see and hear such an array of incredible speakers and presenters that make it so rewarding. For example, the opening show at the Nokia Center was hosted by the dynamic and likeable James “JB” Brown, the host of The NFL Today on CBS. Brown is more than a sportscaster, he was a standout basketball player at Harvard and is a founding partner of the Washington Nationals baseball team. The AARP organization likes to have fun. Since former Miami Dolphin quarterback
San Clemente Times October 13–19, 2011
On Life and Love After 50 By Tom Blake
Dan Marino turned 50 a few days before the event, and is also on The NFL Today with JB, the AARP presented Marino with a giant (2 foot by 3 foot) AARP fire-engine red membership card. Before Marino exited the stage, he tossed a perfect 15-yard spiral
pass to JB. Then, the opening show took on a more serious tone. JB introduced Jane Goodall, the incredible 75-year-old woman who has devoted her life to the study and protection of chimpanzees and their habitat in Tanzania’s Gombe National Park. Goodall inspired the audience by speaking about the threats for hope about the future of our planet. In 1977, she established the Jane Goodall Institute, which has a program called Roots & Shoots (www.rootsandshoots.org), a
youth-driven, global network of tens of thousands of members in more than 120 countries. Then, the opening show took on a lighter side when Carol Burnett and funnyman Tim Conway had a conversation about their 11-year run on the The Carol Burnett Show. Conway has to be one of the funniest people to ever have graced the stage. He answered audience questions with razor-sharp, improvised humor. Greta and I were invited by AARP, along with other journalists, to interview many of the celebrities. When one reporter asked Conway, “What do you do with your time now that you’re older?” Conway looked at his watch and responded, “At 8 a.m., I start drinking.” The AARP annual event always has wonderful entertainment at night. Greta and I agreed that Lionel Richie put on one of the best concerts we’ve ever seen. For us, the highlight of day two of the annual event was being able to interview
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basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and movie producer Spike Lee, who appeared together. They spoke for an hour about life, basketball and Kareem’s new sports documentary, On the Shoulders of Giants, a story about a 1940s basketball team called the Harlem Rens. In 2010, Kareem founded The Skyhook Foundation, (www.kareemabduljabbar.com) a charity with a mission to motivate young people to pursue higher education through mentoring by people all over the country. There are so many choices of things to do at the annual event that it’s hard to squeeze them all in. Next year, the annual event is in New Orleans on September 20-22. If you can swing it, start planning now. Tom Blake is a Dana Point business owner and San Clemente resident who has authored books on middle-aged dating. To comment on his column, email him at TompBlake@ gmail.com. See his website at www.FindingLoveAfter50.com. SC
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