Vol 37 • No. 10
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Chaparro is ‘doing interesting stuff that could affect aging’
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By Jennifer Comes From his desk, Alex Chaparro is a university administrator — focused, results-oriented, busy meeting deadlines. But he's a little bit Walter Mitty as well. He thinks of himself as more of an investor and matchmaker who connects graduate students with research opportunities that could keep aging citizens engaged in community life for as long as possible. “My job is to find creative, innovative faculty doing interesting stuff that could affect aging,” said Chaparro, director of Wichita State University's Regional Institute on Aging (RIA), a virtual research collaboration center. “I help them understand the potential in their research.” There's quite a bit more to it, of course: Being aware of the many
types of research under way across Wichita State's various schools and colleges; matching researchers from within the university to help them develop a shared research focus; and introducing them to potential funders with an interest in their work. Chaparro said it’s important to “let people know that we exist, and that there is an active Photo by Rob Howes and growing communi- Dr. Alex Chaparro and his colleague, Dr. ty of researchers doing Jibo He, work with Marcie Nelson. important work related their work may offer real solutions for to aging.” helping an ever-graying society cope The work Chaparro loves best is encouraging young students to expand with aging. their perspectives, to think about how See Chaparro, page 10
Lost expressions? ‘Don’t have a hissy fit’ By Richard Lederer Some old expressions have become obsolete because of the inexorable march of technology. These phrases include "Don't touch that dial," "Carbon copy," "You sound like a broken record" and "Hung out to dry." Back in the olden days we had a lot of moxie. We'd put on our best bib and tucker to straighten up and fly right. Heavens to Betsy! Gee whillikers! Jumping Jehoshaphat! Holy moley! We were in like Flynn and living the life of Riley, and even a regular guy couldn't accuse us of being a knucklehead, a nincompoop or a pill. Not for all the tea in China!
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Back in the olden days, life used to be swell, but when's the last time anything was swell? Swell has gone the way of beehives, pageboys and the D.A.; of spats, knickers, fedoras, poodle skirts, saddle shoes and pedal pushers. Oh, my aching back. Kilroy was here. But he isn't anymore. We wake up from what surely has been just a short nap, and before we can say, “Well I'll be a monkey's uncle!” or “This is a fine kettle of fish!,” we discover that the words we grew up with, the words that seemed omnipresent as oxygen, have vanished with scarcely a notice from our tongues and our pens and our keyboards. See Slang, page 21
Central Plains Area Agency on Aging or call your county Department on Aging: 1-855-200-2372
September 2016
Landon for president in 1936
By Tom Emery One of the most enduring figures of Kansas’ political history is Alf Landon, a two-term governor who was the Republican nominee for President in 1936. His longevity and folksy humor made him the “grand old man” of the Grand Old Party in a lifetime that spanned a century. Landon lost in a landslide to Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1936 campaign, though his wit was still on display. He later called himself “an oilman who never made a million, a lawyer who never had a case, and a politician who carried only Maine and Vermont.” Born on Sept. 9, 1887 in West Middlesex, Pa., Alfred Mossman Landon was educated at Marietta Academy in southern Ohio before moving to Independence with his family at age 17. He graduated from the University of Kansas with a law degree in 1908, following the wishes of his father, an oilman. Landon landed a job as a bookkeeper at an Independence bank, earning $75 to $90 a month. He saved enough to invest in oil, and established his own oil business in 1912. That same year, he attended the Progressive, or Bull Moose, national convention in Chicago. It backed former President Theodore Roosevelt, splintering the Republican Party. Landon initially belonged to the Progressive Party and served as its chairman, but later switched to the See Landon, page 8
Butler County: (316) 775-0500 or 1-800- 279-3655 Harvey County: (316) 284-6880 or 1-800-279-3655