February 2023 | DC Beacon

Author made history as a baby

By Margaret Foster

When more than 250,000 Americans gathered to hear Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Aug. 28, 1963, a family of three was quietly making history in Baltimore.

Baltimore native Sharon Langley was only 11 months old when her parents, Charles and Marian Langley, brought her to Gwynn Oak Amusement Park. Like many places in America, including Glen Echo Park in this metro area, Gwynn Oak had barred Black people since it opened in 1893.

After eight years of nonviolent protests and hundreds of arrests for trespassing, the park’s owners finally agreed to open its gates to Black families.

The Langleys, who lived near the park, had hoped to go to the march in Washington, where King gave his speech, but they couldn’t find a babysitter for Sharon. Instead, they waited in line to enter Gwynn Oak, where Sharon, in a pink dress, became the first African American child to ride the merry-go-round.

“Someone had to be willing to take that step and take that chance,” Langley said. “It was a part of our family’s expectation — the idea that you did not have to accept things the way they had always been.”

Now an elementary school administrator in Los Angeles, Langley has published a children’s book about that historic day. A Ride to Remember: A Civil Rights Story, coauthored by historian Amy Nathan, was published in 2020 after almost a decade in the making.

Langley, who has worked as a teacher and literacy coach, concedes that “it’s hard for [children today] to accept or understand that [segregation] is a part of Ameri-

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How

Nathan,

A new biography of Jackie O; plus, books about the White House, and Bob Levey on spoiling grandchildren page 30 FITNESS & HEALTH 6

k Tips to tame inflammation

k Is juice better for you than fruit?

MONEY 20

IN FOCUS FOR

PEOPLE

The Carnegie At Washingtonian Center: Engaging With The Community Benefits Everyone

Recent studies published by the National Institutes of Health confirm that older adults gain physical and mental health benefits from giving back to their communities though participation in philanthropic initiatives. The act of volunteering is associated with a reduction in symptoms of depression, better overall health, fewer functional limitations and greater longevity. The Carnegie at Washingtonian Center, an upcoming Kisco Signature senior living community being developed in the heart of Gaithersburg, has aligned its mission to create an elevated and vibrant lifestyle with philanthropic partnerships that offer opportunity to pursue passions and purpose to its future residents.

“It’s not just about giving back that makes the difference. The physical and emotional benefits from volunteering can improve brain and heart health,” explains Libbi Hash, national director of wellness programming for Kisco. “Oftentimes, we see residents get past their physical limitations and thrive in the feeling of doing something that makes a difference in someone else’s life. It gives them purpose, makes them smile and provides fulfillment.” For over 30 years, Kisco Senior Living has exemplified its outreach into the communities they serve with their mantra: Making a Difference Every Day®.

One example of the philanthropic initiatives featured at The Carnegie at Washingtonian Center is a partnership between Link Generations and The Gaithersburg Book Festival, two local organizations that seek to bridge the gap between youth and seniors while fostering interests in reading, writing and literary conversation. Together, they have created a unique reading experience: The Intergenerational Book Club. Hosted monthly at The Carnegie Discovery Center, located in the heart of Downtown Crown in Gaithersburg, seniors and youth from local schools will gain inspiration from each other as they share perspectives and ideas.

Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman, who spearheaded the start of the book festival in 2010, noted that this latest literary endeavor will be a highly positive and worthwhile experience for youth and seniors alike. “Books have a way of bridging gaps and bringing people together, so this latest literary partnership brought about with The Carnegie’s support is really special,” Ashman said. “There’s something magical that happens when you bring younger and older generations together like this, to talk about what they’ve learned and discuss how they were inspired by the written word. It’s likely each generation will be intrigued by what they hear and discover from one another,” he added.

Gene Smallwood, regional vice president of sales for Kisco, agrees. “As a Kisco signature community, life at The Carnegie is going to be centered around creating worthwhile experiences,” he says. “Having grown up in Montgomery County, I know firsthand how valuable this partnership will be for students in our community. We are creating a safe space for Gaithersburg’s seniors and local youth to learn from each other and appreciate both their differences and shared interests. This connection is the intent of our signature programming.”

In addition, The Carnegie supports other worthwhile community initiatives through its relationship with the Gaithersburg Parks, Art, and Recreation Corporation – a nonprofit organization that promotes awareness of and secures resources to support new and mature parks, arts and culture programs, and recreational activities in Gaithersburg. Since becoming the first business member of the G-PARC (Gaithersburg Parks, Arts and Recreation Corporation) Arts & Culture Alliance, The Carnegie has created a unique curated rotating art gallery of local artists in the Discovery Center. “We’re so appreciative to be able to showcase our talented artists through another venue in our community,” said Denise Kayser, chair of the G-PARC Arts & Culture Alliance. “We’re proud to partner with organizations like The Carnegie that support and believe in the importance of the arts and seek to help us expand our outreach.”

For more information on how you can participate in the philanthropic programs at The Carnegie at Washingtonian Center, call our team at 240-213-7383 or visit the community’s Discovery Center at 129 Ellington Blvd in Gaithersburg. Learn more at: lifeatthecarnegie.com

is a collaborative partnership with Link Generations and Gaithersburg Book Festival, hosted monthly at The Carnegie Discovery Center.

The Carnegie at Washingtonian Center will welcome residents in Spring 2024.

The curated rotating art gallery from local artists of the G-PARC Arts & Culture Alliance is on display at The Carnegie Discovery Center, open daily to the public.

Dear grandson…

My wife, Judy, and I were blessed with our first grandchild last month. Of course, the more pertinent fact is that our son and daughter-in-law were blessed with their first child.

It’s heartwarming to see one’s child become a parent. How clearly I remember when our son was an infant, and Judy and I were just figuring out what to do with him.

Now he has made it to adulthood and we get to watch him and our daughterin-law fall in love with their little one, even as they endure all the sleepless nights and messy chores that a newborn brings along.

few, as I imagine saying them to him.

Dear Grandson:

way in exploring and understanding our universe, in some ways, the more we learn, the more questions arise. So don’t fret: There will be plenty of figuring out left for you to do!

FROM THE PUBLISHER

By Stuart P. Rosenthal

It’s also already clear to us, as our friends have long told us, that grandparenthood will be even more of a blessing than parenthood, as it comes with the ability to return the child after a visit (and eventually to spoil him, at least now and then).

In the meantime, while our grandson is busy eating, sleeping and growing, I find myself reflecting on the many things I would like to share with him when he is older. You know, family lore, how to play “chopsticks” on the piano, embarrassing stories about his father, those sorts of things.

But seriously, I am making a mental list of thoughts that reflect the hopes and dreams I have for him and his generation. I’ll share a

You affect me in much the same way your father did after his birth: You remind me how miraculous it is that we have the power to generate another living being, separate from ourselves. At the same time, each new person is intimately connected to their parents, sharing parts of them in every one of their cells.

What a wondrous thing life is — from the single-celled paramecium to humankind!

(Aside to readers: Just take a look at the Wikipedia entry for paramecium, as I just did, and let me know if you don’t find it almost literally incredible — unbelievable — that such a tiny, blind and brainless thing can propel itself, find and process its food, defend itself from predators, reproduce and even exchange DNA with a fellow paramecium to rejuvenate itself.)

A paramecium makes a newborn infant like you look positively primitive. And yet, the potential within human life is incomparably greater, as you will come to realize over time.

In addition to those basic abilities we share with all living beings, we have minds that can think, question, understand and explore.

And though humankind has come a long

IN FOCUS FOR PEOPLE OVER 50

TheBeacon is a monthly newspaper dedicated to inform, serve, and entertain the citizens of the Greater Washington DC area, and is privately owned. Other editions serve Greater Baltimore and Howard County, Md. Readership exceeds 400,000.

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Publication of advertising contained herein does not necessarily constitute endorsement. Signed columns represent the opinions of the writers, and not necessarily the opinion of the publisher.

Publisher/Editor –Stuart P. Rosenthal

President/Associate Publisher –Judith K. Rosenthal

Executive Vice President – Gordon Hasenei

Managing Editor – Margaret Foster

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Dan Kelly, M.K. Phillips, Alan Spiegel

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We also have a soul that moves us to create completely new phenomena: music, fine art, works of literature and theatre, architecture and much more. You will soon start to enjoy these, and no doubt be moved to create works of art yourself.

In addition, we have abilities to draw elements out of the planet we live on to manufacture or craft completely new products: new fruits and vegetables, technology that works like magic to produce energy from the environment or connect us instantly to any other person in the world, as well as weapons that can both defend us from enemies and destroy every last human being on the planet.

What powers we have! What opportunities await you!

At the same time, you will find that other people you meet throughout life can be of very different types. Some will be loving and warm. Some will be cold and indifferent. Some will risk their life to help you, while others might threaten to take your life from you on a whim.

Considering how defenseless we all start

CORRECTION:

out, you’ll need to learn that people can do good and bad things (yes, the very same people), so we need to be careful and selfprotective at the same time as we remain open and loving. It’s not easy!

Indeed, perhaps the most complicated type of knowledge you will need to develop is emotional intelligence — how to understand yourself as well as other people, and how to relate to them through, and with, empathy.

I am excited to be able to watch you develop as a person, learning more and more about our amazing planet and universe and their many mysteries.

I imagine you will one day make your own contributions to the ever-growing knowledge base we are acquiring about life and space and time — and each other. Indeed, I expect that I and others will learn many things from you one day.

But whatever you accomplish in the future, you have already brought indescribable, unbounded happiness to your parents and grandparents.

Thank you for coming into our lives.

Some like it hot: In our January issue, the recipe for baked halibut appeared to call for “teaspoon” of red pepper flakes. We should have said “¼ teaspoon.” We hope no one suffered from this error on our part.

Letters to the editor

Readers are encouraged to share their opinions on any matter addressed in the Beacon as well as on political and social issues of the day. Mail your Letter to the Editor to The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915, or email to info@thebeaconnewspapers.com. Please include your name, address and telephone number for verification.

Dear Editor:

I’ll be 90 in a few months, and I’m grateful for old age. My body is racked with arthritis and I use a walker. Yet the limits placed on me enable me to explore other resources.

Memories, both good and difficult, enlighten my mind and enable healing or insight. So many never reach old age — or spend their years reminiscing about “the good old days” — but I make each day a “good day,” as each one is a gift from God.

I enjoy limited cooking, reading, writing, word find (to keep my mind healthy) and just BEING — activities I never had time for when running a home, working, raising three children and caring for my aging parents.

My children, grandchildren and four great-grandchildren are also a wrapped gift of delight.

Rosemarie LoMonaco Woodbridge, VA

Website: www.theBeaconNewspapers.com

Submissions: The Beacon welcomes reader contributions. Deadline for editorial is the 10th of the month preceding the month of publication. Deadline for ads is the 15th of the month preceding the month of publication. See page 39 for classified advertising details. Please mail or email all submissions.

© Copyright 2023 The Beacon Newspapers, Inc.

Dear Editor:

My experience is that many primary care doctors in the Washington metro area are opting out of Medicare, meaning they won’t bill and accept payment from Medicare.

This is a serious public policy issue. If we’re 65 or older, we all pay Medicare pre-

miums, and some also pay a Medicare premium surcharge. Most of us also pay for a Medicare supplement and prescription drug insurance.

Then, on top of that, we have to pay the full cost of doctors who have opted out. As more and more doctors opt out, we will find ourselves in this situation [even more frequently].

Moreover, many retirees are being involuntarily pushed into Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. This just happened to me. Basically, this is the privatization of Medicare. A for-profit health insurance company takes over for Medicare, and decides whether and how to pay my claims.

Lots of MA plans throw up barriers to care (limited network of healthcare providers, pre-authorization requirements, etc.) and lots of docs don’t like them either.

As far as I understand, the Biden administration backs MA in spite of their rhetoric supporting Medicare as a public benefit. So does AARP.

In my mind, [these changes] make national health insurance look like a reasonable alternative.

Sharon Simon Silver Spring,

MD

Health

FDA WARNING

When seeking stem cell treatment at home or abroad, do your research first

TOP-SHELF TOOLS

Can’t reach that? These reacher-grabbers are among the best on the market

ANNOYING AHEMS

Constantly clearing your throat could indicate acid reflux, nerve damage or more

JUICE VS. FRUIT

The juicing fad doesn’t measure up to whole fruits and their fortifying fiber

How to prevent unhealthy inflammation

By Robert H. Shmerling, M.D.

Although inflammation serves a vital role in the body’s defense and repair systems, chronic inflammation can cause more harm than good. What can we do about it?

In fact, there’s a lot you can do. And you may already be doing it. That’s because some of the most important ways to fight inflammation are measures you should be taking routinely.

Let’s take a look at key elements of fighting chronic inflammation: prevention, detection and treatment. Here are six of the most effective ways to ward off inflammation:

Choose a healthy diet. Individual foods have a rather small impact on bodywide inflammation, so no, eating more kale isn’t likely to help much. But making sure you eat lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats and legumes — sometimes called an anti-inflammatory diet — may reduce inflammation and lower risk for chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease.

Not only can these diets help reduce inflammation on their own, but replacing foods that increase inflammation (such as sugary drinks and highly processed foods) benefits your body, too. Exercise regularly. Physical activity

may help counter some types of inflammation through regulation of the immune system. For example, exercise has anti-inflammatory effects on white blood cells and chemical messengers called cytokines.

Maintain a healthy weight. Because excess fat in cells stimulates body-wide inflammation, avoiding excess weight is key.

Keeping your weight in check also reduces the risk of Type 2 diabetes, a condition that itself causes chronic inflammation.

Manage stress. Repeatedly triggered stress hormones contribute to chronic inflammation. Yoga, deep breathing and mindfulness practices can help calm your nervous system.

Do not smoke. Toxins inhaled in cigarette smoke trigger inflammation in the airways, damage lung tissue, and increase the risk of lung cancer and other health problems.

Other prevention steps. It’s important to prevent inflammatory conditions, such as:

• Infection: Take measures to avoid infections that may cause chronic inflammation. HIV, hepatitis C and COVID-19 are examples. Getting routine vaccinations are examples of effective preventive measures.

• Cancer: Get cancer screening on the schedule recommended by your doctors.

For example, a colonoscopy can detect and remove polyps that could later become cancerous.

• Allergies: By avoiding triggers of asthma, eczema or allergic reactions you can reduce the burden of inflammation in your body.

Do you need tests to detect inflammation?

While testing for inflammation is not routinely recommended, it can be helpful in some situations. For example, tests for inflammation can help to diagnose certain conditions (such as temporal arteritis) or monitor how well treatment is controlling an inflammatory condition (such as rheumatoid arthritis).

However, there are no perfect tests for inflammation. And the best way to know if inflammation is present is to have routine medical care.

How is inflammation treated?

Anti-inflammatory medicines can be helpful to treat an inflammatory condition. And we have numerous FDA-approved options that are widely available — many in inexpensive generic versions. What’s more, these medicines have been around for decades.

Corticosteroids, such as prednisone, are the gold standard. These powerful anti-inflammatory medicines can be lifesaving in a variety of conditions, ranging from asthma to allergic reactions.

Other anti-inflammatory medicines can also be quite effective. Ibuprofen, naproxen and aspirin are among the 20 or so nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that come as pills, tablets, liquids taken by mouth, products applied to skin, injections and even suppositories.

Yet relying on anti-inflammatory medicines alone for chronic inflammation is often not the best choice. That’s because these medicines may need to be taken for long periods of time and often cause unacceptable side effects.

It’s far better to seek and treat the cause of inflammation. For example, among people with rheumatoid arthritis, anti-inflammatory medicines such as ibuprofen or steroids may be a short-term approach that helps ease symptoms, yet joint damage may progress unabated.

Controlling the underlying condition with medicines like methotrexate or etanercept can protect the joints and eliminate the

See INFLAMMATION , page 7

Lack of sleep? Here’s what to eat, drink

By Jessica Ball, M.S., RD

Sleep is super important — not only for feeling energized and focused, but also for immunity, heart health, glowing skin and weight stabilization.

If you have a bad night of sleep, don’t sweat it too much. Lean on the following foods and drinks to help give you a boost until you’re able to get the rest you need:

Water : Water is the most important drink when you are short on sleep. Dehydration can lead to overeating, moodiness and headaches, which can be especially draining if you’re lacking sleep.

Staying hydrated will help you feel energized in the short and long term. It’s also important for your brain, skin, heart and more. Carry a water bottle with you to make it easy to sip throughout the day.

Coffee and tea: Even though drinking water is best, there’s nothing wrong with having a moderate amount of caffeine, especially if you’re groggy.

Plus, there are some potential health benefits from drinking coffee and tea. Beyond boosting mood and increasing alertness, compounds in coffee may even improve heart health, brain health, diabetes and more.

Tea contains compounds that, when regularly consumed, may decrease stroke and cancer risk, and it also, when decaffeinated, can improve sleep in the long term.

Fiber-rich foods: There are several reasons why fiber is great for sleep. Fiber helps keep blood sugar steady for longer periods of time, so you can avoid the spikes and crashes that send our energy levels on a roller coaster.

Eating enough fiber can also improve sleep quality. Foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes are packed with healthy fiber.

Nuts and seeds: Nuts and seeds are packed with healthy fats, protein and fiber to help you feel full longer, and are a great

option for sustained energy when you hit an afternoon lull.

Nuts like walnuts are also great sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which research shows can promote healthy sleep. Seeds like chia seeds and flaxseeds are packed with fiber.

Eggs: Eggs are high in protein, which makes them filling and satisfying. They are quite versatile and, despite recent price increases, affordable. Eggs are also a great source of vitamin B12, which helps our cells metabolize energy and function at our best.

Calcium-rich foods: Foods like dairy, soybeans, sardines and leafy greens are worthwhile additions to your plate when you need energy. They’re high in protein, to keep you feeling fueled, and also are packed with calcium.

A lack of calcium can make it challenging to get quality sleep, possibly because of calcium’s link to healthy blood pressure.

Iron-rich foods: Not getting enough iron can lead to general fatigue and even

anemia. Iron is the main nutrient that delivers oxygen throughout our bodies.

To help you feel energized on a regular basis, make sure to include iron-rich foods like spinach, kale, red meat and clams in your eating pattern. Clams in particular are also rich in energy-boosting nutrients like vitamin B12 and coenzyme Q10.

Bottom line

Sleep is important for short- and longterm health and wellness. Try adjusting your routine to help you get at least seven hours a night.

For days when you didn’t catch enough zs, these foods can give you a boost and set you up for better sleep in the nights to come.

EatingWell is a magazine and website devoted to healthy eating as a way of life. Online at eatingwell.com.

© 2022 Meredith Corporation. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Inflammation

From page 6

need for other anti-inflammatory drugs.

The bottom line

Even though we know that chronic inflammation is closely linked to a number of chronic diseases, quashing inflammation isn’t the only approach, or the best one, in all cases.

Fortunately, you can take measures to fight or even prevent unhealthy inflammation. Living an “anti-inflammatory life” isn’t always easy. But if you can do it, there’s an added bonus: Measures considered to be anti-inflammatory are generally good for your health, with benefits that reach well beyond reducing inflammation.

© 2022 Harvard University. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

FREE TAI CHI/YOGA COMBO CLASS

Combine yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong and meditation for a healthy body and a peaceful mind. This program can be done seated on a chair or a mat. This free class takes place on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Gaithersburg Library, 18330 Montgomery Village Ave., Gaithersburg, MD. To register, visit mcpl.libnet.info and click on events or call (240) 773-9490.

DEMENTIA 101

Learn the difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and find out about current treatments, non-drug therapies, and better testing methods on the horizon. This free presentation takes place on Fri., Feb. 17 from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Centerville Library, 14200 St. Germain Dr., Centreville, VA. To register, visit bit.ly/DementiaPresentation.

BOLLYWOOD DANCE FITNESS (VIRTUAL)

Instructor Aparna Rao leads a fun Bollywood dance fitness class. This free event takes place on Tue., Feb 21 from 6 to 7 p.m. online. An invitation to attend will be sent to registered participants a day before the event starts. No experience is necessary. Register at bit.ly/DanceFitnessClass.

TRAIN YOUR BRAIN CLUB

Work on coloring pages, crossword puzzles, sudoku, word searches, board games, jigsaw puzzles, mazes and many more fun activities to sharpen the brain while meeting other older adults. This free group meets on Thu., Feb. 23 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Reston Library, 11925 Bowman Towne Dr., Reston, VA. To register, visit bit.ly/BrainClub.

MAIL OR EMAIL FOR FREE INFORMATION

For free materials on housing communities and health studies, just complete and clip this coupon and mail or take a picture and email it to the Beacon.

Housing Communities

District of Columbia

❏ Chevy Chase House (See ad on page 13)

❏ Vida Senior Residences (See ad on page 10)

Maryland

❏ Brooke Grove (See ad on page 11, 16)

❏ Carnegie at Washingtonian Center (See ads on pages 2, 3)

❏ Churchill Senior Living (See ad on page 8)

❏ Covenant Village (See ad on page 10)

❏ Emerson House (See ad on page 10)

❏ Grandview, The (See ad on page 5)

❏ HIP Home Sharing Program (See ad on page 26)

❏ Homecrest House (See ad on page 17)

❏ Homewood at Frederick (See ad on page 14)

❏ Park View Bladensburg (See ad on page 29)

❏ Park View Columbia (See ad on page 29)

❏ Park View Emerson (See ad on page 29)

❏ Park View Laurel (See ad on page 29)

❏ Riderwood (See ad on page 1, 5)

Virginia

❏ Ashby Ponds (See ad on page 1, 5)

❏ Culpepper Garden (See ad on page 17)

❏ Falcons Landing (See ad on page 40)

❏ Greenspring (See ads on pages 1, 5)

❏ Lockwood House (See ad on page 10)

❏ Sommerset (See ad on page 9)

❏ Sunrise Old Town (See ad on page 9)

❏ Woodleigh Chase (See ad on page 5)

Clinical Health Studies

❏ Clonal Hematopoiesis of Indeterminate Potential (CHIP) Study (See article on page 16)

❏ Exercise Research Study (See ad on page 16)

BEACON BITS

FDA warnings about stem cell therapies

Courtesy of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Stem cell therapies may offer the potential to treat diseases or conditions for which few treatments exist.

Sometimes called the body’s “master cells,” stem cells are the cells that develop into blood, brain, bones and all of the body’s organs. They have the potential to repair, restore, replace and regenerate cells, and could possibly be used to treat many medical conditions and diseases.

Today, doctors routinely use stem cells that come from bone marrow or blood in transplant procedures to treat patients with cancer and disorders of the blood and immune system.

But the U.S. Food and Drug Administra-

tion is concerned that some patients seeking cures and remedies are vulnerable to stem cell treatments that are illegal and potentially harmful.

FDA regulates only U.S. use

The FDA has the authority to regulate stem cell products in the United States.

The only stem cell-based products that are FDA-approved for use in the United States consist of blood-forming stem cells (hematopoietic progenitor cells) derived from cord blood.

These products are approved for limited use in patients with disorders that affect the body system that is involved in the production of blood (called the hematopoietic system).

These FDA-approved stem cell products are listed on the FDA website. Bone marrow also is used for these treatments but is generally not regulated by the FDA for this use.

With limited exceptions, new products being investigated must go through a thorough FDA review process as investigators prepare to determine the safety and effectiveness of products in well-controlled human studies, called clinical trials. The FDA has reviewed many stem cell products for use in these studies. (You can learn more about clinical trials on the FDA’s website.)

That said, some clinics may inappropriately advertise stem cell clinical trials without submitting to the FDA’s review process. Some clinics also may falsely advertise that FDA review and approval of the stem cell therapy is unnecessary.

Safety concerns

All medical treatments have benefits and risks. But unproven stem cell therapies can be particularly unsafe.

For instance, attendees at a 2016 FDA public workshop discussed several cases of severe adverse events. One patient became blind due to an injection of stem cells into the eye. Another patient received a spinal cord injection that caused the growth of a spinal tumor.

Other potential safety concerns for unproven treatments include:

• Administration site reactions,

• The ability of cells to move from placement sites and change into inappropriate cell types or multiply,

• Failure of cells to work as expected, and

• The growth of tumors.

Note: Even if stem cells are your own cells, there are still safety risks such as those noted above. In addition, if cells are manipulated after removal, there is a risk of contamination of the cells.

Before trying stem cell therapies

You may be told that because these are your cells, the FDA does not need to review or approve the treatment. That is not true [in the United States].

If you’re considering treatment in the United States:

• Ask if the FDA has reviewed the treatment. Ask your healthcare provider to confirm this information. Ask for this information before getting treatment — even if the stem cells are your own.

• Request the facts and ask questions if you don’t understand. Make sure you understand the entire process and known risks before you sign.

If you’re considering treatment in another country:

• Learn about regulations that cover products in that country.

• Know that the FDA does not have oversight of treatments done in other countries. The FDA typically has little information about foreign establishments or their stem cell products.

• Be cautious. If you’re considering a stem cell-based product in a country that may not require regulatory review of clinical studies, it may be hard to know if the experimental treatment is reasonably safe.

The best tools for reaching and grabbing

Dear Savvy Senior,

Can you recommend some good reacher-grabber tools for seniors with back or hip problems who need help picking things up off the ground? I bought a cheap one a few months ago that doesn’t work very well. I would like to find one that does.

Bad Back Betty

Dear Betty,

A good “reacher-grabber” is a very practical and popular tool for anyone who struggles with injuries, arthritis or loss of mobility.

By Jim Miller

It works like an extension of your arm allowing you to reach down and pick things up off the ground without bending or stooping over. It can also help with reaching and grabbing things in high overhead places, as well as areas that are difficult to get to.

But with so many different types of reacher-grabbers on the market today, finding a good one that works well for you is not always easy. Depending on your needs, here are some top-rated products to consider:

All-purpose: For retrieving small and medium-sized items, the “Ettore Grip’n Grab” is a top option that can handle most chores.

This 34-inch-long tool has a soft comfortable trigger handgrip and a rubberized jaw that’s strong enough to lift objects up to 5 pounds and up to 4 inches wide, yet sensitive enough to pick up something as small as a dime.

The jaw also rotates and locks at 90 degrees for vertical or horizontal use to help you reach things in awkward spaces.

Lightweight: If you want a reacher primarily for retrieving small lightweight items around the house, the “RMS Featherweight the Original Reacher” is a top pick.

Available in 32- and 26-inch lengths, it’s made from ultra-lightweight aluminum, and has a trigger-style handgrip with a serrated jaw that provides a secure grip when lifting objects.

It also has a magnet built into the tip for picking up lightweight metal objects like paperclips, and a small hook (or horn) that aids in retrieving things like clothes, shoes or keys.

It even has a built-in clip on the arm so you can attach it to canes, walkers and wheelchairs. However, because of its super-lightweight design, it doesn’t work well at retrieving heavier items, like

canned goods from shelves.

Foldable: For easier storage, the top selling folding grabber is the “Zayad Reacher Grabber Tool,” which is 32 inches long and has a slip-joint in the arm that allows it to easily fold in half.

It also has a soft ergonomic grip with a rubberized, rotating jaw that can lift objects weighing up to three pounds and up to 4 inches wide.

Heavy-duty: For heavier-lifting jobs or for outdoor use, the “Unger Nifty Nabber”

is a top choice. Available in 36- and 48-inch lengths, this sturdy tool has a rubber-coated heavy-duty claw that grips small, large and odd-shaped items with ease.

It also has a built-in magnet for picking up small metal objects, an ergonomic squeeze-grip handle, and can lift 8 pounds.

Where to buy

You can buy reacher-grabbers at many

No More Knee Pain!

Hoow w to Prep

f foorRetireme r Retirement

are ent

SAVVY SENIOR

Health Shorts

Your wish is its command

Researchers have demonstrated that individuals who cannot voluntarily move the upper and lower parts of their body can, after extensive training, operate wheelchairs with their minds, even in a natural, cluttered environment.

In the small study, three persons who were unable to use their arms and legs due to spinal injuries were able to move their wheelchair using only their thoughts, which were translated into mechanical commands.

“We show that mutual learning of both the user and the brain-machine interface

algorithm are both important for users to successfully operate such wheelchairs,” said José del R. Millán, a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin.

Each of the participants underwent training sessions three times per week for two to five months. The participants wore a skullcap that detected their brain activities through electroencephalography (EEG), which would be converted to mechanical commands for the wheelchairs via a brainmachine interface (BMI) device.

The participants were asked to control the direction of the wheelchair by thinking about moving their body parts. Specifically, they needed to think about moving both hands to turn left and both feet to turn right.

“We see from the EEG results that the subject has consolidated a skill of modulating different parts of their brains to gener-

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ate a pattern for ‘go left’ and a different pattern for ‘go right,’” Millán said.

By the end of the training, all participants were able to move their wheelchairs across a cluttered hospital room, to varying degrees of success. They were asked to navigate around obstacles, such as a room divider and hospital beds, which were set up to simulate the real-world environment.

John Schieszer

Diet may help lower hip fracture risk

Increasing intake of protein and drinking regular cups of tea or coffee may be a good way for women to reduce their risk of suffering a hip fracture, according to new research.

Food scientists have found that for women, a 25 gram a day increase in protein was associated with, on average, a 14% reduction in their risk of hip fracture. In a surprise twist, they also discovered that every additional cup of tea or coffee they drank was linked with a 4% reduction in risk.

Writing in the journal Clinical Nutrition, the researchers noted that the protective benefits were greater for women who were underweight, with a 25 gram/day increase in protein reducing their risk by 45%.

The protein could come in any form: meat, dairy or eggs, and for people on a

Tools

From page 9

pharmacies, retail, medical equipment and home improvement stores. Because they are specialty items, however, the selection at those locations may be very limited.

Your best bet is to buy one online at Amazon.com, which sells all of the top

plant-based diet, from beans, nuts or legumes. Four eggs would provide around 25 grams of protein as would a 4-ounce steak or piece of salmon.

The observational study reviewed records from more than 26,000 middleaged women for whom they were able to identify associations between factors in diet and hip fractures, which were identified through hospital records.

Women who are underweight may be more likely to have reduced bone mineral density and muscle mass. Increasing intakes of several foods and nutrients, especially protein, may help reduce hip fracture risk more in underweight women than in healthy or overweight women by helping to establish or restore bone and muscle health. However, the researchers caution that these findings require further confirmation.

Tea and coffee both contain biologically active compounds called polyphenols and phytoestrogens, which may help to maintain bone health.

The data used in the study came from the UK Women’s Cohort Study, which recruited participants between 1995 and 1998. At the time they entered the study, the women ranged between 35 and 69 years of age. Of the 26,318 women involved in the study, 822 cases of hip fracture were identified (3.1% of the participants).

John Schieszer

reacher-grabbers. Most sell for between $10 and $20. Just type the product name in the search bar to find it.

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

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Always clearing your throat? What to do

By Marcelo Campos, M.D. Ahem! Ahem!

Ever feel the need to move the mucus that annoyingly sits all the way at the back of your mouth? Most of us do at one time or another. The sensation usually lasts for just a few days when dealing with symptoms of a common cold.

But what happens if throat clearing lingers for weeks or months? That nagging feeling may be uncomfortable for the person who has the problem, and might also bother friends and family who hear the characteristic growling sound.

What causes all that throat clearing? There are many causes, but let’s focus on four of the most common culprits. Keep in mind that throat clearing lasting more than two to three weeks deserves an evalu-

ation from a medical professional.

Post-nasal drip

Post-nasal drip is probably the most common cause of throat clearing. Your nose makes nasal mucus to help clear infections and allergens, or in response to irritants such as cold weather.

A frequently runny nose can be quite disturbing. Just as mucus can drip toward the front of the nose, some mucus may also drip from the back of the nose toward the throat, sometimes getting close to the vocal cords. If the mucus is too thick to swallow, we try to force it out with a loud AHEM!

Solutions: The best solution to this prob-

lem is to treat the cause of post-nasal drip. An easy way to do it without medications is to try daily nasal irrigation with a neti pot.

If you notice no improvement, different types of nasal sprays may help. It is best to discuss these options with a health professional, because some sprays may cause your symptoms to worsen. The key is to understand what is causing excess mucus production.

Stomach acid reflux

Another common cause of throat clearing is laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). Acid in your stomach helps digest food. But excess stomach acid sometimes flows backward up the esophagus that links throat to stomach. This may splash on the vocal cords or throat, causing irritation and throat clearing.

Not everyone with acid reflux experiences a burning sensation in the throat. Nor does everyone have heartburn, which is a classic sign of a related condition called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Some people merely feel an urge to clear their throat or have a persistent cough.

Solutions: Eating an anti-reflux diet and not lying down shortly after eating may help in some cases. Often, people have to use medications for several weeks or

months to lower stomach acid production.

Certain medications

A common class of heart and blood pressure medicines can also cause throat clearing. These are called ACE inhibitors. The funny thing is that these medications can trigger the urge even after years of people taking them daily without experiencing that symptom.

If that’s the cause, there is an easy fix. The sensation should be completely gone after stopping the medication, although in some cases it can take several weeks to abate.

Note: It is very important to talk to your doctor before stopping a prescribed medicine, so you can switch to something else.

Nerve problems

Damaged nerves responsible for sensation around the throat area is another possible cause. These issues are more difficult to treat, and are usually diagnosed after most of the other possibilities are ruled out. People often have this type of throat clearing for many years.

Solutions: A multidisciplinary team with neurologists and ear, nose and throat doctors (otolaryngologists) may need to in-

Avocados linked to heart health

The creamy, pale green flesh of an avocado is full of nutrients closely tied to heart health. Now, a long-term study finds that eating at least two servings per week is linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

Study co-author Dr. Frank Hu, the Frederick J. Stare Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH), puts this finding in perspective: “This study adds to the evidence to support the benefits of healthy fat sources like avocados to help prevent cardiovascular disease,” he said.

A key take-home message is to substitute avocados for less-healthy foods such as butter, cheese and processed meats.

Clearing throat

From page 12

vestigate the problem. Medicines that change how a person perceives sensation can help.

There are many other reasons for throat clearing. Some people, for instance, just have a tic of frequently clearing their throat. Noticing any clues that point to the root cause can help. Maybe constant throat

The study included more than 110,000 people involved in two long-running Harvard studies: the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Most of the participants were white; they ranged in age from 30 to 75, and were free of heart disease and cancer when the study began.

Researchers assessed the participants’ diets via questionnaires given at the start of the study and then every four years. One question asked how much and how often people ate avocado. A serving was considered a half an avocado or one-half cup, cubed.

During the 30-year follow-up, researchers documented 9,185 heart attacks and 5,290 strokes among the participants. Compared with people who never or rarely ate avocados, those who ate at least two servings each week had a 16% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 21% lower risk of experiencing a heart attack or related problem due to coronary artery disease.

clearing happens only during spring, pointing toward allergies, or perhaps after drinking coffee, a reason to consider reflux.

An observant eye and jotting notes in a diary may help shine a light on the problem and its possible solutions. Very often, when the cause remains elusive, your primary care doctor may recommend a trial of treatment as a way to diagnose the problem.

© 2022 Harvard University. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Research shows that replacing foods high in saturated fat (such as butter, cheese and meat) with those rich in unsaturated fats (such as avocados, nuts and seeds) helps lower blood levels of harmful LDL cholesterol, a key culprit in coronary artery disease.

One serving of avocado also provides up to 20% of the daily recommended dietary intake of fiber, a nutrient that’s

often lacking in the typical American diet. Fiber-rich diets may lower heart disease risk as much as 30%, probably because fiber helps lower not only cholesterol, but also blood pressure and body weight.

—Harvard Heart Letter

John Schieszer is an award-winning national journalist and radio and podcast broadcaster of The Medical Minute. He can be reached at medicalminutes@gmail.com.

Gentle Hatha Yoga is perfect for those who are just starting with yoga, are less mobile, or want a more relaxed yoga experience. This free virtual class, taught by a certified yoga instructor, takes place on Wed., March 8 from noon to 1 p.m. on Zoom. Join the meeting at us06web.zoom.us/j/86300724361, or dial in by calling (301) 715-8592 and using meeting ID 863 0072 4361. For more information, call the Chevy Chase Library at (240) 773-9590.

Tuesday, February 21 2 p.m.

CHEVY

Is juice really healthier than whole fruit?

By Lori Zanteson

Juicing is on the fast track from fad to full-on health craze. Thanks to an explosion of juice bars and celebrity endorsements, greens, super fruits, celery or beetroot juice straight up are “the new black.” Healthy as these juicy concoctions may seem, there’s a tall order of hype muddling science with slick marketing.

Why juices can be good for you

Juicing can be a great way to get much-

needed nutrients from fruits and vegetables, especially when most Americans fall short of the recommended five daily servings, which evidence suggests may help prevent chronic diseases.

Consumption of 100% fruit juice provides nutrients, including phytochemicals — plant compounds associated with health benefits. A large body of evidence shows that juice can be a part of a balanced diet, offering reduced risk of many diseases, such as cancers, neurodegenerative dis-

eases and cardiovascular diseases.

Juicing proponents say the body absorbs nutrients from juice more easily than from whole fruits and vegetables, and that juice removes toxins from the body, boosts the immune system, aids digestion and helps with weight loss.

But not better than whole

However, there is no sound scientific evidence that says extracted juices are any healthier than juice from the whole fruit and vegetable, no matter the marketing claim.

In addition, manufactured juices must, by law, be pasteurized, which means they are heated to high temperatures. That process, studies show, diminishes nutrients by as much as 70%.

Furthermore, while juices squeezed fresh from whole ingredients provide many of the valuable vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients of whole fruit, the healthy fiber — which includes the skins and their high concentration of phytochemicals and antioxidants — is discard-

ed. Without fiber, the body absorbs the sugar in juices more quickly, which can spike blood sugar levels [and loses the many benefits of the fiber, which we need].

In addition, most juice calories come from carbohydrates, packing a lot more sugar from fruits and even some vegetables than most people realize.

Go ahead and get your greens — or purples, yellows and pinks — in a glass. Juicing can be a fun and tasty way to ramp up fruit and vegetable intake as long as it’s balanced in a diet that includes fiber, lean proteins and healthy fats. (But when buying packaged juices, be sure to check labels for added sugars.)

Since homemade juices have no added preservatives, they will not last as long as the store-bought variety. When juicing at home, stick with small batches to consume right away.

Reprinted with permission from Environmental Nutrition, a monthly publication of Belvoir Media Group, LLC, 1-800829-5384, EnvironmentalNutrition.com.

BOOSTER SHOTS WORK! BOOSTER SHOTS WORK!

With the booster shot you’re 2.5 times less likely to get COVID-19. Don’t delay, protect yourself and loved ones.

#VaxxedTogether

Find a vaccine site at vaccines.gov Bring your vaccination record to expedite the process.

New health study seeks older volunteers

By Margaret Foster

Most of us have never heard of a condition called clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (also known as CHIP). But 10% of people over age 60 have the condition — and may not know it.

“It’s really common in older people,” said Emma Groarke, principal investigator of a

study on the condition at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She describes CHIP as “genetic changes that are found in blood cells that seem to predispose people to other diseases that are not blood disease.”

If you have CHIP, you’re more likely to have heart disease, for instance. Researchers at NIH’s National Heart, Lung,

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and Blood Institute want to find out why.

A study will observe people with CHIP to see how it leads to blood cancers and heart disease, and researchers will also look at other organs or diseases that are linked to the condition.

Recently discovered

You may be diagnosed with CHIP if you took a commercial blood test for an ancestry service such as 23andMe, or if your doctor ordered a specific blood test. It’s often overlooked, though.

In fact, researchers only recently discovered the condition. After combing through stored blood samples in a biobank, they discovered that many samples had mutations. They announced their findings in 2016.

“They saw that these mutations were very common in what were thought to be healthy people,” Groarke said. “The older you are, the more likely you are to have some of these mutations.”

But most of what scientists know about CHIP is from these stored blood samples. They’d like to learn more about the condition by following patients in real time.

“We want to track patients who have

these mutations and see what happens,” Groarke explained.

Volunteers are sought

In the new observational study, volunteers who have been diagnosed with CHIP will visit NIH for two or three days for a battery of tests, including a full physical, blood tests, vitamin level tests, cardiac tests, and lung and liver function tests.

Then they’ll come back once a year for 10 years, with retesting every one to three years, depending on the procedure.

Participating in the study may help future generations — and it’s a great way to get a thorough medical exam.

“You get a lot of free medical testing, and that will be sent to your doctor,” Groarke said. “If there’s anything abnormal, we would follow up and advise [patients] to go to a heart doctor or liver doctor,” for example.

It’s free to participate in the CHIP study, and your transportation costs may be covered.

To learn more, or to volunteer, call the NIH Clinical Center Office of Patient Recruitment at 1-866-444-8810.

Frozen corn makes a delicious cornbread

By America’s Test Kitchen

Adding whole corn kernels to the usual cornmeal in a cornbread recipe makes the cornbread extra good.

In this recipe, we puree the corn in a blender (along with buttermilk and enough light brown sugar to make the bread pleasantly but not overly sweet), which makes it easy to incorporate while eliminating tough, chewy kernels.

This cornbread is great served with chili and is also delicious on its own. Using frozen corn in the recipe allows you to enjoy this tasty morsel year-round.

Corny Cornbread

Serves 9

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil spray

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

¾ cup frozen corn

¼ cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with vegetable oil spray.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, corn-

meal, baking powder, baking soda and salt until combined.

3. Put buttermilk, corn and sugar in a blender. Place lid on top of blender and hold lid firmly in place with a folded dish towel. Process until combined, about 5 seconds.

4. Add eggs to blender, replace lid, and process until well combined, about 5 seconds. Corn lumps will remain.

5. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture. Use a rubber spatula to stir until mostly combined (leave some streaks of flour). Add melted butter and stir until just combined and there are no streaks of flour. Pour batter into the greased baking pan and smooth surface with spatula.

6. Place baking pan in oven and bake until cornbread is deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

7. Remove baking pan from oven and place on a cooling rack. Let cornbread cool for 10 minutes.

8. To remove cornbread, use oven mitts to flip the baking pan over onto the cooling rack. Carefully turn cornbread right side up and let cool on rack for 10 more minutes.

9. Transfer cornbread to a cutting board and cut into squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

For 25 years, home cooks have relied on America’s Test Kitchen for rigorously tested recipes developed by professional test cooks and vetted by 60,000 at-home recipe

testers. The family of brands — which includes Cook’s Illustrated, Cook’s Country, and America’s Test Kitchen Kids — offers reliable recipes for cooks of all ages and

skill levels. See more online at www.americastestkitchen.com/TCA.

© 2022 America’s Test Kitchen. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

MAYOR’S MESSAGE

By Muriel Bowser, Mayor District of Columbia

Become the Next Ms. Senior DC!

Dear Seniors,

First, I want to thank you for your trust and support. On January 2, I followed in the footsteps of our Mayor for Life, Marion Barry, and took the oath of office for a third time. It is the honor of my life to serve as the mayor of my hometown and I look forward to all we can accomplish in the next four years, together.

The District is now entering budget season, and seniors are an important voice in the process. As you know, every year, I make it a priority to gather input from the community – before we submit the budget to the Council – about the investments you want to see us make. In previous years, we’ve taken your ideas and turned them into solutions, programs, and investments that have helped us build a more inclusive Washington, DC. Together, we have expanded Safe At Home, provided more property tax relief for our seniors, and distributed new technology to seniors to help people stay connected to friends, family, and doctors.

Last year, we also created a $40 million package of legacy initiatives to keep more longtime Washingtonians in DC. To do this, we are putting homeownership in reach for more Black residents; providing legal support so that families can pass on property from one generation to the next; and making it easier for Washingtonians to open and expand small businesses in DC by buying commercial property in our city.

The input of residents at our Budget Engagement Forums helped shape all of these investments. Now, it is time to start providing input for our next budget. On Wednesday, February 8, we will host our Senior Budget Engagement Forum and I urge you to join us. Information will be posted on budget.dc.gov about how residents can participate. With the support of residents like you, we will continue to create a more Age-Friendly DC and help all seniors live boldly in our great city.

Sincerely,

Muriel Bowser Mayor

Mayor Bowser Kicks Off Tax Season by Highlighting Resources for District Residents to Put Money Back in Their Pockets

On Monday, January 23, Mayor Muriel Bowser and the DC Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) kicked off the 2023 tax season by telling residents about tax credits and incentives that can put money back in their pockets, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the District of Columbia Keep Child Care Affordable Tax Credit, and the Senior Citizen/Disabled Property Tax Relief program. The Mayor also spoke about the free tax preparation services available in the District.

During the event, Mayor Bowser highlighted the following resources available to residents:

Federal Earned Income Tax Credit (Federal EITC)

The federal earned income tax credit (federal EITC) provides money back for people who work and who have a low or moderate income – generally individuals and families making less than $60,000. Through the feder-

al EITC, residents can get back anywhere between $560 to $7,000, depending on the size of the family. To learn more visit: irs.gov/eitc.

DC’s Earned Income Tax Credit (DC EITC)

The District Earned Income Tax Credit (DC EITC) is a refundable credit for low- and moderate-income workers, separate from the federal EITC. The DC EITC is based on a percentage of the amount of the federal EITC reported on an individual’s federal income tax return. In past years, the amount of the DC credit was 40% of the amount of the federal EITC. This percentage has been increased to 70% for tax year 2022, one of the highest match rates in the country. To learn more visit: disb.dc.gov/eitc.

District of Columbia Keep Child Care Affordable Tax Credit

Mayor Bowser created the Keep Child Care Affordable Tax Credit to make child care more affordable

DACL’s 7th Annual Cupid’s Kids Initiative is Underway!

For the 7th year in a row, the DC Department of Aging and Community Living is partnering up with DC Public Schools and Charter Schools to create handmade Valentine’s Day cards for homebound seniors. If you or someone you know would like to receive a card, please contact our office at 202-724-5626.

Interim Director Jessica Smith Honors 12 Carroll Manor Centenarians

Last month, Interim Director Jessica Smith visited Carroll Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center to honor 12 of our city’s oldest residents, all celebrating 100 years or more in age.

Congratulations to these seniors for reaching such incredible milestones!

for District families. The credit is available to taxpayers based on the amount of eligible child care expenses paid by the taxpayer per eligible child. Last year, the amount of the Keep Child Care Affordable Tax Credit was a maximum of $1,020 per eligible child. To learn more visit: MyTax.dc.gov.

Disabled or Senior Citizen Property Tax Relief

District of Columbia property owners may be eligible for property tax relief. The District offers several programs to assist property owners, first time homebuyers, and senior citizens. For example, the Senior Citizen Tax Relief Program applies to those property owners who occupy their property as their principal place of residence, are 65 years of age or older, and meet certain income requirements. When a property owner turns 65 years of age or older, or when he or she is disabled, he or she

may file an application immediately for disabled or senior citizen property tax relief. This benefit reduces a qualified property owner's property tax by 50%. To learn more visit: MyTax.dc.gov.

DC Free Tax Preparation Locations and Financial Assistance

• Free tax clinics are open to all residents. To view the complete list, visit: disb.dc.gov/freetaxprepresources.

• The AARP is partnering with DC to support seniors, which includes free tax assistance. To learn more, visit: taxaide.aarpfoundation.org.

Residents can also use DC’s Financially Fit Program to learn more about how best to regulate their financial health. To learn more about the Financially Fit DC program visit: financiallyfitdc.com.

DC AARP Tax-Aide Information Session

It is tax season! Do you need assistance?

Thursday, February 9, 2023 11:00am - Noon Zoom link provided upon registration Register here: https://events.aarp.org/Tax-Aide2023

Money Law & Ways to make extra money in retirement

By Kate Ashford

More than 1 in 4 retirees say they’re spending more than they can afford, according to an October 2022 survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. With inflation at 6.5% in December, it’s not surprising that savings aren’t going as far as they used to.

But there are ways to bring in extra income without taking on a full-time job. Some part-time gigs — such as tutoring, pet sitting or helping with tax prep — allow retirees to work a few hours at a time, and the extra income can make a big difference.

Here are some ideas to consider.

Pet sitting or dog walking

If you have a fenced-in yard and the ability to care for someone else’s furry family members, offering pet services can be lucrative and flexible. According to data analyzed by e-learning platform Preply, dog walking is the best-paid side hustle by average hourly wage.

“Not to mention, having canine companionship offers many health benefits,” said consumer finance expert Andrea Woroch. “So, pet sitting is a great way to get that without the high costs of owning your own dog.”

Teaching

One of the few perks of the pandemic is

that online teaching and tutoring have flourished. You can set up shop on an online tutoring site like Preply or Wyzant, or an online teaching site such as Udemy.

“Carve out a couple of hours on weeknights to tutor students online,” Woroch said.

If you have the credentials, consider creating a college-level course that you could teach as an adjunct professor.

“I created and teach on veterans’ issues at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University,” said Paul Dillon, owner of Dillon Consulting Services, which helps veterans who want to start a business.

“Whenever the course is offered, I spend about five to 10 hours per week on work related to the course.”

Consulting or freelancing

Retirees often have decades of valuable experience. Taking on project work can help you stay in the game on your own timeline.

“Consulting is a great way to continue staying relevant in your field and offering your insights and advice without having to go back to the office full time,” said Jacques Famy Jr., a managing partner and chief marketing officer for merchant funding firm AdvancePoint Capital.

“You can either offer the services through

a firm, or start your own side-hustle business.”

Filling community needs

Depending on where you live, there may be ample opportunities to pick up side work with your town or city. Your local school may need occasional (or frequent — flu season!) substitute teachers, for instance.

“Many K-12 schools can use the talents of retirees,” said Janet Heller, president of the Michigan College English Association. Heller points to the need for crossing guards, assistant coaches for athletic teams and recess supervisors, among other positions.

Contact your local school district to see what part-time spots may be available.

Hosting guests

Do you have a lot of extra room in your house, and do you live in an area that attracts visitors?

“Rather than letting that freshly renovated basement or spare room go to waste, rent it out on Airbnb,” said Brian DeChesare, founder of Breaking Into Wall Street, a financial modeling training platform. “You get to set your ideal availability, so you’ll never be stuck with guests at inopportune times.”

You could well have unclaimed assets. For ways to find out and claim, see p. 22.

One tip: If you winter (or summer) elsewhere, consider hiring a property manager to manage rentals of your space.

Taxes/bookkeeping

Got tax preparation skills? You can find work assisting with tax returns in the first few months of the year — then take the rest of the year off.

This is a great opportunity for anyone with tax experience, but it’s also possible to take a tax prep course that will qualify you for spots at the big-box tax firms.

The same goes for bookkeeping if you have a finance or accounting background. You can put your previous financial skills to work on a freelance basis, or take a bookkeeping skills course to qualify for project work.

“If you’re looking to do an additional job, building your skills — which might mean getting a certification or taking another course to help make yourself more competitive for a specific role — we certainly encourage our clients to look into doing that,” said Toni Frana, career services manager for FlexJobs.

“For something that requires some knowledge of financial fields, you do need to have a little bit of experience in those areas.” —AP/NerdWallet

How to select the right financial adviser

By Kellie Kiemle

Figuring out what to look for in (and where to look for) a financial adviser can feel overwhelming, whether you are looking for the first time or interested in changing who you work with.

When evaluating the top factors to consider, people commonly point to someone who gets good investment returns or who has a lot of credentials or experience.

These are indeed important aspects, but your search should go beyond that if you want to end up with a great long-term relationship.

Not all advisers are created equal. Though I’m not an adviser myself, I have nearly 20 years’ experience in the wealth management industry, and I work very closely with our firm’s advisers.

I recognize how important it is to find the right fit, especially because choosing an adviser is a very personal decision and critical to your long-term financial success.

Do you need an adviser?

An important first step to finding the right adviser for you is understanding why you need one in the first place. Did something happen in your life that made it obvious you need help, such as an unexpected inheritance or a divorce? Are you planning for a big event, such as retirement, and want to see if you are financially ready to make this transition? Or maybe you’re a careful planner yourself and simply want to ensure you’ll be able to reach your long-term goals.

The list is endless: There are lots of reasons to seek out an adviser’s help, and understanding why you personally need one will help tailor your search. Some firms are better than others at providing different solutions.

Wealth management firms offer a variety of services, from detailed savings plans over decades, to personal advice on buying a home, or various ways to invest a recently inherited large sum of money.

Evaluate key skills, characteristics

When evaluating advisers, a top criterion should be: Do they listen to me? This might surprise you, but it’s actually the most critical component of a successful relationship.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when evaluating your conversation

with an adviser:

—Did you feel like your questions were answered? If not, then maybe they were not listening well enough and might miss things in the future.

—If you are part of a relationship, did both individuals feel heard and did they both contribute to the conversation? If not, then maybe it’s time to evaluate other advisers.

—Did the adviser uncover detailed things about how you think, your passions, your family and those things most important to you? If they stayed surface level with age, income and assets, then I might reconsider how in depth they will go with their planning.

From

You should also feel comfortable enough asking questions, so meeting in person or speaking on the phone is important to see how well you “jibe” with someone. You’ll also want to feel comfortable that the adviser is willing to step up and respond to your individual needs.

Here’s an example: A couple of years ago, we contemplated having my husband make a transition from full- to part-time work. Our adviser ran a series of analyses on our income and his pension options. We decided not to make a change, but it was helpful to have someone who listened to us and then came back with different options.

Other critical skills to consider when choosing an adviser might be a little more obvious.

You definitely would want someone who is knowledgeable about both planning strategies and investments, who is constantly learning and staying current with new solutions and strategies and, finally, who can be flexible. Life can be crazy sometimes, so they should be ready to ad-

BEACON BITS

Feb. 13

just your plan when those curveballs land.

Consider certifications, legal status

Various designations can lend insight into what type of experience an adviser has, and a good place to start is finding a Certified Financial Planner® (CFP). Having this designation requires these professionals to continue to learn, as they have mandatory hours of education each year — and they are regulated by a board of ethics.

And while we’re on the topic of ethics: Fiduciaries are required by law to put your interests before their own. In addition to that, a subset of fiduciary firms are feeonly, which means they don’t sell any products or services beyond their relationship with you, and act as a fiduciary in all parts of their business.

The word fiduciary gets used incorrectly all the time, but a true fiduciary has very few conflicts of interest, with all decisions made in the client’s best interest. For me, these two criteria — being a CFP and a fiduciary — should be non-negotiable when choosing an adviser.

There are many other types of advisers out there, though — some work for bro-

SAVE ON YOUR UTILITY BILL

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FREE VIRTUAL EMPLOYMENT EXPOS

Feb. 17+

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ker-dealers, banks or even insurance companies. Just make sure you evaluate how they work with clients and how they get paid.

Some advisers earn a commission from services they sell, which can be a red flag if you feel any pressure during your conversation to add on or upgrade your initial request. Or they may suggest an investment that isn’t perfect for your situation because they receive a higher payout on

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Feb. 23

that specific investment — there is a level of conflict of interest to consider!

You also don’t have to stick with the same adviser the rest of your life. If something isn’t working, and you lose your confidence in their ability to guide you through your life course, don’t hesitate to start the search again.

© 2023 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

ADVANCE DIRECTIVES CLASS (VIRTUAL)

Learn how to create an advance directive with a local, practicing, board-certified physician. This free class will provide an overview of advance directives, including considerations in choosing a medical power of attorney and how to define your medical wishes. Join via Zoom on Thu., Feb. 23 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. For more information and to register, visit bit.ly/AdvanceDirectiveClass.

How to find and claim forgotten assets

Dear Savvy Senior,

A while back, I read an article about some online tools that can help people search for lost or forgotten money left behind by their deceased relatives, but I’ve misplaced it. Can you help me with this?

My mom, who passed away in December, was always bad about keeping up with her money, so I’m wondering if there was anything she left behind.

—Searching Son Dear Searching,

LOVE IS IN THE AIR, AND SCAMMERS ARE ON THE PROWL

Millions fall for scams each year, losing money, time,

personally identifiable information.

Remember:

Be mindful of who you meet on dating apps and social media

Never send or forward money to someone you haven’t met in person

Be skeptical of those who can never meet or talk via video chat

Learn more: disb.dc.gov/page/romance-scams

If you are the victim of a romance scam or another type of scam, report it to the DC Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) Enforcement and Consumer Protection Division at 202.727.8000 or see disb.dc.gov/reportfraud.

By Jim Miller

Forgotten or lost money is actually very common in the United States. According to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, there are literally billions of dollars in unclaimed funds sitting in state treasuries and other agencies just waiting to be found.

These unclaimed funds are from accounts that are inactive, or whose owners, or their heirs, cannot be located. Unclaimed funds can include things like lost or forgotten saving or checking accounts, stocks, utility security deposits, tax refunds, life insurance policy proceeds, uncashed dividend checks, matured savings bonds and much more.

This typically happens because of a change of address (the owner moved), a name change (the owner got married or divorced), or the owner died and the estate was unaware of the money, or the heirs could not be located.

By law, companies and financial institutions that can’t find the owner or their next of kin within two to five years must turn the property over to the state, where it’s held indefinitely

Where (and how) to search

About 10% of all Americans have some unclaimed money out there waiting to be found, so it’s very possible your mother had some too.

To start your search, go to Unclaimed.org, which has links to all state programs that will let you do a state benefits search online for free. Or you can do a multi-state search in 39 states at MissingMoney.com. Be sure to check every state in which your mother lived, worked or did business.

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Feb. 25

COMPUTER REPAIR

Also, make sure to check under your mom’s maiden name. And if she had a frequently misspelled name, search those misspellings too. Using her first initial and her last name is also encouraged to make sure everything comes up.

Every state can tell you immediately if your mom has some unclaimed money, as well as how to go about collecting it.

Other places to look

In addition to state treasuries, here are some other resources that can help you look for unclaimed money that may have been overlooked:

Forgotten retirement benefits: To search for lost or forgotten 401(k) funds your mom may have left behind with an old employer, use the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits at UnclaimedRetirementBenefits.com.

To search for lost pension benefits, use the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation trusteed plan search tool at PBGC.gov/ search-trusteed-plans.

Lost life insurance: To track down a lost or forgotten life insurance policy, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, an insurance regulatory support organization, offers a free policy locator service at eapps.naic.org/life-policy-locator.

Unredeemed savings bonds: It’s very common for people to lose track of U.S. saving bonds because they are often given to children as gifts, then forgotten before the bonds reach maturity.

To find out if your mom had any, the U.S. Department of the Treasury provides an online search tool at TreasuryHunt.gov for finding matured, uncashed savings bonds over 30 years old and no longer earning interest.

Federal tax refunds: Each year thousands of refund checks totaling millions of dollars are returned to the IRS by the post office. To look for lost federal tax refund checks, go to IRS.gov/refunds or call 1800-829-1954.

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

Bring your damaged computer or laptop and learn how to repair it with help from a certified professional. This free event takes place on Sat., Feb. 25 between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Damascus Library, 9701 Main St., Damascus, MD. You must arrive between 10 and 11 a.m. Registration (required) opens on Sat., Feb. 11 and can be accessed at bit.ly/LearnComputerRepair. For more information, call (240) 773-9444.

SAVVY SENIOR

Life insurance has advantages over IRAs

Although Ed Slott (IRAhelp.com) is an expert in IRAs and other retirement plans, he consistently points out that permanent (that is, whole or universal) life insurance has significant advantages for long-term retirement planning. The ramifications of the SECURE Act of 2019 only magnify these advantages in contrast to investing through taxable retirement accounts.

Here are some aspects of permanent life insurance.

Life insurance protects against uncertain future tax rates. The proceeds of permanent life insurance are not taxed. Unless you convert your retirement accounts to Roth accounts, you will eventually pay income taxes on IRA and 401(k) distributions, and it is likely that future tax rates will be higher than current ones.

the uncertainty of future tax rates, and the value of the life insurance grows tax-free.

Life insurance is an investment, not an expense. You should not consider life insurance as an expense any more than you would consider investing in a retirement account as an expense. However, investing in permanent life insurance does not have stock market risk associated with it.

THE SAVINGS GAME

By Elliot Raphaelson

Life insurance gives individuals more control over the funds. When Congress wants more income taxes from retirement accounts, it tends to change the regulations in ways that generally are unfavorable to owners of retirement accounts and their beneficiaries.

Depending on the size of your retirement account distributions, you could also face increased taxes on Social Security benefits, and even trigger other taxes such as the 3.8% tax on net investment income.

If you systematically withdraw funds from your retirement accounts and purchase permanent life insurance, you avoid

BEACON BITS

March 1

For example, the recent regulations associated with the SECURE Act force beneficiaries to withdraw funds from traditional IRAs more quickly, resulting in more taxable income for the government.

Congress also controls when owners of retirement accounts have to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) from their retirement accounts. With life insurance, owners of permanent policies have control

MONEY MATTERS LECTURE

Join Senior Planet to learn about online banking, keeping your financial information safe, online shopping, and how to use the Internet to save money on entertainment, prescription drugs and everyday items. This free class takes place on Wed., March 1 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Aspen Hill Library, 4407 Aspen Hill Rd., Rockville, MD. For more information, call (240) 773-9410.

OVERVIEW OF MEDICARE OPTIONS

March 6

The Montgomery County State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) provides an overview of Medicare benefits, eligibility, enrollment, costs and coverage, as well as information on Medicare savings programs, Medicare fraud, protection and local services. This free presentation takes place on Mon., March 6 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the White Oak Library, 11701 New Hampshire Ave., White Oak, MD. For more information, call (240) 773-9555.

Need to Upgrade Your Computer Skills?

over whether they want to terminate life insurance or initiate loans.

Life insurance incorporates leverage. One dollar of premiums can do the work of many, and the result is guaranteed and tax-free. Especially in the case of the early, unexpected death of the policy holder, life insurance can produce multiples of the initial investment in a retirement account.

Life insurance mitigates market risk. It is true that during long periods in which stock and bond markets perform well, retirement accounts may outperform permanent life insurance policies.

But during periods of high inflation, which we have seen lately, both stock markets and bond markets can show very poor results. Investors who retired in the

last few years are facing uncertain futures, as are their beneficiaries.

Investors are now discovering that bull markets don’t last forever, and there is no guarantee that a traditional 60/40 portfolio of stocks and bonds will always guarantee a financially secure future.

Bottom line: Individuals planning for a financially secure future for themselves and their beneficiaries should consider alternatives to a portfolio exclusively containing stocks and bonds. Permanent life insurance should be considered as a part of retirement planning.

Elliot Raphaelson welcomes your questions and comments at raphelliot@gmail.com. © 2023 Elliot Raphaelson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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*As a result of COVID-19 pandemic, classes will be conducted through an interactive, Zoom online experience. When we return to in-person classes, they will be held at JCA's facility at 12320 Parklawn Drive, Rockville, MD. All classes (virtual or in-person) meet from 9 AM until 4 PM daily. Call or Email to learn if future sessions will be in-person or virtual.

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FREE Basic Computer Skills Class for workers or jobseekers 50+ living in Montgomery County.

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March 31 Campus org

montgomerycountymd.gov/design

Make your home or condo more age-friendly

Live longer in the home you love!

The Montgomery County Design for Life program helps you qualify for a county property tax credit that can ease the cost of making your home or condo more universally accessible. The program is available for all ages and stages of life.

Whether you are a long-time homeowner, first-time homebuyer, young family, active adult or person living with a temporary or permanent impairment, these additional design elements will enhance your home — and, at the same time, meet your needs and those of your visitors.

Numerous options

Among the accessible features a Design for Life home can add are: a no-step entrance or ramp wider doorways (for wheelchairs) maneuverable bathroom and/or kitchen properly installed grab bars (for showers, etc.)

stair glide unit or interior elevator

If you are planning these or other renovations to your home, it is important to learn about this

program and know what you can do to get certified and earn the tax credit.

The Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services (DPS) issues and certifies the building permits that are required in order to be eligible for the tax credit.

You are eligible to apply for the Design for Life property tax credit if you are a property owner of a new or existing residential dwelling, including single-family dwelling, townhouse, duplex or condominium unit.

When applying for your building permit, be sure to complete the Design for Life section of the online application to be eligible for your property tax credit.

Free consultation/ more info

Have questions or need help? DPS offers a free, virtual residential design consultation to help you plan and prepare for your renovations. Schedule your appointment today by visiting the DPS website at montgomerycountymd.gov/dps/.

Learn more about the Design for Life program online at montgomerycountymd. gov/design, or call 3-1-1 in Montgomery County or visit mc311.com

www.montgomerycountymd.gov/senior

MONTGOMERY COUNTY PROPERTY TAX CREDIT PROGRAM

Leisure & Travel Leisure &

St. Lucia’s natural beauty and happy vibe

By Victor Block

Shortly after my wife Fyllis and I arrived on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, we spotted locals wearing T-shirts with welcoming notes: “Be happy.” “Don’t worry, just party.” “Forget your troubles.”

Not surprisingly, many people go to St. Lucia for its beaches and splendid views of the multi-hued sea, which ranges from light green to turquoise to deep blue. Its 98 miles of sand include gently curving seashores overlooking sweeping bays and small slivers, which are favored by residents of the island.

After our first encounter with Viggie Beach in the capital, Castries [Cas-trees], Fyllis and I made that our go-to respite. It’s lined with palm and almond trees that provide welcome shade.

Several modest snack bars offer food, beverages and opportunities to meet and mingle with St. Lucians. They often comprise the majority of sun seekers there and, when a cruise ship is docked at the nearby port, may be joined by passengers. Day-trippers, who use their brief stay on St. Lucia to soak up the sun, experience little of the history, culture and traditions of the tiny island, which has a square footage

only about three times larger than Washington, D.C.

Our two-week stay provided opportunities for Fyllis and me to delve into the “real” St. Lucia and discover why some 1.3 million people — about seven times as many as live there — visit the island each year.

For starters, the island’s dramatic topography and lush interior differentiates it from other, flatter Caribbean islands. Greenery lines roadsides and covers ridges that rise into sheer cliffs and mountains. A profusion of flowers transforms the entire setting into a natural botanical garden. Photogenic waterfalls add to the picture-perfect scenery.

Towering over it all are the twin Gros and Petit Pitons, pointy volcanic spires that even in this rugged terrain demand attention and respect. Although it’s possible to hike to the peak of the Pitons, we happily skipped that challenging clamber, preferring to explore the island — which has plenty of other mountains — by car.

Driving can be tricky

On the other hand, I discovered that driving on what passes for roads in St. Lucia presents other challenges.

Because Great Britain has held sway over St. Lucia since 1814, both the cars and roads reflect that influence. That means the steering wheel of automobiles is on the right side, and cars drive in the (narrow) left lane.

(By the way, control of the island switched between England and France 14 times during the 18th century. As a result, names of towns and sites serve as reminders of both of those nations.)

Picture yourself navigating a vehicle along a roller coaster track, multiply the number of twists and turns by three, add the largest potholes I’ve had the misfortune to encounter anywhere in the world, and you have an idea of what it’s like to maneuver around the island by car.

Frequent “Hairpin Turn” signs are an understatement, and while most residents are understanding about newcomers, a few tailgaters sped past us as if they were racing at Le Mans. As one hotrodder passed our car, I was just able to make out the rather intimidating message on his bumper sticker before he sped around the next turn in the road: “No gears, no fears.”

Village hopping

Once Fyllis and I were able to catch our breath after driving to various destinations around the island, we were able to enjoy them.

St. Lucia’s tiny towns, many consisting of colorfully painted houses fronting the sea, each have its own attractions and personality.

Castries is the hub of the island’s economic activity. Its port — rated as one of the best deep-water harbors in the Caribbean — berths both cruise liners and cargo ships.

At the weekly Saturday market, a lively, colorful bazaar, venders sell everything from spices, soaps and souvenirs to homegrown produce, homemade adult beverages and homespun clothing. Food stalls serve local fare at bargain-basement prices.

Soufrière [Soo-free-air], which is French for sulfur, is home to Sulphur Springs, a col-

lapsed volcanic crater where people willing to put up with the pungent scent may take soothing mineral-rich mud baths, which are touted as beneficial for the skin. Also home to the Pitons, Soufrière has stunning beaches and waterfalls.

We drove through a number of small fishing villages, such as Anse la Raye, each with pastel bungalows, brightly painted boats, and fishermen cleaning their catch and mending nets.

Gros Islet [Groze Eelay] is another quiet fishing hamlet —except on Friday nights. That’s when the weekly “Jump Up” street party provides dinner and dancing, imbibing and liming (Caribbean for partying).

The event was born decades ago, when the proprietor of a rum shop set up a grill outside to attract customers. Neighboring businesses soon followed suit.

The “jumping up” begins in the evening when a crowd munches on grilled fish, chicken and other fare, and strolls through the narrow streets, swinging in time to music blaring from giant speakers. As nonislanders begin to depart, locals arrive to take their place, some arriving by boat to the town dock.

The island of Saint Lucia offers more dramatic views and lush greenery than many other Caribbean islands. The deep-water harbor of the capital city of Castries welcomes visitors from cruise ships. Tourists enjoy the island’s white-sand

beaches, handicraft markets and historical sites.

PHOTO © IRISHKA777 | DREAMSTIME.COM

Read about a visit to Panama for medical treatment on p. 28.

Brave Saint Lucia’s back roads (where you drive on the left) to get a closer view of the island’s two famous volcanic peaks, 2,619-foot Gros Piton and 2,461-foot Petit Piton. Those looking for a challenge can hike up the peaks.

PHOTO © F. BAARSSEN | DREAMSTIME.COM

DIANE YORK

St. Lucia

From page 25

Forts and bunkers

That fun and frivolity contrasts with sites that relate serious chapters of St. Lucia’s history, such as bloody Revolutionary War-era clashes between France and England.

The British built Fort Rodney at the northern tip of the island in 1780, when they were vying with France for control of St. Lucia and other Caribbean islands. Its massive cannon could attack approaching enemy ships attempting to enter the harbor. Barracks, bunkers and the remains of the commander’s residence are among reminders of that time.

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

It was the French who first established a military presence on Morne Fortune, an imposing mountain that looms over Castries. Later, the British claimed the position and built fortifications, gun emplacements and other military structures scattered about the area.

After seeing the island’s historic sites, I discovered that my personal favorite place was neither a man-made military base nor bunker, but rather a natural attraction.

A tour of the Bay

Marigot Bay combines some of Mother Nature’s magnificent handiwork, historic tidbits, welcoming accommodations and inviting places to dine. The cove is surrounded on three sides by steep, forested

VOLUNTEER ON THE NATIONAL MALL

Various ongoing volunteer opportunities, including orientation and visitor services, interpretation and beautification, are available on the National Mall. Details vary by position. For more detailed information on each opening, visit nationalmall.org/become-a-volunteer.

VOLUNTEER WITH GREEN SPRING GARDENS

Ongoing

Green Spring Gardens, a public garden and historic site set on 31 acres in Fairfax, VA, is seeking volunteers in the following areas: front desk in the horticulture center, youth and family education, hospitality host at the historic house, garden beds and more. For more information, contact Susan Eggerton at susan.eggerton@fairfaxcounty.gov or (703) 642-5173.

hills, and the inland portion forms a protected area known as a hurricane hole, where boats seek refuge from big blows. James Michener called it “The most beautiful bay in the Caribbean.”

The French and British navies fought a number of battles for control of the bay, and it serves today as a peaceful docking place for boats, ranging from small outboard motor craft to massive super-yachts.

For a closer look at Marigot Bay, we hopped on a boat tour. Given its name, it wasn’t surprising that a festive feel manifested itself shortly after our Spirit of Carnival Party Cruise catamaran left the dock. Passengers sipped and supped, danced to piped music, and oohed, aahed and photographed the superb scenery the boat passed.

Stops along the way included an immersion in the mud baths at Soufrière, a photo op standing beneath a plummeting waterfall, and a warmer experience snorkeling in the tepid Caribbean Sea.

As one guidebook puts it, the island has been “blessed by nature,” and offers “geographic and cultural riches enough to em-

BEACON BITS

March 2

barrass far bigger nations.” After acclimating to St. Lucia’s roads and absorbing its cheerful, calm atmosphere, we found that to be true.

If you go

Round-trip flights from D.C. to St. Lucia start at around $580. Accommodations range from budget-priced local B&Bs, to medium-range boutique inns, to luxury allinclusive resorts.

We chose to stay at a furnished villa at Chateau Mygo, perched at the edge of Marigot Bay. Our two-bedroom apartment had an expansive living-dining-kitchen area, outside deck and small plunge pool. Rates begin at $1,200 a week. For more information go to chateaumygo.com.

Its excellent seaside open-air eatery features seafood, such as ample portions of sesame seared tuna or fish and chips (each $28), served with several sides. Guests of Chateau Mygo receive a 15% discount on food and beverages.

For more information about St. Lucia, see stlucia.org.

SMARTPHONE PHOTOGRAPHY (VIRTUAL)

Learn how to record video on your smartphone, add filters to pictures, and use your camera’s timer. The presentation will also cover tips for taking good selfies, selecting backgrounds and using optimal lighting. This free event takes place on Thu., March 2 from 4 to 5 p.m. on Zoom. Join the meeting at us06web.zoom.us/j/85119228391, or dial in by calling (301) 715-8592 and using meeting ID 851 1922 8391.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Ongoing

Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind is looking for volunteers in Maryland (especially Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties), Virginia (especially in Annandale, Fairfax, Alexandria and Arlington), and Washington, D.C. Volunteers visit individuals at their homes to help them pay bills, read mail, assist in grocery shopping and run other errands. For more information, contact Jocelyn Hunter at jhunter@clb.org or by phone at (202) 454-6422.

A trip to Panama for stem cell treatment

By Diane York

For some of us, it’s a never-ending task to stall the aging process.

Now that I’m in my 60s, my back and hip problems were preventing me from activities like Zumba, hiking and pickleball. I had already been through the gamut of orthopedic consults, one hip replacement and endless physical therapy.

Then a friend of mine told me he had stem cell injections in his knees and within days was able to resume his marathon bike trips. I had read about motivational speaker Tony Robbins’ success with stem cell treatments at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama.

Intrigued, I took a closer look. They use

umbilical cord stem cells. Those are not embryonic; they are from umbilical cords delivered at birth, which are typically discarded.

Such cells can travel throughout the body, possibly mending and replacing cells that are old and damaged. [Ed. For more information about stem cell research and its potential, see “FDA warnings about stem cell therapies” on page 8 of this issue.]

After sending my medical records to the clinic, I learned that they do not treat spinal stenosis (which I have), but would provide treatment for osteoarthritis (which I also have) and for general antiaging.

While side effects are usually minimal,

the cost for this treatment is not. Even though my pocketbook was thin, and it would mean waiting another few years to replace my 2010 Toyota sedan, I wanted to take this chance. My friends thought I was crazy, but I decided to go for it.

Traveling with a friend

My good friend Linda accompanied me. We stayed at the Panama Hilton, where we had spectacular views of the bay and Casco Viejo, the “Old City” founded by the Spanish in 1519. Below our balcony, soft Latin music played as we watched guests enjoying the pool and the balmy weather.

On our first night, we ate in the café by the pool and had piña coladas to celebrate our arrival. A piña colada in the tropics is not quite the same as in the U.S. — fresh pineapple juice and fresh coconut milk (or was it the ambiance?) made them taste fantastic.

We decided to see some of Panama before my treatments began, starting with the Panama Canal. I was stunned by the enormity of the place. Massive tankers and container ships as large as small cities squeezed their way through the locks.

We watched in awe as a huge tanker plowed through, assisted by small trains and tugboats. Some of these ships can carry as many as 24,000 containers, each

the size of a railroad car.

We also toured Casco Viejo. The splendid Spanish architecture is still there, some of it ruined, some still as grand as ever. Especially well-preserved were the six churches and cathedrals that looked like they belonged in southern Spain.

Inside the clinic

The next day, I began my treatments at the Stem Cell Institute, located on the 63rd floor of a bank building in Panama City. The modern clinic was populated by friendly English-speaking assistants and nurses.

My doctor was very professional, inquiring about my medical history and problem areas. I asked many questions, all of which she answered patiently.

My first question was, “Of all the conditions you treat here, which have you had the most success with?”

She replied, “With multiple sclerosis, because we can see the changes in lesions. We can see them get smaller.” Also, she added, when they treat rheumatoid arthritis, they can measure and see changes as well. The third area is with the treatment of autistic children, she said: “We have had many success stories there.”

See PANAMA , page 29

From page 28

She added, “We cannot cure these diseases, but we can stop the damage they are doing.”

I asked her how long it took to see the results. She explained that some people have an immediate response, some within months, and some see no improvement at all.

Meeting fellow travelers

Back at the hotel, I met many other people who were there for treatment at the same clinic.

A young man in a wheelchair was there for the third time. He had no feeling below the waist after an accident, and was told he would never recover. After his first infusion, he regained some feeling and movement in his lower body and can now stand with crutches.

An Australian soccer player with multiple injuries in his knee, shoulder and back said he had experienced substantial improvement. A mother with a seven-yearold boy with autism was among several parents of autistic children there who had heard of good results from other parents whose children had been treated there.

My treatment, which consisted of three days of infusions, began. Aside from the needle in my arm, there was no pain. A mild headache a few hours later followed each infusion. These were cured with a cup of superb Panamanian coffee with cream and sugar.

The one clear positive result I had following the first infusion was the disappearance of pain in the upper jaw/cheek that I had since a case of Covid 10 months earlier. It was never resolved by antibiotics nor by a tooth extraction. Now it was completely gone. Overall, I felt good.

After my treatments, having another two days before we left Panama, we visited the Gamboa Rainforest Reserve. The road that day was swarming with big morpho butterflies (one of 1,500 species in Panama) in iridescent shades of blue. Remarkably lovely, they seemed to dance by the roadside in clusters.

We opted for a tram ride through the forest canopy, spotting villages along the Chagres River, where people still live as they had for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years.

A large toucan was one of the many birds that watched from a treetop as we sailed by in the tram. Panama is on the migratory flyway and is so narrow that, at certain times, it has more species of birds on it than any other place in the world. The Audubon Society offers birding tours on Old Pipeline Road annually.

There is also a Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, whose 40 staff scientists host more than 1,400 scientific visitors from around the world each year.

Results are positive so far

Will all this expense be worth it? I’m not sure yet.

Overall, since the procedure, I have a lot

of energy that I didn’t have before. Climbing stairs is definitely faster; lifting things seems easier. My 10-month-long jaw infection is gone. It may take months to see other changes.

Did I enjoy Panama? Yes — I would like to return to take a boat ride through the Canal, look for birds on the Old Pipeline Road and watch some Spanish dancing at its delicious restaurants.

This article reflects the author’s personal experiences and is not intended as an endorsement of the Panama Stem Cell Institute or of stem cell treatment in general.

For some warnings about unproven or untested treatments, see “FDA warnings about stem cell therapies” on page 8 of this issue.

ENTERPRISE RESIDENTIAL

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There’s plenty to see and do in Panama City. In addition to a modern downtown, Panama City’s plazas and historic buildings, especially in the Old City, are reminiscent of Spain. There’s also an impressive rainforest reserve nearby.

Arts & Style

Local writer publishes new Jackie O bio

By Robert Friedman Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis

has occupied the mind of local author Oline Eaton since she was 12 years old, the year the former first lady passed away.

Some three decades later, Eaton has published Finding Jackie: A Life Reinvented, which looks with compassion and insight into the glorious and tragic life of “Jackie O.”

Although many other biographies of Jacqueline Onassis exist, this one focuses on her resilience.

In a recent interview with the Beacon, Eaton said, “The book reveals that Jacqueline Kennedy was someone living with trauma [after the assassinations of her husband, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) and brother-in-law Robert Kennedy], and trying to rebuild a livable and rewarding life while navigating that trauma…before human trauma responses were really understood.”

She hopes her book “teases out the dimensions of that survival, so that we can more clearly see how Jackie struggled and how she survived.”

Eaton holds a doctorate degree from

King’s College in London and degrees from Mississippi State University and the University of Chicago. She lives in Washington, D.C., and teaches first-year writing at Howard University.

Admiring a survivor

Eaton was inspired from a young age by the tenacity of the former first lady.

“Jackie has kind of been like a fairy godmother…There are certain historical figures or celebrities whose stories provide templates or shimmering possibilities of ways to live,” she said.

“For whatever reason, when I was 12 years old, Jackie Kennedy’s story did that for me. It showed a way to survive trauma and death, but also of how to live — how to embrace the chaos and seek adventure, try new things and go places and explore.”

Inspired by the famous woman, Eaton became curious about the lesser-known parts of Jackie O’s life. “There were gaps in the story that I wanted to know about, which also led to me writing about her,” the author said.

“I wouldn’t be the writer I am had I not

THROUGH MARCH 19

spent the last 20 years trying to tell the story I couldn’t find, the story I wanted to read as a girl, the story it seemed no one else was going to write, even though it was so essential to me.”

Research included yacht tour

So, Eaton read all she could about Jackie Kennedy — dozens of Jackie bios; the papers and documents in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston; the former first lady’s personal letters; articles she published.

She interviewed, among others, Jackie’s stepbrother Hugh Auchincloss and women’s rights advocate Gloria Steinem.

Of course, no biography can fully capture a life, Eaton conceded.

Opening February 24!

“We can never know who someone was by reading about them. We’re all far more complicated than any one book or a thousand magazine articles can ever convey, thank goodness!”

During her research, Eaton also took a tour of the luxury yacht on which Jackie sailed with her second husband, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.

Just as it has now been reported that first husband JFK had several extramarital affairs (of which Jackie Kennedy became aware), Onassis was known to be in a longtime relationship with opera icon Maria Callas, which continued during his marriage to Jackie.

See JACKIE O , page 33

DATES:

6 Performances: Fridays and Saturdays, Feb. 24, 25, March 3 and 4 at 8 p.m.; Sundays, Feb. 26 and March 5 at 2 p.m.

TICKETS:

$28 Adults; $26 Seniors (62+); $24 Students

Season Subscriptions Available!

Three recent books give inside views of the White House and its history. See reviews on page 34.

D.C. writer Oline Eaton has a doctorate from King’s College London. She teaches writing at Howard University.

PHOTO BY STACEY LEWIS

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W Woojciech Kilar: Krzesany

The Rite of Spring

Sergei Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2

Igor Straavvinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring)

February 9–11 | Concert Hall

Christoph Eschenbach tithBh

returns with Brahms

Chen Reiss sings Mozart

Former NSO Music Director Christoph Eschenbach returns to lead Brahms’ idyllic Symphony No. 2. Hear its warm melodies and familiar lullabies conjure a verdant landscape—then blossom into a grand, uninhibited finale. Acclaimed soprano Chen Reiss lends her “voice of silver brightness and clarity” (Bachtrack) to performances of Mozart’s arias and scintillating motet Exsultate, jubilate

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Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 2

February 23–25 | Concert Hall

Carousel

From page 1

Langley’s story in 2008, when she read about Gwynn Oak Amusement Park in the book Here Lies Jim Crow, by Baltimore Sun columnist C. Fraser Smith.

“I was amazed that I had grown up in Baltimore and never heard of that [Gwynn Oak] story,” said Nathan, who attended Gwynns Falls Junior High and Western High School.

Eager to find out more, she searched for Sharon Langley. “I had to do a whole lot of tracking down, but I found Sharon in California and said, ‘This would be a great story for a book for kids.’”

The subject was so complex that Nathan decided first to write a 260-page book about the many Baltimoreans involved in the park’s desegregation, dedicating a chapter to the Langley family. Round & Round Together: Taking a Merry-Go-Ride into the Civil Rights Movement was published in 2011.

In 2013, Langley returned to Baltimore for the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of Gwynn Oak Amusement Park, join-

ing clergy members and others who had been among the protestors at the park. That’s when she met Nathan in person, and they re-dedicated their efforts to write a children’s book together.

An award-winning illustrator

After several years, Nathan and Langley finished co-writing their book and secured a publisher.

Impatient when the publisher was slow to assign an illustrator, Langley scoured the books in her elementary school’s library and suggested they approach awardwinning illustrator Floyd Cooper, who had illustrated more than 100 titles, most about African American history.

Nathan contacted Cooper through Facebook and attended one of his book signings in New York, handing him the manuscript in person.

When Cooper read it, he later said, “I was so moved that immediately — on the spot, I reached for some art [supplies]. I had to get it out,” he recalled. “Sharon’s story is our story, America’s story.” (Cooper died of cancer in 2021 at the age of 65.)

A Ride to Remember was published just before the pandemic, so Cooper, Langley and Nathan had to do most of their book tour via Zoom.

However, they did manage to have a book launch at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture in downtown Baltimore. Cooper also was able to join them to present the book at an annual convention of English teachers.

Just before the lockdowns, Nathan read the book in person to children at three elementary schools in the area. In discussions there and on Zoom later, Nathan asked students to write down something they’d like to change. Their ideas ranged “from ‘equal pay for women’ to ‘more ice cream,’” Nathan said.

A mother’s activism

Langley moved away from Baltimore when she was nine years old, due to her parents’ divorce. She and her mother relocated to Atlanta, where she graduated from high school and college.

Although both of her parents have passed away, Langley remains “incredibly grateful and appreciative” that they were part of the civil rights movement. “A lot of what I know about it is what my family shared with me. Family oral history is so important,” she said.

Langley’s mother, a nurse, also confided in her daughter about her own unfair treatment growing up in Kentucky. When Mari-

an wasn’t allowed to attend a new high school in her neighborhood, she appealed to the superintendent, citing the recent Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education, which ended segregation of public schools in 1954.

They refused, instead paying for Marian to ride a Greyhound bus to a Black high school in Lexington. The following year, however, as more students came forward, the school system reluctantly desegregated the new high school.

The merry-go-round today

Gwynn Oak Amusement Park closed in 1973 after financial decline and hurricane damage, but the 69-acre site in Woodlawn is a Baltimore County public park today.

Of course, the rides were sold off, and in 1981, the carousel was moved 40 miles away to its current spot on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Now the property of the Smithsonian Institution, it has been shut down since the start of the pandemic.

Although the carousel and its music are currently quiet, visitors can glimpse the carousel’s most famous wooden horse, the “Freedom Horse,” which is marked with a brass plaque engraved with Sharon Langley’s name.

The marker and another plaque in front of the merry-go-round were placed there by Stan and Donna Hunter, who acquired

See CAROUSEL , page 33

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Jackie O

From page 30

After the death of billionaire Onassis in 1975, Jackie took a job as an editor at Viking Press in New York City for $200 a week.

Eaton said that before taking the Viking job in 1976 (and for a time after, while she was living in an apartment on Fifth Avenue), Jackie contemplated a run for the U.S. Senate. She died in 1994.

Carousel

From page 32

the concession rights to the merry-goround in 1988.

“I remember Stan telling me how much he enjoyed seeing families enjoying the carousel, and how happy he was to know that it had been part of something important,” Langley said.

Inspiring new generations

This year, Nathan is working on two more books (“Whenever possible, I try to include Baltimore in all my books,” she said), and Langley is busy working fulltime in California.

Both authors hope the story of the park’s desegregation, however difficult it may be to hear, will inspire others to stand up to injustice or change the status quo.

“Why do we talk about it? Not because

Eaton noted that poet Stephen Spender once asked the former first lady what she thought her greatest accomplishment was.

“She replied it was that, after some rather difficult times, she was still relatively sane,” Eaton said.

A personal reflection

On a personal note, in the summer of 1980, when I [Robert Friedman] was a reporter for the San Juan Star in Puerto Rico, I was invited to cover a fundraiser

we want to hurt children or give them feelings of inferiority or make them somehow feel ashamed. No,” Langley said.

“I like to point out that not only were there black clergy and black children and young adults who were there to protest the

being held in the Brooklyn home of author Norman Mailer.

When I arrived at Mailer’s book-filled apartment, Jackie Kennedy was standing out on the balcony alone, a cocktail glass in hand. Accompanying me was my wife, Ginny, who was in her sixth month of pregnancy.

As soon as Kennedy saw my wife and her condition, she walked inside and greeted her with a warm smile. She gave me a nod of recognition; we had met on

unfair policy at the park, but you also see that there were white children; there were Jewish rabbis; there were white parents.

“There were people who chose to be on the right side of the issue.…There are people who speak up for others. And that’s

one of her earlier visits to Puerto Rico. The nod said, “We’ll talk politics later.”

Instead, Jackie spoke softly and caringly to Ginny about babies.

That is my memory of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who knew what was reallyimportant and meaningful in life.

The official launch of Finding Jackie took place on February 2 at 7:30 p.m. at Lost City Books in Adams Morgan. Eaton will do several readings throughout the city. For more information, visit findingjackie.com.

something that we can still do, even if the issue is not the same.”

The book A Ride to Remember is available in print and as an audiobook at Amazon.com. To watch Sharon Langley read the book aloud, visit bit.ly/RidetoRemember.

Echoes of Baltimore’s carousel in Glen Echo

The Washington area’s Glen Echo Amusement Park, which opened in Glen Echo, Maryland in 1891, admitted only white people for its first 70 years.

In the summer of 1960, however, Howard University students protested at the park and rode its “whites only” carousel in an effort to force desegregation.

They were arrested for riding the carousel and then sued, hoping to get courts to invalidate private businesses’

Seeking nominations for

NEAL POTTER PATH OF ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Thisaward honors residents age 60 & better for their lifetime of volunteer service to Montgomery County.

In partnership with the Commission on Aging & The Beacon Newspapers

MONTGOMERY SERVES AWARDS

These awards recognize special volunteer accomplishments in 2022in four categories: individual, group, business, and youth.

Deadline for nominations –Friday,March 17, 5pm

www.montgomeryserves.org

2022HONOREES

claim to the right to segregate. Their case went to the U.S. Supreme Court and their convictions were overturned, but on narrow grounds.

The spring after the arrests, park owners agreed to open their gates to African Americans. But it wasn’t until the 1964 Civil Rights Act, signed by President Johnson, that facilities open to the public, like Glen Echo Park, were prohibited from discriminating.

Glen Echo Park closed eight years later. Today, a nonprofit arts organization operates the antique carousel and other restored buildings, offering art studios and galleries, art and dance classes, free concerts and social events.

The park, located at 7300 MacArthur Blvd., is open daily, except Thanksgiving and Christmas. For more information, visit glenechopark.org, email info@glenechopark.org or call (301) 634-2222.

Charlotte Holliday Samantha Jayasundera The Honorable Chung K.Pak Schai Schairer

Books about the residence of presidents

Learn more about the White House, also known as the Executive Mansion, in these three books. Although John Adams was the first president to live in the White House, it was George Washington who selected the site and was instrumental in planning and building the home of all his successors.

The White House: An Historic Guide , by the White House Historical Association, 250 pages, White House Historical Association softcover, 2022

a museum, a place of beauty and serenity that encompasses a hub of intrigue that is politics. The White House is a treasure trove for art lovers and political junkies, history buffs and sightseers alike.

tion has published the 26th edition of this popular guidebook. A dozen First Ladies have overseen its publication, beginning with Kennedy.

THE BIBLIOPHILE

By Dinah Rokach

Take a tour of the White House from the comfort of home. It’s an office and a residence, a nerve-center and

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

Many of us recall the efforts of First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy to restore the furnishings and décor of the Executive Mansion. When she had toured the White House as a teenager, Bouvier had been disappointed that there was no guidebook to purchase as a souvenir. As First Lady, she rectified that omission.

The White House Historical Associa-

SENIOR WRITERS’ GROUP (VIRTUAL)

Join people who like to write as they read aloud their essays, poems, novel excerpts, commentaries and other written works. In this friendly, informal group, lively discussion always ensues. Come to share or to listen — all are welcome to this free meeting that takes place monthly on the first and third Thursdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Email karen.maxin@montgomerycountymd.gov for the Zoom link.

Turning the pages will open a window into the realms of American history, architecture, art, design, gardening and, of course, the presidency.

See the state rooms and the private, offlimits spaces. Most of the more than 200 photographs are in color. There are 40 hand-drawn illustrations. The guide may be purchased online at bit.ly/whguide2023.

The West Wing and Beyond: What I Saw Inside the Presidency, by Pete Souza, 256 pages, Voracious hardcover, 2022

Pete Souza served as a White House photographer during the Reagan administration and was chief photographer during both Obama terms.

He is intimately familiar with the mansion, its grounds, its historic rooms as well as the cramped offices and obscure hideaways, one of which served as his workspace.

The West Wing and Beyond transforms the house into a home. Souza takes readers behind the scenes.

Learn esoteric acronyms other than POTUS and FLOTUS. Get inside the bubble with the press pool and the secret serv-

ice detail as you ride along in the Beast, the armored presidential limo. See the iconic views of the National Mall from Marine One, and fly on Air Force One with the staff. Join the advance team planning foreign trips.

More than 200 color photographs feature unique visual perspectives from a consummate photographer. Souza, who is in his late 60s, was married in 2013 at a White House ceremony.

James Hoban: Designer and Builder of the White House , by Stewart D. McLaurin, 200 pages, White House Historical Association hardcover, 2021

When considering the design of the President’s House yet to be built in the Federal City of Washington, President George Washington inquired about a young Irish builder he had heard of during a visit to Charleston, South Carolina.

In 1792, James Hoban’s architectural rendering was selected in a competition for the design of the President’s House. Washington also put him in charge of its construction. Hoban also supervised rebuilding the President’s House after it was set aflame by the British during the War of 1812.

See BIBLIOPHILE , page 37

On spoiling the grandchildren — a poll

Three things that are always true: As soon as you wash your car, it will rain. A dog will be your best friend.

And grandparents exist to spoil their grandchildren.

I’ve long believed the first two. But more and more, the third seems to be undergoing challenge and change.

Once upon a time, grandparents were relentless, surreptitious treat providers. If their precious little prince or princess wanted a naughty candy bar or some forbidden ice cream, the grandchild knew who would furnish it.

HOW I SEE IT

By Bob Levey

If Mom and Dad said no, no, absolutely no to any such indulgences, Grandma and Grandpa stocked some anyway. Parents who provided careful nutrition, and only careful nutrition, were often left in the lurch.

A friend in Massachusetts is right in the thick of this conflict. She’s the grandmother of four. All of them live about 90 minutes away by car. So, the kiddos are often at Grandma’s home, often for days at a time.

The parents of all four children are as rigorous about food as parents can be. No processed anything. Nothing with inordinate amounts of sugar in it. As for fast food of any kind, it’s Public Enemy Number One.

However, Grandma likes Burger King. She goes there by herself when the “fam” is not in town. As she correctly points out, Burger King hasn’t killed her yet. But battle lines got drawn as soon as the “grands” were old enough to eat solid food. Grandma trooped them to her neighborhood BK without checking with the parents first. World War Three soon broke out. Grandma says she didn’t mean to subvert the will of the parents or endanger the health of her grandchildren. She simply saw Burger King as an occasional, harmless indulgence.

It’s not as if the grandkids would eat nothing but chemically enhanced burgers when they visit, she says. She provides plenty of yogurt and veggies around the clock.

But she admits enjoying the smiles as the younger generation chows down on Whoppers, and smears too much ketchup on their little faces.

The Whopper Wars threatened to derail peace in this family. The parents felt disrespected. Grandma felt undermined and misunderstood.

Meanwhile, the grandkids overheard all this conflict and wondered — not for the first time in recorded history — why

adults are such wackos.

But then the adults negotiated a compromise: The kids would not get Burger King at home, ever. But when they visit Grandma, they can expect a visit to that brightly lit emporium down the street.

How great it is that disarmament has arrived for this New England family. But how difficult this issue is proving to be for others.

This correspondent commissioned a poll among several of his fellow grandparents. How do you handle food edicts handed down by your children, about their children?

Do you routinely ignore those standards? Do you rigorously observe them? Something in between?

What came back was a kaleidoscope of approaches and case studies.

My pal Greg believes in shared secrets. When his granddaughter was 2½, he “took her out and bought her some huge chocolate monstrosity, which she ate on the spot.”

Grandpa asked granddaughter if they should fess up to her parents. She shook her head no. “Never a word was spoken,” says Greg. “It sealed a pact between the two of us forever.”

The grandchildren of another pal, Dennis, know that there’s a stash of Hershey Kisses in Dennis’s refrigerator. The kids don’t crave them, however, so it’s not a flashpoint for their parents.

However, the lid comes off over the issue of screen time. Dennis gives them more than they get at home. “We are scolded,” he reports.

Carole, a pal from Pennsylvania, says that her family’s script keeps flipping across generations.

Her children “were raised on a sensible diet and almost totally deprived of junk food.” When her son became a doctor, she expected this approach to continue.

However, “my son the doctor eats as much junk food as possible.” And his kids?

They were “raised on fast food and chips.” However, says Grandma, now that these former kids are adults, they “are more diet conscious.”

Then there’s my friend Roberta. Her daughter announced at age 15 that she would be a vegetarian from that day forward. The daughter is still adhering to that policy 30 years later.

When the daughter brings her all-vegetarian family to visit, Roberta must visit two specialty groceries before the gang arrives.

Lots of tofu and steel-cut oatmeal. Even, by her daughter’s decree, a new frying pan, because the one Roberta has owned and used for 55 years has been used to cook wicked, inorganic eggs.

See BOB LEVEY , page 37

Scrabble answers on p. 39.

Crossword Puzzle

Out of it Stephen Sherr

Across

1. Word on an Oscar statuette

5. Shut the door, emphatically

9. Wardrobe wood

14. After curfew

15. Most food truck purchases

16. Where to see Boston, or the Boston Celtics

17. Shrek or Fiona

18. Part of a chemical equation

19. Like the Miami Marlins’ stadium (usually)

20. Out of the ___

23. Frat party drink dispenser

24. Manufacturer purchased by Nicola Romeo in 1915

25. She never complained about in-laws

26. Photographer Adams

28. End of rapt- and rupt-

29. It moved from DOT to DHS in 2003

32. Out of the ___

36. The center ___ (Columbus’ region)

37. Sports org. exempt from antitrust laws

38. “I ___ hungry, I could eat a horse”

39. Out of the ___

44. Stamp on a bounced check

45. “St. Elsewhere” sets

46. Disarmament meetings

47. Suffix with serpent

48. Gillette twin-blade shaving system

49. Make lace

52. Out of the ___

57. Jesse or Joey on Full House

58. Boy in Barcelona

59. Small buffalo

60. Early anesthetic

61. Meet at ___ time and place

62. Munich mister

63. Covers in tiny particles of pollution

64. Actors Beatty and Bellamy

65. “Nature ___ as little as possible of anything” (Kepler)

Down

1. City square

2. Hole in one on a par-three

3. Creamy beef dish

4. “Scuttlebutt” has four

5. “Brothers” inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008

6. Flock

7. Greek marketplace

8. Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow (but not Jennifer Aniston)

9. Medical student’s practice patient

10. Wear away

11. Show off at a trade show

12. From square one

13. Gamma ray doses

21. Like level 1 of a video game

22. Parade honoree

27. Soda brand whose logo featured the lower half of a woman’s legs

28. Like a tuxedo shirt after the prom

29. Many of the first images in Night of the Living Dead

30. C-level

31. ___ on both your houses

32. Symbol on an outhouse

33. Switch downs (usually)

34. A bit under the weather

35. African songbird

40. Shaq and Wilt the Stilt

41. Able was I ___ saw Elba

42. Corn diseases

43. L-breaking b-guy

47. Typical place for a Bond villain’s lair

48. It is present in absinthe

50. Think the world of

51. Russian rulers

52. Opposite of an ans.

53. “Do ___ others, then run” (Benny Hill)

54. Fifth word of the NATO phonetic alphabet

55. ___ as-needed basis

56. Hawaii’s most populous island

ONE BIG HAPPY By Rick Detorie Bibliophile

From page 34

James Hoban was born in 1755 in County Kilkenny, the son of a tenant farmer. He studied design, construction and architecture at the Dublin Society Drawing School on a scholarship for underprivileged youngsters.

Hoban emigrated to Philadelphia in 1785 and moved to Charleston, South Carolina, before settling in Washington, D.C. He was devoted to the Catholic Church.

Hoban is the subject of a lavish largeformat book assembled by Stewart D. McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association. This is a work of serious history encased in a beautiful suede cover.

Essays by eight historians delve into the man and his times, the architect’s inspirations and designs. However, the content is not hagiographic: Hoban’s exploitation of enslaved laborers is revealed. More than 100 illustrations accompany the text.

James Hoban may be purchased online at whitehousehistory.org. Proceeds from James Hoban, the White House guidebook and all publications of the Historical Association are used to acquire furnishings and memorabilia for the White House.

Bob Levey

From page 35

To say the least, stress is on the menu in this household, just as surely as sprouted wheat toast.

And in the home of the grandfather who’s typing this?

No fast food for the “grands.” No stupid calories. Occasionally, we bake cookies together (a great lesson in math and science).

But in general, no food that doesn’t stick to the ribs or help the babies prosper. We follow their parents’ rules.

OK, all three of our grandkids are south of the age of four. They don’t yet yearn for Kentucky Fried Chicken or McAnything.

If and when they do? Does Grandpa Bob have the fortitude to say no, as our chil-

BEACON BITS

Feb. 11+

dren will surely insist?

I hope I do. But please don’t place any bets.

Bob Levey is a national award-winning columnist.

FREE CERAMIC TILE WORKSHOP

In this five-session workshop series, learn to tell a story through ceramic tiles with artist Suzie Scollon. This free class takes place on Saturdays, beginning Feb. 11 from 3 to 5:30 p.m. at the John Marshall Library, 6209 Rose Hill Dr., Alexandria, VA. Registration is required for the entire series at bit.ly/CeramicTileWkshp.

BOOK DISCUSSION (VIRTUAL)

Feb. 14

All are welcome to this virtual conversation about Barbara Kingsolver’s book The Poisonwood Bible. Physical copies are available at the Olney Library. Please call (240) 773-9545 to confirm before coming to the branch. The discussion takes place on Tue., Feb. 14 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Register at bit.ly/VirtualBookGroup.

LEARN TO CARVE DECOYS

Feb. 17

Learn the art of carving decoys cheaply and safely out of soap. Join Montgomery Parks on Fri., Feb. 17 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Black Hill Visitor Center, 20926 Lake Ridge Dr., Boyds, MD, for a lesson. Tickets are $8, and materials are provided. For more information and to register, visit bit.ly/CarveSoapDucks or call (301) 528-3492.

BEACON BITS

Feb. 18

FREE MOVIE SCREENING

Visit the Wheaton Library for a free showing of the 2022 film

Nope, directed by Jordan Peele, about two siblings who run a California horse ranch and discover something extraordinary and sinister in the skies above. The screening takes place on Sat., Feb. 18 from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at the library, 11701 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, MD. For more information, call (240) 777-0678.

OLNEY NEIGHBORHOOD WALK

March 4

The Seneca Valley Sugarloafers Volksmarch Club welcomes walkers for a gentle 5- or 10-kilometer walk through Olney, MD. The $3 walk takes place on March 4. Start between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. at the Oakdale Church, 3425 Emory Church Rd., Olney, MD. For more information, contact Tony Laing at (301) 980-8932 or laingat@gmail.com.

U.S. BOTANIC GARDEN OPEN HOUSE

March 11

Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the U.S. Botanic Garden. See all collections, even those not currently on display at the Conservatory, including orchids, medicinal plants, carnivorous plants, and rare and endangered species. Register for one of the open house entry times on Sat., March 11 between 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to meet the gardeners, ask questions, and wander through the working wonderland of plants at 4700 Shepherd Pkwy. SW, Washington, DC. Tickets are $5 for members; $10 for non-members. For more information, visit usbg.gov/learn/programs-and-events.

The Beacon prints classified advertising under the following headings: Business & Employment Opportunities; Caregivers; Computer Services; Entertainment; For Sale; For Sale/Rent: Real Estate; Free; Health; Home/ Handyman Services; Miscellaneous; Obituaries; Personals; Personal Services; Vacation Opportunities; and Wanted. For submission guidelines and deadlines, see the box on page 39.

CAVEAT EMPTOR!

The Beacon does not knowingly accept obscene, offensive, harmful, or fraudulent advertising. However, we do not investigate any advertisers or their products and cannot accept responsibility for the integrity of either. Respondents to classified advertising should always use caution and their best judgment.

EMPLOYMENT & REAL ESTATE ADS:

We will not knowingly or intentionally accept advertising in violation of federal, state, and local laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, familial status or handicap in connection with employment or the sale or rental of real estate.

Caregivers

A HOME HEALTHCARE- Experienced nurses, CNA, GNA are available 24/7. Cooking, companionship, personal care, housekeeping, driving. Full/Part-time or live-in care. 15 years’ experience. 2405336599)

A CARE AGENCY - Been in business for more than 10 years. Experienced nurses, CNAs, GNAs. Any hours you need. Flat rate for live-in. Duties include cooking, housekeeping, bathing, errands, etc. Tel: 667-231-8235

PROBLEM WITH YOUR PC/MAC OR NETWORK? Computer Systems Engineer will come to you with help. Call David G. at: 301-328-2112 / 301-642-4526

TAX PREPARATION: Licensed CPA for 36 years, reasonable rates, all types of returns. Located in Gaithersburg, MD near Quince Orchard Rd and Great Seneca Hwy. DIANE CHRISTEN CPA; 240-355-1135 cell; dianechristen@aol.com.

BANKS MAKE MISTAKES! Were you overcharged? Get a mortgage audit from Loantech, the nation’s #1 loan audit firm. Established in 1983. Maryland-based. Mortgage audits uncover lender overcharges of interest, fees and loan balance. As seen in Washington Post, New York Times, USA Today, NBC and CNN. 1-800-8886781. WWW.LOANTECH.COM.

WESLEY FINANCIAL GROUP, LLC Timeshare Cancellation Experts. Over $50,000,000 in timeshare debt and fees cancelled in 2019. Get free informational package and learn how to get rid of your timeshare! Free consultations. Over 450 positive reviews. Call 855-626-8703.

UP TO $15,000.00 OF GUARANTEED

LIFE INSURANCE! No medical exam or health questions. Cash to help pay funeral and other final expenses. Call Physicians Life Insurance Company - 866-212-1092 or visit www.Life55plus.info/beacon

PREPARE FOR POWER OUTAGES

TODAY with a GENERAC home standby generator $0 Money Down + Low Monthly Payment Options. Request a FREE Quote. Call now before the next power outage: 1-866-964-8106.

VIVINT. SMART SECURITY. Professionally installed. One connected system for total peace of mind. FREE professional installation! Four FREE months of monitoring! Call now to customize your system. 1-844-758-7925.

NATIONAL MEMORIAL PARK CEMETERY 2 choice sites with vault in desirable Evergreen Garden. Regularly $12,995. SALE PRICED $6500. for both! Please call 727-810-5694 PUT ON YOUR TV EARS and hear TV with unmatched clarity. TV Ears Original were originally $129.95 - NOW WITH THIS SPECIAL OFFER are only $59.95 with code MCB59! Call 1-833-934-0843.

BURIAL PLOT FOR SALE. National Memorial Park on Lee Hwy in Falls Church, Va. TWO Choice Sites / desirable “Garden of the Last Supper”. Double Depth A&B Sites/ Reg $16,995 for both. Sale: $9,995 for both. Contact Jeff at jpolucci@mieleusa.com. I will call you to discuss when I get your email.

KING DAVID MEMORIAL GARDENS

(JEWISH CEMETERY) For Sale: 2 choice sites in very desirable block (Block 4, Lots 1 and 2). Valued at $7495 each. Will sell for $3995 each or best offer. Call Roberta 410-997-1970.

4 CHOICE IN-GROUND BURIAL SITES in Lilac Garden section in National Memorial Park. Plots amongst flowers & older trees in a serene park-like setting. Reg price is $8495 each, priced to sell at $3500 each obo ALL offers considered. Call 571-239-3044.

WHEELCHAIR VAN 2007 Dodge Caravan SE with only 70,500+ miles. Side entry automatic ramp. Lovingly cared for by third owner. Regularly serviced. Front passenger seat may be removed so wheelchair can be next to driver. Special roadside assistance plan available. $19,990. Contact Hank at 301-980-1991

NATIONAL MEMORIAL PARK - Falls Church. One choice lot in desirable Block G. Current value$8,495. Sale price - $4,999. 703-678-8621.

CEMETERY PLOTS in Peninsula Memorial Park, Newport News, VA. Contact mary.hoferek@gmail.com

STROKE AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE are leading causes of death, according to the American Heart Association. Screenings can provide peace of mind or early detection! Contact Life Line Screening to schedule your screening. Special offer - 5 screenings for just $149. Call 1-844-485-7035.

DENTAL INSURANCE from Physicians Mutual Insurance Company. Coverage for 350 plus procedures. Real dental insurance - NOT just a discount plan. Do not wait! Call now! Get your FREE Dental Information Kit with all the details! 1-844366-1003 www.dental50plus.com/320 #6258.

MOBILEHELP, America’s Premier Mobile Medical Alert System. Whether You’re Home or Away. For Safety and Peace of Mind. No Long Term Contracts! Free Brochure! Call Today! 1240-650-9189.

PORTABLE OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR

May Be Covered by Medicare! Reclaim independence and mobility with the compact design and long-lasting battery of Inogen One. Free information kit! Call 855-851-0949.

THE BATHROOM OF YOUR DREAMS for as little as $149/month! BCI Bath & Shower. Many options available. Quality materials & professional installation. Senior & Military Discounts Available. Limited Time Offer - FREE virtual in-home consultation now and SAVE 15%! Call Today! 1-855-653-0087.

THE GENERAC PWRCELL, a solar plus battery storage system. SAVE money, reduce your reliance on the grid, prepare for power outages and power your home. Full installation services available. $0 Down Financing Option. Request a FREE, no obligation, quote today. Call 1-866-944-0699 SAFE STEP. North America’s #1 Walk-In Tub. Comprehensive lifetime warranty. Top-of-theline installation and service. Now featuring our FREE shower package and $1600 Off for a limited time! Call today! Financing available. Call Safe Step 1-866-478-2363.

DOWNSIZING OR LIQUIDATING AN ESTATE? Doing it yourself? DON’T THROW YOUR MONEY AWAY! Our easy process determines what to keep, gift, sell, donate, or discard. Services include: estate liquidation, downsizing, whole house clean-outs; emptying storage units, junk removal, and estate sales. We buy estates, vehicles, and real estate. Call/text Philip at 301219-3600 or visit DownsizingSpecialists.com for more information. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure, and we know the difference!

DON’T LET THE STAIRS LIMIT YOUR MOBILITY! Discover the ideal solution for anyone who struggles on the stairs, is concerned about a fall or wants to regain access to their entire home. Call AmeriGlide today! 1-866-3655170.

CIRCLE OF LIFE ESTATE PLANNING

WORKBOOK (188 pages) removes the stress and anxiety of Will and Trust preparation. All you need to do is to fill in the blanks that relate to you. When completed, you will have a complete inventory of your estate. Order by credit card to: Workbook, PO BOX 169, Kensington, MD 20895. All major credit cards accepted. (301)565-2917. Cost: $59.99 plus tax, s/h free.

APPLYING FOR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY or Appealing a Denied Claim?

Call Bill Gordon & Assoc. Our case managers simplify the process & work hard to help with your case. Call 1-866-970-0779 FREE Consultation. Local Attorneys Nationwide [Mail: 2420 N St NW, Washington DC. Office: Broward Co. FL (TX/NM Bar.)]

ADULT BEGINNER PIANO LESSONS.

Learn to play classical and popular pieces by ear and from music. Classically trained teacher with 40 years’ experience. Price: $40/60 min. Home studio, 2 blocks from Cleveland Park Metro Station, DC. Call or text Neil, 202-6692962.

YOU OR YOUR LOVED ONE CAN’T CLIMB STAIRS in your home any longer, contemplating installing a Stairlift? Call Frank for your free quote-703.615.3262

CONSUMER CELLULAR. Switch and save up to $250/year on your talk, text and data. No contract and no hidden fees. Unlimited talk and text with flexible data plans. Premium nationwide coverage. 100% U.S. based customer service. Limited time offer - get $50 off on any new account. Use code GIFT50. For more information, call 1-833-742-1303

WANT TO STAY SAFE AND COMFORTABLE IN YOUR HOME as you age? Let a Certified Aging-In-Place Specialist assess your home to determine the best ways to modify it so that you may continue your independence and thrive where you live. Allyson 301-996-6199

DECLUTTER, ORGANIZE, FILE, PACK, MOVE - Services especially for seniors. Get your life and your home under control. Maryland Senior Concierge Services, 301.452.5730 or ccallahan@mdseniorhelp.com. Visit our website www.mdseniorhelp.com

HOME ORGANIZER I look forward to working with you and helping to make your life more organized and pleasant. Whether you need to bring more order into your office or living space, or whether you are trying to decide what to keep or give away prior to a move, it can be useful to have some experienced help. I would enjoy creating custom solutions for your organizational needs. For more info, call Joanne at 301-5903050 or visit www.OrganizersOnTheMove.com

DISH NETWORK. $64.99 for 190 Channels! Blazing Fast Internet, $19.99/mo. (where available.)

Switch & Get a FREE $100 Visa Gift Card. FREE Voice Remote. FREE HD DVR. FREE Streaming on ALL Devices. Call today! 1-844-560-5837.

WANTED: OLDER VIOLINS, GUITARS, BANJOS, MANDOLINS, UKULELES. Musician/collector will pay cash for older string instruments. Jack (301) 279-2158, leave message & phone number (please speak slowly).

WILL BUY MILITARY, WWII, WWI, Civil War memorabilia items. Uniforms, weapons, helmets, photos, war souvenirs, medals, photos or any other items associated with U.S., German, Japanese or other military history. Call Dave (240-464-0958) or email (david.obal63@gmail.com).

TOP PRICES PAID FOR FINE ANTIQUES, ARTWORK and unusual and rare things including decorated crocks and stoneware, antique clocks and music boxes, classic cars, coin operated devices, toys and dolls, furniture, lamps , art glass and pottery. I am 69 years old, well educated [ law degree ] financially capable and have over 40 years in the business. Why pay outlandish auction house, estate agent or consignment store commissions when you can get a fair upfront price for your valuables with no hassle? If you have something rare, unusual and valuable and are prepared to sell it I would like to speak with you. Please call Jake Lenihan 301 279 8834. Thank you.

CASH FOR RECORDS, CDS AND DVDS. Best price guaranteed. Free appraisals. All types of music {33, 45, 78 & CDs.} Also buying turntables and stereo equipment. Will make house calls with CURBSIDE PICKUPS. Call or text Steve at 301-646-5403.

BOOK, CD OR DVD COLLECTIONS

WANTED. House calls possible. Call Nelson at 240 472 4615.

ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES/ESTATE

LIQUIDATION: We provide full estate liquidation/home cleanout services – and we’re always buying great stuff! Especially looking for collections of vintage toys, old signs & other advertising pieces, comic books, sports memorabilia, gold & silver coins, pre-1965 coins, jewelry, historical objects, historical memorabilia, autographs, antique paintings, bronze sculptures, folk art, vinyl records, and valuable collections of all kinds. Based in Silver Spring MD, we serve Montgomery, Howard and Baltimore Counties, Washington D.C., NOVA and beyond. We also provide appraisal services for insurance/estates. We’re experts at clearing hoarder houses, too. Call Chris on cell (202) 731-9447. www.OrionsAttic.com.

I BUY OLD GUNS (Military/Civilian) and MILITARY MEDALS, uniforms, insignia, swords, models, gear, & books from all time periods. I have a Federal Firearms License to legally purchase firearms. I am located in Silver Spring, MD and will travel. I also buy West Point & Naval Academy memorabilia and items from Generals and Admirals. Testimonials from veterans and their families on my website: www.midatlanticmilitaryantiques.com Call, email or text. Tim Frank 703-447-7243 historian1975@gmail.com

LOOKING TO PURCHASE QUALITY BRIC-A-BRAC and smalls. I collect Royal Copenhagen, Herend, Shelley, English bone china cups and saucers and antique Christmas and Halloween decorations. Have recently changed my look a little and developed an interest in Midcentury pottery and glass and Chinese antiques. Need to clean out a house in a hurry? I may be able to help. Please call Susan (301) 785-1129.

BEACON BITS

KNITTING FOR CHARITIES

DIRECTV for $79.99/mo for 12 months with CHOICE Package. Watch your favorite live sports, news & entertainment anywhere. First 3 months of HBO Max, Cinemax, Showtime, Starz and Epix included! Directv is #1 in Customer Satisfaction (JD Power & Assoc.) Some restrictions apply. Call 1-888-572-4953.

Join Anne’s Knitting Corner and make various knitted and crocheted items for area charities. This event takes place on Wednesdays from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Margaret Schweinhaut Senior Center, 1000 Forest Glen Rd., Silver Spring, MD. For more information, call the center at (240) 777-8085.

HOW TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD

All classified ads must be submitted and paid for online, via our website, www.thebeaconnewspapers.com/classifieds

Deadlines and Payments: To appear in the next issue, your ad text and payment must be entered by the 5th of the preceding month (for Baltimore and Howard County editions); by the 20th (for Washington edition).

Cost will be based on the number of characters and spaces in your ad:

• $25 for 1-250 • $35 for 251-500. • $50 for 501-750 (maximum length). The website will calculate this amount for you.

Note: Maryland contractors must provide a valid MHIC number.

• Each real estate listing qualifies as one ad. • All ads are subject to publisher’s discretion. Payment will be refunded if unacceptable for any reason.

To place your classified ad, visit www.thebeaconnewspapers.com/classifieds