September 2024 | Baltimore Beacon

FREE

I N

F O C U S

VOL.21, NO.9

F O R

P E O P L E

O V E R

I N S I D E …

PHOTO BY MAPLE LEAF AVENTURES

LEISURE & TRAVEL

British Columbia’s remote coastal rainforest teems with wildlife, including bears, wolves, orcas and humpback whales; plus, tips for solo travelers page 15 PHOTO BY KIM NEWMONEY

Hornor, who is in her 50s, grew up in New York state with several dogs in the household.

Her mother owned German shorthaired pointers that she entered in field competi-

PHOTO BY BARBARA RUBEN

Always dogs at home

SEPTEMBER 2024

More than 125,000 readers throughout Greater Baltimore

Both dog and trainer are fast

By Barbara Ruben A dog aptly named Nimble is a blur of black and white fur as she leaps through a ring, jumps high over a bar, and then races through a tunnel.

Her speed and dexterity, even when charging up a see-saw and confidently prancing down the other side, led the 6year-old Ellicott City dog to become the first mixed-breed to win the agility competition at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show in May. The prestigious event, held in New York, is the country’s oldest dog show, dating back to 1877.

Nimble’s owner and trainer, Cynthia Hornor, couldn’t be prouder of her. “Nimble loves what she does and works so hard,” Hornor said of her border collie-Papillion mix.

At the competition, Nimble flawlessly zipped through the course in a fleet-footed 28.76 seconds, which no other dog could do in less than 30 seconds.

She was also the first dog in the smallest height division — 12 inches from paws to shoulders — to win the competition title, officially called the Masters Agility Championship.

One of Hornor’s other dogs, a pure-bred border collie named Truant, won the Westminster agility competition last year. And Truant’s mother, Spice, has also placed in numerous competitions.

“She’s getting up there in years now at 16, and that makes me very sad,” Hornor said of Spice.

5 0

Ellicott City dog trainer Cynthia Horner and her dog, Nimble, made history at the Westminster Dog Show this year. Nimble became the first mixed-breed dog to win the agility competition. Horner offers dog training in Hunt Valley.

tions, where they were judged on their hunting ability. Hornor helped with the dogs but also had an affinity for horses, riding competitively on a horse she owned.

“My sister and I had to take care of our horses and clean up after them and feed them even when it was 20 degrees below.

We also helped take care of the dogs. My mother believed that taking care of animals

Embraacce Em

made us very dependable,” Hornor said.

Hornor also fell in love with training dogs for shows. She began her career as a certified public accountant but found herself drawn to canine competitions, which led to starting her own training company.

“Very early on, I realized [traveling] to

Novelist Amy Tan’s birdwatching book takes off page 19

See DOG AND TRAINER, page 20

Harmony yA AtEnterprise.com (240) 203-7380 Harmony yA AtWaldorf.com (240) 4 43 35-4608

The e Journey

ARTS & STYLE

FITNESS & HEALTH 3 k Fountain of youth is at the gym k Separate beds, better sleep LAW & MONEY 12 k Don’t fall for “deepfake” videos k James Caan’s financial mistake ADVERTISER DIRECTORY

23

PLUS CROSSWORD, BEACON BITS, CLASSIFIEDS & MORE

2

Subscribe online! See how on p. 22

SEPTEMBER 2024 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Disability inability One aspect of Social Security that an SSDI determination last year.

It takes the Social Security Administradoesn’t get as much attention as retiretion (SSA) more than seven ment benefits is what’s months to render an initial known as Social Security Disdecision to applicants, up ability Insurance (SSDI). from about four months a few Its monthly payments are years ago. designed to help workers If rejected initially, as about who develop a life-threaten70% of all applications are, ing physical or mental disabilthere are then typically two ity, or one that will prevent levels of appeals. them from engaging “in any An appeal for “reconsiderasubstantial gainful activity” tion” requires another sevenfor at least 12 months. month wait. If that’s denied, a Eligibility is based on age, FROM THE person will typically wait andegree of disability and PUBLISHER length of work record, so the By Stuart P. Rosenthal other 15 months before the case is heard by an adminisolder the applicant, the better the chance of success. More than three- trative law judge.

The biggest reasons for these delays quarters of all SSDI recipients are over 50, and 41% are between 60 and full retirement may stem from problems not of the SSA’s age. (Disability benefits end once regular making.

First, the number of Social Security benSocial Security begins.)

Funded by a portion of the payroll taxes eficiaries overall is up about 25% since withheld from workers’ earnings, SSDI is 2010 (yes, those aging baby boomers). At on a sounder financial footing than Social the same time, Congress has reduced the Security, with funds expected to last agency’s budget by nearly 20% in real terms, according to the Center on Budget through at least 2098.

The bad news is that perhaps one of the and Policy Priorities.

We mentioned in an article last month reasons it’s in better financial shape is that the SSDI determinations process is dys- that the average caller to Social Security is functional, with a waitlist of more than one now waiting 36 minutes on hold. But that’s million applicants (for a program that has nothing compared to waiting 29 months seven million recipients). AARP reported for a determination on your disability that 30,000 applicants died while awaiting claim!

Beacon The

I N

F O C U S

F O R

P E O P L E

O V E R

5 0

The Beacon is a monthly newspaper dedicated to inform, serve, and entertain the citizens of the Greater Baltimore area, and is privately owned. Other editions serve Howard County, Md. and Greater Washington, D.C. Subscriptions are available via third-class mail ($12), prepaid with order. Maryland residents add 6 percent for sales tax. Send subscription order to the office listed below.

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 Art Director – Kyle Gregory Vice President of Operations – Roger King Advertising Representatives – Steve Levin, M.K. Phillips, Alan Spiegel Assistant Editor – Ana Preger Hart Editorial Interns – Tori Cleveland, Josephine Panner

The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915 (410) 248-9101 • Email: info@thebeaconnewspapers.com Submissions: The Beacon welcomes reader contributions. Deadline for editorial is the 1st of the month preceding the month of publication. Deadline for ads is the 1st of the month preceding the month of publication. See page 23 for classified advertising details. Please mail or email all submissions.

© Copyright 2024 The Beacon Newspapers, Inc.

However, it’s not clear that having an inadequate number of workers is the only problem. In some cases, it may have something to do with the staff they do have.

Disability applicants do not qualify for benefits if, despite their disability, they could still reasonably be expected to perform other “substantial” work in a different job.

To determine that, the SSA uses an outdated government listing of occupations developed by the Department of Labor in 1938 and last updated in 1991. Apparently, no other agency, including DOT, still uses the list.

As a result, the SSA sometimes denies disability benefits to workers when they could theoretically find work in occupations that are, in fact, not available in the present-day workforce.

The Washington Post reported a couple of years back that a “vocational expert” hired by the SSA told an incredulous judge that the plaintiff should not qualify for disability insurance because he could obtain work in the U.S. as a “nut sorter, dowel inspector or egg processor,” based on the list.

In June, to some fanfare, SSA announced it had identified 114 occupations it would no longer use to deny eligibility. The three supposed occupations its expert cited are, un-

fortunately, not among them, though SSA did add that “nut sorter” is a career for which the agency will be “implementing additional evidence requirements” before using it to disqualify an applicant(!).

Economist Mark Warshawsky of the American Enterprise Institute reports that the SSA has spent more than $300 million over the past 15 years to commission a more realistic list of occupations from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While that effort was at least partly complete by 2020, the agency has still not begun to use it, and SSA Commissioner Martin O’Malley told Congress recently that he wasn’t planning to do so.

So, while part of the blame should be placed on Congress for inadequate SSA funding, it sounds like the agency itself should take a good chunk of responsibility for its ongoing dysfunction.

A word to the wise: If you need to apply for SSDI, hire an attorney (on a contingency basis) who specializes in it. They tend to get better and quicker results.

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 info@thebeaconnewspapers.com. Please include your name, address and telephone number for verification.

Dear Editor: I recently experienced a profound loss.

My husband, a respected teacher and loving husband, passed away under circumstances that could have been prevented.

He spent his final days in a memory care facility. He got up out of his wheelchair and took a hard fall; he only lived 12 more days.

We were unaware that the facility we placed him in was “assisted living,” and so [wheelchair] seat belts were not allowed due to Federal and state laws [limiting use of restraints].

Education is needed to inform the public about these laws on restraints so we can make better choices for our loved ones.

The many books I have on Alzheimer’s usually do not mention restraints.

Janice L. Hufford Falls Church, VA Ed. Note: As you note, both Federal and state laws strictly limit the use of restraints (including seat belts in wheelchairs) to medically necessary situations. Their use typically requires a physician’s orders, written consent from the patient or their legal representative, and continuous reevaluation of the need.

The goal of such laws is to prevent the widespread use of physical and chemical restraints for the convenience of staff, which had been a problem prior to such laws.

As you have learned through this tragedy, there are also cases where people are injured

or lose their lives due to the absence of restraints in certain circumstances.

Particularly in assisted living situations, it can be difficult to strike the perfect balance between the freedom residents want and deserve and the restraints that might protect them from harm. Thank you for calling attention to this important issue.

Dear Editor: The issue of uncontrolled illegal immigration has become so serious in our country that it has potential to decisively influence presidential elections.

Building a wall on our southern border may temporarily reduce illegal immigration but won’t solve the underlying issue.

The root cause is the gap between the demand for, and supply of, low-level labor.

A Guest Worker Program offers a unique pragmatic solution that addresses illegal immigration without substantial costs, while boosting our economy.

Young individuals recruited to work in the USA will undergo technical training in trades such as plumbing, carpentry, gardening, nursing, caregiving and other needed sectors.

They would be issued work visas for a fixed duration, such as five years, and return to their home countries at the end of the contract period.

See LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, page 10

Makes a great gift!

BALTIMORE BEACON — SEPTEMBER 2024

Health Fitness &

3

NO SHAME IN SLEEPING APART To get a good night’s rest, many couples choose to sleep in separate rooms THE EYES HAVE IT What’s macular degeneration and can you do anything about it?

SUMMER SWELLS Swollen ankles may be a sign of kidney problems, anemia or even heart failure STUDY VOLUNTEERS WANTED The National Institute on Aging wants to see if a supplement can prevent diabetes

Yes, you can reduce some food’s calories

By Matthew Kadey Calorie counts are everywhere: stamped on packaged foods, plastered on restaurant menu boards, and accompanying recipes in magazines. They’re inescapable. And many of us pay a great deal of attention to these numbers in the name of calorie-controlled eating.

In recent years, however, scientific studies have cast doubt on the way calories in some foods are measured and how we typically count them.

You see, calorie stats are based on a century-old formula called the Atwater system, where the macronutrient components — carbohydrate, fat and protein — of a food have a set number of calories (a unit of energy).

But this fails to tell the whole picture regarding the calories our bodies actually extract from foods.

“When it comes to the way we metabolize calories, the type of foods we eat has a big impact on this,” said Megan Hilbert, a registered dietitian nutritionist with Top Nutrition Coaching. Calorie absorption and metabolism are more complex than we may think.

Here are a few ways you can tweak your diet to help eat your way to a calorie deficit, or at least make it harder to go overboard on them.

Go nuts for whole nuts Nuts are not a low-calorie food, but a few studies have shown we metabolize (absorb) fewer of their calories than once

thought.

For instance, an investigation in the journal Nutrients found that we typically glean about 16% fewer calories from cashews than what you would read on nutrition labels.

“Because available energy in whole foods like nuts is behind cell walls, we often don’t absorb every last calorie, and thus, this energy gets expelled in our stool,” Hilbert explained.

Microorganisms in our gut microbiome also get access to some of the calories in almonds and other nuts, which may help explain why studies have failed to show that eating calorie-dense nuts leads to weight gain.

With the extra processing required to break down the nuts’ cell walls, there is a

good chance we absorb fewer calories from eating whole nuts than from nut butter, for example.

Cool down your carbs When you cook starchy foods like rice and potatoes and then let them cool down in the refrigerator for several hours, a unique type of carb called resistant starch is formed.

“This is a carbohydrate that our digestive system can’t break down into energy and instead becomes food for our gut bacteria,” Hilbert said. “Research shows that resistant starch has fewer calories than regular starch — two instead of four calories per gram.”

See CALORIES, page 4

Gym’s water cooler is fountain of youth

By Stephen Wade Here’s the message from Dr. Marcas Bamman, a physiologist with decades of research into aging who preaches the benefits of weight-resistance training for those who are getting up there.

We’re talking people 60-plus — women and men. And we’re talking about hitting the gym and weight training.

“Resistance training is in many ways the true fountain of youth,” Bamman said in an interview with the Associated Press. “I like to say the fountain of youth is the water cooler in the gym.”

Of course, there are biological limits.

But Bamman said the bulk of age-related decline in strength, flexibility and endurance is behavioral — putting too few demands on the body, not too many.

“When I tell somebody that in four to six months your strength and muscle mass and overall muscle function is going to elevate to the levels of people 30 to 35 years younger, that hits home,” he said.

Perhaps you know you’re too sedentary and the birthdays keep piling up. You suspect resistance training would be beneficial.

But perhaps you’re intimidated. Don’t be.

Getting started Check with medical professionals to make sure there are no health problems that stand in your way.

Then find a gym. Larger gyms offer a social component with things to do on a day off from weight training. And Bamman suggests getting a trainer.

“It’s actually quite safe [to weight train], but it does require proper progression,” Bamman said. “You have to have a good instructor who can teach the movements properly.”

Bamman, a research scientist at the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition, said finding a fully qualified trainer can be tricky.

“We need more rigorous certification of trainers,” he said. “The problem is that you can go online tonight and pay $50 and get some certification as a trainer.”

Bamman said machines are better for beginners, but free weights — barbells or dumbbells — may be more effective as you gain confidence.

Before turning to the weights, start with a five- to 10-minute warmup — on the treadmill, stationary bike or elliptical machine — to get the blood flowing. You can add a few minutes on the mat for stretching and abdominal work.

Then come the weights.

“Sometimes you see people who sit on the machine, do a set and then play with their phone for three or four minutes. We like to keep them moving.”

Important for women as well What you should aim for Bamman suggests resistance training twice a week. Three times is even better, and he recommends non-weight-training days in between. For instance, work out on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and let Tuesday and Thursday be days of rest.

He suggests 10 different exercise movements — eight is sufficient. Do 10 repetitions of each movement. Do this three times, described as three sets. Then move on to the next movement.

When you reach the 10th repetition of any given exercise, you should feel you can’t do many more. If you could have done 10 more reps, you want to increase the resistance.

Women may benefit from resistance training even more than men because it’s a way to fight osteoporosis, the loss of bone density.

“Women are on a disadvantaged trajectory for bone loss, particularly in susceptible areas such as the hips and lower back,” said Bamman.

“But the strength-training benefits for both sexes are really important. There are no sex differences in the ability to respond. In gaining muscle mass and strength in untrained people, men and women track the same.”

The body demands work In a few words: Use it or lose it.

Bamman cautions against pampering

yourself, and criticized even healthcare professionals “who baby seniors.” Of course, common sense is required.

“Our human body is a demand-based system,” he explained. “If you chronically impart a low demand on the body, we have adaptations to low demand. That’s why we lose muscle mass, that’s why we get weaker. We’re not demanding much.”

“But if you put high demands on the system — like resistance training — now the body has to adapt to these higher demands.

The body says: ‘To adapt to these new demands I’ve got to make my bones stronger.

I’ve got to make my muscles bigger.’”

Bamman used the example of space flight, or extended bed rest, due to which people rapidly lose strength.

“Bed rest or space flight is essentially expedited aging,” he said. “All of our systems as we age are capable of responding and adapting. They just need the stimulus.” He said he’s seen positive effects for people in their 70s and 80s, and even for some in their 90s.

Bamman is 57 and joked he’s getting “closer in age to the people I study.” He also emphasized there are no shortcuts.

“These programs that roll out for older adults — seated exercises and the like.

This is gimmicky, and they don’t impart enough demands on the body,” he said. © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Fitness & Health | Subscribe online! See how on p. 22

Calories

foods as easily,” Hilbert said.

From page 4

Turn up the protein burn

So, a cold potato salad or grain salad is likely to have fewer digestible calories than if you eat these foods immediately after cooking them. Ditto for green-skinned bananas, which have more resistant starch than ripe bananas.

In general, eating more high-fiber foods like legumes and seeds is a good way to bid adieu to more calories. “Higher fiber foods take longer to digest, and thus we don’t get the available energy from these

Different foods go through different metabolic pathways. Some of these pathways are more efficient than others.

“Protein takes the most energy to digest compared to the other macronutrients, and 20 to 30% of the total calories from protein are used to digest it,” said Hilbert, who added: “The reason for this is that proteins are large and complex molecules that take a lot of moving parts to properly break them down.”

Join us for warm, participatory, egalitarian year-round Shabbat Services and High Holiday services.

We are a Kehillah Mekabelet – a Welcoming Congregation for all families, couples, and individuals of all races, heritages, ethnicities, gender identities/expressions, and sexual orientations.

Our building, bima (ark podium) and facilities are wheelchair accessible.

Congregation Beit Tikvah Baltimore’s Jewish Reconstructionist Synagogue in Roland Park 5802 Roland Avenue, 21210-1310 • 410-464-9402 info@beittikvah.org • www.beittikvah.org

SEPTEMBER 2024 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Owing to their abundance of protein, the calories we derive from a chicken breast, a slab of beef, or a bowl of Greek yogurt is likely less than advertised on the label.

Extra calorie burn may be one way that higher protein diets help some people drop pounds.

Keep your grains (more) whole According to Hilbert, intact whole grains like wheat, rye, barley, oats, quinoa and spelt have most of their available calories packaged behind cell walls and fibers, which makes those calories harder for our bodies to digest and absorb.

“If we think about the act of processing foods, such as turning grains into flour, this is partially digesting those foods for us, and because of this [processing], we can absorb more of the calories,” Hilbert said.

So, anything that reduces the size of food particles in items like whole grains likely increases the calories you absorb from that food. Cooking flour (in pasta, bakery products, and so forth) likely increases the calories you absorb even more.

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who consumed a diet rich in whole grains burned almost 100 more calories per day than those who ate the same diet but with refined grains such as white flour and white rice, due to having a greater resting metabolic rate and the excretion of more calories.

Limit ultra-processed foods Since it’s easier to soak up more calories from ultra-processed foods, that might be why they contribute to unwanted weight gain.

An investigation in the journal Food & Nutrition Research provided volunteers with either a sandwich made with multigrain bread and cheddar cheese or one made with more highly processed white bread and cheese slices.

Even though both meals had the same number of total calories on paper, the lessprocessed sandwich meal required nearly twice as much energy to digest, resulting in fewer calories being available to the body for storage.

Again, the added work required for the digestive process and the extra fiber present in the less processed sandwich could drive up the calorie burn and drive down the calorie absorption.

Other research shows that people simply tend to consume more calories when eating ultra-processed foods than calories from minimally processed foods. So, a combo of higher calorie intake and more calorie retention can make ultra-processed food problematic for achieving a healthy body weight.

Reprinted with permission from Environmental Nutrition, a monthly publication of Belvoir Media Group, LLC, 1-800829-5384, EnvironmentalNutrition.com. © 2024 Belvoir Media Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Everything You Need for a

Vibrant Retirement Discover Baltimore County’s premier senior living communities.

Get your FREE brochure!

Call 1-800-590-4091 or visit SeniorLivingMaryland.com.

137759

4

5

Makes a great gift! | Fitness & Health

BALTIMORE BEACON — SEPTEMBER 2024

Benefits to couples sleeping separately

Prioritize good sleep Dr. Seema Khosla, a pulmonologist and spokesperson for the academy, said achieving adequate sleep, which is usually seven to eight hours for adults, is important for healthy relationships.

Studies indicate that people who consistently experience poor sleep are more likely to experience conflict with their partners,

said Khosla, who is the medical director of the North Dakota Center for Sleep, in Fargo.

“It’s really a question of people prioritizing their sleep,” Khosla said. “I have had patients who have been married like 60 years and they swear that separate bedrooms is a reason.”

Sleeping separately, she said, “is probably more common than we think.”

Not a barrier to intimacy Key to making separate sleep spaces work is talking about it beforehand, as Solender did with his wife.

“It’s not about avoiding intimacy. It’s about recognizing that you can have intimacy, you can have that time together, but then you just sleep apart. That’s a really important part of the conversation. Both partners need to understand and agree,” Khosla said.

She has seen some reluctance among her patients when she suggests sleeping apart.

“Usually, it’s somebody’s spouse who is snoring or someone who has a spouse’s alarm that wakes them up at four in the morning or something like that.

“We’ll talk about it. And people will push back right away saying, oh, no, no, that’s not gonna work for me,” she said.

Some, Khosla said, “will sit with it for a minute and they’ll think about it, and you can tell that they’re kind of like, ‘I would love to do this but how do I tell my partner?’”

Tracey Daniels and her husband have been sleeping apart for about four years.

Initially, there was no big talk. She just headed to the guest room.

“It started because my husband is a horrible snorer. But also I’m a very light sleeper. He could drop a paperclip on a carpeted floor and I would wake up,” said Daniels, who lives in Tryon, North Carolina.

Later, she said, she initiated a conversa-

HAVE YOU HEARD? Untreated hearing loss can increase your risk of dementia and cognitive decline.

Come middle age, Zee said, sleep is less robust.

“In general, you’re more prone to getting things like insomnia or sleep apnea. And so that begins to be bothersome,” she said.

Technology can help While there’s no shame in sleeping apart, Zee said technology has helped make sharing a bed easier in some ways.

White noise machines, cooling pillows and bedding, mattresses with dual temperature controls and dual control electric blankets can help, Zee said. Some couples have given up sharing blankets, using See SLEEPING, page 7

MAIL OR EMAIL FOR FREE INFORMATION For free materials on housing communities and/or research studies, just complete this coupon and mail or email it to the Beacon.

Housing Communities

❏ Brightview Senior Living (see ad on page 8) ❏ Caritas House Assisted Living (see ad on page 13) ❏ Catholic Charities (see ad on page 13) ❏ Charlestown/Erickson (see ad on page 4) ❏ Christ Church Harbor Apts (see ad on page 8) ❏ Harmony at Enterprise (see ads on pages 1, 9) ❏ Harmony at Waldorf (see ads on pages 1, 9) ❏ Merion Village (see ad on page 13) ❏ Oak Crest/Erickson (see ad on page 4) ❏ Park View Laurel (see ad on page 14) ❏ Park View Towson (see ad on page 14) ❏ Park View Fullerton (see ad on page 14) ❏ Park View Rosedale (see ad on page 14) ❏ Pickersgill (see ad on page 7) ❏ St. Mary’s Roland View Towers (see ad on page 20) ❏ Virginia Towers (see ad on page 21) ❏ Warren Place Senior Apartments (see ad on page 21) ❏ Westminster House (see ad on page 18)

Clinical Health Studies

❏ NIA Supplement Study (see ad and article page 10) ❏ Prediabetes Blood Sugar Study (see ad on page 11)

410-816-9660

✃

Address these important health concerns with one call to

Name_____________________________________________________________________________

Schedule a hearing exam*, and

Schedule a hearing exam,* and receive receive FREE ear wax FREE ear wax removal plusremoval cleaning plus cleaning of any current of any current hearing aid, wherever it’s hearing aids, wherever it’s from. from.

tion after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and went through surgery.

“He comes and tucks me in and gives me a kiss,” Daniels said.

They rotate their three dogs at night.

Dr. Phyllis Zee, chief of sleep medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and director of a sleep clinic at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, said sleep separation is common in her practice.

“It would be a great idea to discuss sleep compatibility before you get married. I tend to see it when couples have been married and/or they’ve been together for some time and have been trying to negotiate this for a while,” she said.

✃

By Leanne Italie Michael Solender and his wife have been together for 42 years. They slept in the same bed for the first 10, taking to separate rooms after that.

Their sleep separation was due to his developing chronic and heavy snoring that eventually led to a diagnosis of sleep apnea and his use of a CPAP machine.

After the machine eliminated his snoring, however, they continued to sleep apart in their Charlotte, North Carolina, home because of other issues. He’s typically warm at night, and she’s usually cold.

“For us to maintain separate rooms for sleep just makes for a healthier relationship and a better relationship,” said Solender, 66. “There’s no shame attached to that. There’s no stigma.”

Snoring, temperature variations, cover stealers and tossing and turning often lead to partners sleeping separately. Other issues might also be in play, including illness, different work shifts, and partners who go to bed and get up at different times.

More than one-third of Americans said they occasionally or consistently sleep in another room to accommodate a bed partner, according to an American Academy of Sleep Medicine study last year. Men are the ones who usually hit the sofa or guest room.

And, perhaps surprisingly, it’s millennials who do it most, rather than older people.

Dr. Deirdre Courtney Audiologist

Address__________________________________________________________________________ City_________________________________________State__________Zip____________________ Phone _______________________________________ E-mail_____________________________________________________________________________

*Covered by most insurances, including Medicare, once a year

Dr. Sofia Roller Audiologist

BB9/24

2331 York Rd • Suite 102 • Lutherville, MD

Check the boxes you’re interested in and return this form to: The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915 or take a picture and email to housing@thebeaconnewspapers.com.

6

Fitness & Health | Subscribe online! See how on p. 22

SEPTEMBER 2024 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Ask the Ho H me Care Exper xpert Tom Smith, To h, Reegional gional Manager, Bu Business D Dev evelopm elopment, Family & Nursing ng Carre e

S

ince 1968, Family & Nu Nursing Care has helped tens of thousands of families by providing g p older access to caregivers who help adults wi with accttiv ivit ities of dai aily ly liivving — incl cluding bat athing, dressing, mobiliitty assistance, errands, meal prep, ligght

houseke keepingg, medicat aattion remin i d ders, compan m anionsh hiip and more.

Now servving the Baltimore g , Fam region, milyy & Nursingg Care is a leading ressource ffo or private duty home care services, providing clients and ttheir families with

access to compassionate p as and expert le caregivers to help expert-level older adults maintain their independence p and q qualityy of liffee as they age. Ninety-eightt percent of surveyed clients have said they would recommend thesee services

to a ffrriend or o family member.

This mont nth, we aske ked T To om Smiith, Regio onal Managerr,, Business Developmen p nt aatt Family ly & N Nu ursingg us more aab bout ut how tth he Care, to tell u company m ny add dresses ccllien nts’ needs star arting fr from the iniittial al servi vice inqu quiry. y.

Q: How do you h dl initial handle i i i l service inquiries from potential clients?

A: First and fo foremost, we listen.

Whether the caller’s need fo f or care stems fr from a major crisis or a smaller issue, we provide an empathic, calming and reassuring presence on the other end of the phone line or video screen.

Our intake call center team doesn’t fu function as order takers j who are there just to ask basic infformation needed to fi f ill out a standard fo form. Rather, they seek to really understand each unique situation and associated care needs so that they can be as helpfu ful as possible in addressing those needs.

One of our top strengths as a company is our ability to make the right match between caregiver and client. That process starts with our intake team, in the initial inquiry, y, and is the reason why we are so fo fo cused on understanding the distinctive circumstances of each potential client and getting to the heart of the matter in each situation.

In addition to matching appropriate skill competencies, we take each client’s speciffiic needs and preffeerences into account.

Q: What do you consider to be a successful outcome of a service inquiry?

A: No two stories are the same, but half of those who use our services need care within 24 hours, and those callers can oft f t en be feeling overwhelmed and vulnerable when they reach out.

We are successffu u l by attending to their immediate need fo for care as quickly as possible. It doesn’t have to be a huge commitment fo for the client. We We can always come back to discuss additional care needs once the crisis has eased.

d Ę s¾ for Balttimore Ę

Ę

Ę

410-697-820 00 famiilynursingcare.c com

Makes a great gift! | Fitness & Health

BALTIMORE BEACON — SEPTEMBER 2024

7

Facing age-related macular degeneration Dear Savvy Senior, age-related macular degeneration (or AMD) Is macular degeneration hereditary? is the most common cause of severe vision My mother lost much of her loss in people over age 60, afvision from it before she fecting an estimated 20 million died, and now at age 65, Americans.

I’m concerned I may get it AMD is a progressive eye too. What can you tell me? disease that damages the —Brown-Eyed Betty macula, the part of the eye Dear Betty, that allows us to see objects Unfortunately, having a clearly, causing vision loss in parent or sibling with macular the center of your vision. degeneration does indeed inIt affects the ability to read, crease your risk of getting it SAVVY SENIOR drive, watch television and do by three to four times. routine daily tasks, but it does

By Jim Miller But the good news is there not cause total blindness. are things you can do to protect your eyeThere are two types of AMD: dry and sight, and a number of treatments are wet. Dry AMD, which affects about 85 to available if you do happen to get it. Here’s 90% of all people that have it, progresses what you should know. slowly and painlessly over a period of years.

Wet AMD is much more aggressive, and What is AMD? can cause severe vision loss in a matter of Macular degeneration, also known as weeks or months.

Sleeping From page 5 their own, to make sleep easier.

“There’s a whole market out there to mitigate some of these issues,” she said.

Sleep separation is more accepted now as people have become more aware of the

importance of quality sleep to overall health, Zee said.

“On the other hand, there is research to show there are benefits to sleeping together,” she said. “In general, probably the top line is seek professional help before making a decision. Are the issues a sign of a sleep disorder that one can treat?” —AP

Here, assisted living is living, with the right amount of personal assistance…

Factors that can increase your risk of getting AMD include age (60 and older), smoking, excessive exposure to sunlight (especially if you have light-colored eyes), certain genetic risk factors, a family history of AMD, high blood pressure, obesity and being Caucasian.

What you can do For anyone over the age of 65, it’s a smart idea to get your eyes examined by an ophthalmologist every year. They can spot early

signs of AMD before vision loss occurs.

Early signs may include shadowy areas in your central vision or unusually fuzzy or distorted vision.

The Amsler grid is also an excellent tool you can use to check your eyes for AMD at home. Visit Macular.org, and search for “amsler chart.”

While there’s currently no cure for AMD, there are things you can do if you’re See AMD, page 8

on Question 1

Turning 65 or leaving employer coverage?

Get complete coverage with a Kaiser Permanente Medicare Advantage (HMO) plan.

…at a great value.

EXPLORE THE BENEFITS

A place of independence

Medical, hospital, and prescription drug coverage1 all in one plan with premiums as low as $0,2 plus these added benefits:

Pickersgilll assisted living residents are rarely in their rooms! Instead,, theyy’re out and about— participating in a community activity or event or dining with friends.

• Comprehensive dental plan • Hearing aid allowance • $0 copays for mail-order generic drugs • Over-the-counter (OTC) quarterly wellness benefit • Transportation to care at no cost • Thriving After 60 community • Fitness center membership and online workout classes5

A place of beauty Living Livi ng in th this is com ommu muni nity ty—ttuc ucke kedd in into to a beautiful West Towson neighborhood —you or yourr loved one beau will enj njoy a warm welcome and daily activities, and they’ll appreciate the h walking path paths, beautifully landscaped grounds, lovely gardens and more.

Benefits vary by plan option.

A place of caring

NOT A MEMBER YET? Contact a Kaiser Permanente Medicare specialist today:

Each assisted livingg resident re enjoys three chef-prepared meals per day, housekeeping and laundryy services, ho se medication administration, help with daily tasks an and more—always by reques quest, and all included in a reasonable monthly fee. Eachh re resi s dent also has access too all of the Pickersgilll amenities.

Our assisted liv ivin ingg residences include a private, priv full bath, and residents are encouraged to decoraate their homes as they wish. This is a lifestyle dedicated to independence and assured ed by a caring, professional fessional al sta staff. sttaff.

Pauline Gibbs Pauline.Gibbs@kp.org l 1-410-387-1878 Kaiser Permanente is an HMO and HMO-POS plan with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in Kaiser Permanente depends on contract renewal. You must reside in the Kaiser Permanente Medicare health plan service area in which you enroll.

1 Except for our Kaiser Permanente Medicare Advantage Liberty (HMO) plan 2 For our Value (HMO and HMO-POS) plans

Call 888-877-9883 today for more information or to schedule your personal tour.

6 5 Chestnut Avenue • To 61 Tows wson, MD 21204 • www.Pi Pick ckersgillRetirement.org BEAC

H2172_24_108_M Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States, Inc. 2101 E. Jefferson St., Rockville, MD 20852 2024AR1007 MAS 8/8/24–12/31/25

8

Fitness & Health | Subscribe online! See how on p. 22

SEPTEMBER 2024 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Ankle swelling and shortness of breath

By Howard LeWine, M.D. Q: I tend to get ankle swelling on hot days. But now it seems more constant. What might cause the change?

A: Lower leg and foot swelling is most often the result of an abnormal fluid buildup. Doctors call it edema. Because fluid flows downhill, it pools in the lowest parts of your body.

Excess fluid retention can be triggered by many things, including summer heat, eating too much salt, or standing for a long

period of time.

The most common cause is leaky valves in your veins. Doctors call this venous insufficiency.

There are one-way valves in your veins that help keep the blood flowing in the right direction. Ordinarily, as you walk around, your leg muscles squeeze the veins, which pumps the blood through these valves up toward the heart. When the muscles relax, the valves prevent blood from draining back down the vessels.

If these valves become leaky, the blood gets propelled upward, but much of it drops down again when the leg muscles relax.

The result is an accumulation of blood — and an increase in pressure — within the veins. The higher pressure pushes fluid out of the veins, causing leg swelling.

Because your swelling seems to be worse than ever before, you should make an appointment with your doctor to be sure it isn’t due to a new medical problem.

Your doctor will ask if you have shortness of breath, fatigue or pain in your legs,

and whether one leg is more swollen than the other.

Depending on your symptoms and your doctor’s physical exam, he or she might order blood and urine tests to evaluate your kidney and liver health. It’s also possible you might need an echocardiogram to make sure your heart function is normal, or a leg ultrasound to look for blood clots.

Some medications also can cause fluid retention in your legs. This can happen with

AMD

(Syfovre and Izervay) that were approved by the FDA last year to treat a late-stage form of AMD called geographic atrophy or GA. These treatments, which are given either monthly or every other month in the form of an injection into the eye, can slow the progression of GA.

From page 7 high risk. These include eating antioxidant-rich foods such as dark green, leafy vegetables, and cold-water fish for their omega-3 fatty acids; protecting your eyes from the sun by wearing UV protective sunglasses; controlling high blood pressure; exercising regularly; and, if you smoke, quitting.

Dry AMD treatments

Y EA

ERV FS O RS

ICE

Sen nio or Living Indep e en e dent Living Assisted Living | Dementia Care

EYEING A BRIG GHTER RETIREMENT LIFESTYLE?

FOCUS ON WHA AT MA ATTERS. CHO ICE CHOICE INDEPENDENCE INDE EPENDENCE POSS PO SSIBILITIES S POSSIBILITIES Learn more at BrightviewSeniorL Living.com or call your Brightview tod day!

COLUMBIA 410.498.7259

HUNT VA VALLEY 443.933.8025

ROLLING HILLS 410.835.4507

CAT ATONSVILLE 410.220.4842

PERRY HALL 410.734.3506

TOWSON 410.883.5814

640 WHITE MARSH | 410.936.46

If you do happen to get AMD, your doctor may recommend you start taking a daily dose of antioxidant vitamins and minerals known as AREDS or AREDS2.

Studies by the National Eye Institute have shown that while taking these supplements cannot prevent you from getting AMD, they can reduce your risk of progression from intermediate to advanced AMD by about 25 percent.

You can purchase AREDS supplements — made by Bausch and Lomb and sold as PreserVision — over the counter in many drugstores and online for around $30 a bottle.

There are also two new medications

See ANKLES, page 11

Wet AMD treatments For wet AMD, there are several anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) medications like Avastin, Lucentis and Eylea that can stop vision loss — and may even restore it.

These medications, which have been around for more than a decade, are also given by injection into the eye and repeated every month or two.

Newer anti-VEGF drugs, like Vabysmo and Eyla HD, are also highly effective but don’t require monthly treatments. Most patients on these medications can go three to four months between injections.

Send your 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.

Makes a great gift! | Fitness & Health

BALTIMORE BEACON — SEPTEMBER 2024

9

Peruvian rice and chicken dish shines

By Annie Petito Peruvian arroz con pollo originated in the seaside city of Chiclayo as arroz con pato, where it featured native duck and chicha de jora, a fermented corn beer that dates to the Inca Empire.

Over time, Peruvians adapted to the lack of, or expense of, these ingredients by swapping in chicken and malty beer.

The one-pot meal of succulent chicken parts and savory, fluffy rice enhanced by a colorful mix of vegetables, aromatics and spices is a darling of Latin American kitchens at large.

What makes the Peruvian version distinct? Its green color.

The greenish cast comes from a substantial infusion of pureed cilantro that, along with the dark beer, spices and aderezo (the flavorsome base of sauteed red onion, garlic, and often ají amarillo, a hot yellow pepper paste), imbue the rice with incredible depth.

Peruvian Arroz con Pollo Serves 4 to 6 Ingredients: For the chicken and rice: 2 cups (2 ounces) fresh cilantro leaves and stems 1/2 cup water 6 (5- to 7-ounce) bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed 2¼ teaspoons table salt, divided ¾ teaspoon ground pepper 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 red onion, chopped fine 1 to 2 tablespoons ají amarillo paste (optional) 1 tablespoon minced garlic ½ teaspoon ground cumin 1½ cups dark beer 2 cups chicken broth, plus extra as needed 1½ cups long-grain white rice, rinsed 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ½-inch-wide strips 2 carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces (1 cup) ½ cup frozen peas For the Sarza Criolla (relish): 1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced through root end 1/8 teaspoon table salt, plus salt for salting onion

1¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro 2 tablespoons lime juice teaspoon pepper Directions: For the sarza criolla: Toss onion and 1/2 teaspoon table salt in strainer or colander set over bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Rinse onion under cold water and pat dry.

Combine onion, cilantro, lime juice, pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a bowl. (Sarza criolla can be made up to 1 hour ahead.)

For the chicken and rice: Process cilantro and water in blender until cilantro is finely chopped and very loose puree forms, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of blender jar as needed; set aside.

Pat chicken dry and sprinkle both sides with 1½ teaspoons salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving until well

browned, 8 to 12 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken and brown on second side, about 2 minutes. Transfer chicken to a large plate.

Add chopped onion, amarillo paste (if using), garlic, cumin and remaining ¾ teaspoon salt to fat left in pot and cook, stirring often, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes.

Increase heat to medium-high and add beer, scraping up any browned bits. Cook until mixture is almost dry, 7 to 10 minutes.

Stir in cilantro puree and return chicken to pot, skin side up (chicken will be almost entirely above surface of liquid). Adjust heat to maintain simmer, cover and cook until chicken registers at least 195 degrees, 18 to 20 minutes.

Using tongs, transfer chicken to a clean plate and tent with aluminum foil. Transfer cooking liquid and solids to a 4-cup liquid measuring cup (you should have about 1½ cups). Add enough broth to measure 3½

cups. Return broth mixture to pot and stir in rice, bell pepper and carrots. Bring to boil, adjust heat to maintain simmer, cover and cook until rice is tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Off heat, stir in peas (browning at bottom of rice is OK). Arrange chicken on top of rice and pour any accumulated juices into pot. Cover and let stand until peas and chicken are warmed through, 5 to 10 minutes. Serve, passing sarza criolla separately.

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 and Cook’s Country — offers reliable recipes for cooks of all skill levels. See more online at www.americastestkitchen.com/TCA. © 2024 America’s Test Kitchen. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Leet Th The

Go ood Timess Rolll

BEACON BITS

Ongoing WATERFRONT YOGA

Enjoy a free 45-minute flow yoga class offered every Wednesday at 6 p.m. along the waterfront in Baltimore Peninsula, Rye Street Park, 301 E. Cromwell St., Baltimore. Bring your own mat and water. All experience levels welcome. For more information and registration, visit bit.ly/BaltYoga or email MarissaWalch@gmail.com.

INDEP PENDENT LIVING • ASSISTED LIVING • MEMORY CARE

Harmony yA AtEnterprise.com

Harmony yA AtW Waldorff. f.com

Bowie e e, MD: (240) 2033 7380

Waldorf, MD: (240) 435 5-4608

10

Fitness & Health | Subscribe online! See how on p. 22

SEPTEMBER 2024 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Health Studies INFORMATION ON AREA CLINICAL TRIALS NIA study seeks way to prevent diabetes

By Margaret Foster Strawberries, raspberries and nuts are delicious. Can they also prevent diabetes?

The National Institute on Aging needs your help to determine whether a nutritional supplement can help regulate blood sugar — and perhaps stave off type 2 diabetes.

When we eat foods like pomegranates, berries, walnuts and pecans, our bodies produce something called urolithin A. It’s also sold in pill form.

“The purpose of this study is to see if the supplement urolithin A (UA) will improve how our body handles glucose (sugar). This may help us better understand why people are at risk for type 2 diabetes as they get

older,” according to the study organizers.

“We also want to look at the effect of Urolithin A on brain and muscle function and immune response (how the body responds when you get sick), which may be altered as we age.”

Volunteers sought You may be eligible for the study if you’re 55 or older, overweight (BMI of 27+) and don’t have diabetes. Volunteers will go to the National Institute on Aging’s office at MedStar Harbor Hospital for a screening visit. (You’ll have to fast before the visit but will receive a meal coupon afterwards.)

Those who are accepted into the study will be sent home with a blood glucose

monitor and a bottle of pills. Participants will take four pills each morning.

Individuals will be randomly assigned to a group: Some will take four urolithin A gelcaps, and others will take similar-looking but inactive pills known as a placebo.

“In the study we are delivering a placebo, which does not contain urolithin A, [or] urolithin A itself to investigate if urolithin A will improve insulin secretion.

We are doing this by looking at the insulin response to an oral glucose tolerance test,” explained Dr. Josephine Egan Earley, principal investigator of the clinical trial.

Multiple visits, compensation The study lasts about two months and

requires five in-person visits. During each visit, after researchers collect blood, urine and stool samples, participants will hop on a treadmill and take an oral glucose tolerance test.

In addition, researchers will ask participants to wear a continuous glucose monitor on their arm between visits and keep a food diary.

Participants will receive compensation.

They will also get free electrocardiograms (ECG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs), and researchers will share those results and give referrals if needed.

In addition, volunteers should know they will be helping other older adults. “As people age, they have an increased risk for type 2 diabetes and loss of muscle strength,” NIA study organizers note.

“In the future, other people might benefit from this study. It will help us learn if taking the supplement urolithin A will help blood glucose levels and improve muscle function.”

For more information or to volunteer for the study, email NIAStudiesRecruitment@mail.nih.gov or call (410) 350-3941.

Letters to the editor From page 2 These workers would provide a trained workforce, fill low-paying jobs, and can help make American products more competitive. By filling the labor demand with legal workers, the incentive for illegal immigration will decrease.

This arrangement offers a sustainable solution to illegal immigration, reducing costs and boosting the economy.

Jasbir Singh (Veteran) Potomac, MD Ed. Note: You might find it interesting that a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that undocumented migrants paid more than $96 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2022, with Maryland garnering more than $770 million of that tax revenue.

With some undocumented workers being paid under the table, the study found if migrants had access to legal status such as a guest worker program, as you suggest, the states and localities would realize an additional $7 billion in tax revenue annually, while adding another $33 billion in federal revenue.

By the way, the report showed more than a third of the total paid by undocumented workers goes toward payroll taxes such as Medicare, Social Security and unemployment insurance — programs the same workers are unable to access.

As these people most often rent, they also pay more than $10 billion in property taxes either directly or indirectly via payments to landlords.

Makes a great gift! | Fitness & Health

BALTIMORE BEACON — SEPTEMBER 2024

Ankles From page 8 high doses of ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve), and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Leg swelling is also a common side effect of certain calcium-channel blockers, especially nifedipine (Procardia XL) and amlodipine (Norvasc).

Meanwhile to help reduce the swelling: • Cut down on your salt intake.

Sodium can cause your body to retain water, so focus on eating less of it.

• Put your feet up. If you have a few minutes, elevate your feet above your heart when you are seated or lying down.

• Wear support stockings. Wearing support stockings, which provide pressure to the veins in your legs to help move blood back up toward the heart, can help reduce swelling.

• Get moving. Exercises such as walking, moving your ankles, and stretching can also reduce swelling by helping to push blood back toward your heart.

Q: I had a chest cold about six weeks ago. I thought I was over it within five days, but I feel like I am still more short of breath than usual. Is it from the chest cold? What else might be causing it?

A: When considering what might have caused your shortness of breath, I like to consider four general categories: a lung issue, a heart problem, anemia (low red

blood cell count), and deconditioning.

I suspect your “chest cold” was a case of viral bronchitis. Since the symptoms resolved within a week, deconditioning secondary to such a short illness is less likely, except if you were already more sedentary due to health issues. So, let’s put this cause aside for now.

Regarding the other three categories, knowing if you have other symptoms besides shortness of breath is also important.

For example, shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing usually suggests a lung problem. Even people who have never had asthma can develop asthma-like symptoms after a viral respiratory illness. Those symptoms can last many weeks before resolving.

Shortness of breath from a heart problem could be due to a weak or stiff heart, which can diminish the heart’s pumping ability, known as cardiomyopathy. With cardiomyopathy, people also can experience ankle swelling from fluid retention and difficulty breathing when lying down.

Also, most people with coronary artery disease — plaque buildup in the walls of arteries that supply blood to the heart — experience chest pain with exertion, but sometimes shortness of breath is the only symptom.

A low red blood cell count, especially anemia due to iron deficiency, would be less likely than the other causes mentioned. Besides shortness of breath, other signs of anemia are pale skin and weakness.

Since you’ve had shortness of breath for six weeks, you definitely want to arrange for medical evaluation to help determine the underlying problem. Then, your doctor will likely have enough information to suggest whether your chest cold was either a cause or contributing factor to your continuing symptoms.

Your doctor will take a detailed history of your symptoms and perform a physical exam focusing on the heart and lungs.

Initial diagnostic tests will likely include wearing a finger probe to measure your blood oxygen level, a blood test to check for anemia, and chest imaging with a chest

Are you 50 years or older?

Are you relatively healthy, without a diabetes diagnosis?

Do you find it difficult to use a standard phone? Do people ask you to repeat yourself during telephone conversations? Do you miss important calls because you can’t hear the phone ring? The Maryland Accessible Telecommunications (MAT) program is here to help by giving Maryland residents the opportunity to apply for State-provided telecommunications equipment to independently make and receive calls. Once you qualify, a skilled evaluator meets with you to determine the best device to support your day-to-day communications. The MAT program has a variety of equipment solutions to support clearer communication, including: Amplified phones Tablets Ring signalers Phones with large and/or high contrast buttons Captioned Telephones And more

For more information: 800-552-7724 | 410-767-7253 (Voice/TTY) 410-801-9618 (Video Phone) | MDMAT.org

x-ray or CT scan. Additional investigation might include an echocardiogram, which uses sound waves to assess heart function, and an evaluation of your breathing (called pulmonary function tests).

The good news is that you and your doctor can formulate a treatment plan to help improve your symptoms, even if you don’t discover the specific reason.

Howard LeWine, M.D., is an internist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. © 2024 Harvard University. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Cognition And Metabolism in Prediabetes (CAMPS) Study

If so, you may be eligible for a new research study in which you learn about your daily blood sugar fluctuations and cognitive abilities.

Receive $100 for participating.

For information call 410-605-7179.

Mention “CAMPS”

Have confidence in every conversation.

• • • • • •

11

12

Subscribe online! See how on p. 22

SEPTEMBER 2024 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Money Law &

For easy, inexpensive ways to update your house, see story on page 14.

Beware AI-generated audio, video fakes Courtesy of ZeroFox.com The person at the other end of that video call certainly looks and sounds legitimate. Maybe it’s your grandchild or someone you’ve bonded with in the past.

Yes, it’s odd that they’re asking you to send them money or provide sensitive personal information, but you tr ust them.

Just one problem: They’re not real.

Their image and voice have been generated through artificial intelligence (AI), and are being controlled behind the scenes by a scammer.

What you’re experiencing is a “deepfake” — a rapidly evolving technology often used for malicious acts.

The U.S. Government Accounting Office (GAO) defines a deepfake as video, photography or audio that “seems real but has been manipulated with AI. The underlying technology can replace faces, manipulate facial expressions, synthesize faces, and synthesize speech.”

More and more criminals are using AI deepfakes to commit identity fraud or pry money and data from businesses and individuals.

Cloned voices and faces By creating a deepfake persona, fraudsters can trick people into believing they’re

interacting with someone they know or want to know. This builds trust, making it easier for the scammer to manipulate the victim.

Cybercriminals can also utilize deepfakes to create compromising material for the purpose of extortion. They can use an AI bot to, for example, take a brief snippet of a person’s real voice and “clone” it to produce an authentic-sounding facsimile. The faked voice can then be made to say just about anything.

The majority of deepfake fraud cases thus far have targeted businesses. Even large global companies have fallen for these scams.

In one recent example, an employee at a multinational design and engineering firm was tricked by a deepfake video call into transferring $25 million of the company’s funds to fraudsters.

As this technology grows more sophisticated, it’s also getting easier to use — which means it’s becoming increasingly popular as a method to defraud individuals.

Deepfakes have made their way into the world of romance scams, according to a recent report in Wired. The article described how a crew of scammers used “deepfakes and face-swapping to ensnare victims in romance scams, building trust with victims using fake identities, before tricking them into parting with thousands of dollars.”

How to detect deepfakes While a number of deepfake detection tools currently exist, many are only available to businesses. Also, most are designed to analyze recordings, and cannot help in real time during audio or video calls.

To recognize deepfakes in real time, you’ll most likely have to rely on your own powers of observation. The MIT Media Lab offers the following tips on how to determine whether a person seen on video is a deepfake.

Zero in on elements of the person’s face, they advised. This includes: • Cheeks and forehead — “Does the skin appear too smooth or too wrinkly? Is the agedness of the skin similar to the agedness of the hair and eyes?”

• Eyes and eyebrows — “Do shadows appear in places that you would expect?”

• Eyeglasses — “Is there any glare? Is there too much glare? Does the angle of the glare change when the person moves?”

• Blinking — “Does the person blink enough or too much?”

• Lip movements — “Some deepfakes are based on lip syncing. Do the lip movements look natural?”

In an article for the fact-checking website PolitiFact, Manjeet Rege, director of the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence at the University of St. Thomas, and Siwei Lyu, a

computer science and engineering professor at the University at Buffalo, listed clues that a voice might actually be an audio deepfake.

These include “irregular or absent breathing noises, intentional pauses and intonations, along with inconsistent room acoustics.”

Use your common sense One thing is clear: Deepfake technology is evolving at such speed that it will become progressively more difficult to tell fiction from reality.

Today you might be able to spot a weird glitch in a person’s face on video, or a strange vocal pattern on a call. But those flaws might not be as noticeable a year or two from now.

Your best defense is to use common sense. If someone contacts you by phone or video — even if it’s a person you think you know and trust — and makes an unusual request or demand involving money or sensitive information, step back and assess the situation.

Do whatever you can to independently verify that what the person is telling you is true. As AI expert Rege said in the PolitiFact interview, “Healthy skepticism is warranted, given how realistic this emerging technology has become.”

This article was originally published by ZeroFox.com. Reprinted with permission.

Social Security online update not a scam

By Jim Miller Dear Savvy Senior, I recently received an email that I needed to update my online Social Security account. Is this legit or is it a scam?

—Suspicious Susan Dear Susan, The Social Security Administration did indeed send out a legitimate email recently to notify recipients that they are making changes to the way you access Social Security’s online services, including your personal “my Social Security” account.

The changes will simplify your sign-in experience and align with federal authentication standards, while at the same time provide you safe and secure access to your account and other online services.

If you created an online “my Social Security” account before September 18, 2021, you’ll need to shift to a Login.gov account to be able to continue to access your account.

These online accounts enable both beneficiaries and people who are not yet receiving benefits to access services, including requesting Social Security card replacements, estimating future benefits, checking on the status of benefit applications and managing current benefits.

The online services aim to save time for both current and future beneficiaries, as well as the Social Security Administration, as the agency grapples with long wait times for its national 800 phone number.

The average speed to answer those calls was about 36 minutes in the second quarter, according to the SSA.

How to update your account If you already have a “my Social Security” account, go to ssa.gov/myaccount and sign in with your Social Security username.

You’ll then be guided through the process of creating a new account with Login.gov.

Once you successfully link your personal “my Social Security” account with your new Login.gov account, you’ll get a confirmation screen and have immediate access to online services. In the future, you’ll sign into your account with Login.gov and not your Social Security username.

If you already have either a Login.gov or ID.me account, you do not have to take any action.

Beware of scams To be sure you’re taking the appropriate

steps to update your account, verify any websites or links leading you to the Social Security website. The legitimate Social Security Administration website address is www.ssa.gov and the agency link to your “my Social Security” account is ssa.gov/myaccount.

It’s very important to be mindful of potential scam artists who may send you fraudulent websites pretending to direct you to Social Security. These sites will closely mimic the format of the agency’s links to try to lure you into entering your personal information.

If you see a suspicious email or link, it is best not to respond or click on it. Instead, you can report it to the website of the SSA’s Office of the Inspector General, oig.ssa.gov, or call the fraud hotline at 1-800-269-0271.

Makes a great gift! | Law & Money

BALTIMORE BEACON — SEPTEMBER 2024

13

Don’t hold alternative assets in your IRA In a recent column for InvestmentNews, In Caan’s case, the custodian was unable IRA expert Ed Slott highlighted the potential to report to the IRS the year-end value of the problems of holding alternative IRA account holding hedge assets in IRA accounts. [Ed. fund assets.

Note: The term “alternative asIn addition, the financial adsets” generally refers to illiquid viser Caan was using left the assets, such as real estate, artfirm that was holding Caan’s work, collectibles and non-pubIRAs, and convinced Caan to licly traded investments.] transfer some of his holdings Slott explained that, in a reto a new financial institution. cent case involving the estate of However, because of the valuthe late actor James Caan, sevation problem, that account eral mistakes were made, rewas not actually transferred to sulting in approximately $1 mil- THE SAVINGS the new financial firm. lion paid in taxes and penalties. GAME Because the original custodiThe primary issue stemmed By Elliot Raphaelson an had not been able to obtain a from the nature of assets withyear-end valuation, the custodiin the IRA account. Caan had multiple IRA an made an “in-kind” distribution of the accounts, one of which contained hedge funds in the IRA to Caan, and subsequently funds. issued a 2015 1099-R listing its year-end 2013 Custodians must report the year-end value. Caan did not report the distribution as valuation for all IRA accounts. However, taxable income, as required. valuing illiquid alternative assets within In December 2016, long after the 60-day these accounts poses challenges. This is rollover deadline had passed, Caan asked particularly problematic when a required the hedge fund to liquidate his holding and minimum distribution (RMD) necessitates roll over the proceeds to the new custodian a year-end value. recommended by his adviser.

Tell them you saw it in the Beacon!

The IRS notified Caan that he had an income tax deficiency for 2015 of approximately $780,000 because the hedge fund distribution was taxable, and also assessed approximately a $156,000 penalty for substantially underestimating his 2015 taxes.

Caan asked the IRS in a private letter ruling to waive the penalty associated with the rollover, but the IRS did not waive the penalty, and an appeal to the tax court also failed.

After Caan died in 2022, his estate also tried to obtain a favorable tax appeal but failed. The tax court ruled that Caan’s attempted rollover did not work because it violated the “same property” rule that requires that the property distributed from the IRA must be the same property that is rolled over.

Caan received a distribution from a

hedge fund and rolled over cash. The judge also found that the rollover was not completed within the 60-day required time frame.

Bottom line: It is ill-advised to hold illiquid alternative assets, such as real estate, in your IRA due to the challenges in obtaining a year-end valuation.

Moreover, when transferring assets from one IRA to another, you must adhere to the same-property rule and 60-day timeline.

Noncompliance with these rules can result in taxation and penalties from the IRS, and tax courts are unlikely to be sympathetic to any appeals. For investments in illiquid alternatives, it is generally safer to invest through non-IRA accounts. © 2024 Elliot Raphaelson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

It’s Time for a Change!

Merion Village is a vibrant 62+ community moments away from restaurants, grocery stores and local health services, only a short drive from Baltimore.

Our thoughtfully designed apartments are tailored to provide the utmost comfort and convenience.

Now Accepting Applications. Move in fall of 2024.

24 locations for older adults in Maryland Senior livingg,, services and supports ffoor older Marylanders and their ffaamilies.

TAX C APART REDIT M AVAILAENTS BLE

St. Elizabeth Rehabilitaation and Nursing Center

Senior Com mmunities

667-600-2600

– 2024 Newsweek –

Email – hou using@cc-md.org Supportive, aff f fordable o apartment communities. To Total o of 24 locations in Marylandd, home to more than 1,800 Maryland, 1 800 older adults.

4TH YEAR IN A ROW

Caring Hom me Service Pro ogram

Shortt-term rehabilitation and skilled s nursing, g, longg-term and memorry care.

Caritas House Assisted Living

667-600-2660

A residential community of carre with personalized assistance inn daily activities fo for adults 62 and oldder.r.

St. Ann Adult Day ay Services

667-600-2680

Activities, socialization and meedical supervision so older adults can continue to live at home.

667-600-2280

The Caring Hom me Servi vices (CHS) S) Program, ava vailable at ninee of our communities, off f fers services to t support safe fely aging in place. Servi vices include i daily meals ls served in a group settinng, g, weekly housekeeping, g, laundry, y, and peersonal services, and servi vice management prrovi vided by the on-site CHS Supervisorr.

See cc-md.org/s /seniors r- communities fo for list of 9 locationns where CHS is ava vailable.

Community Amenities:

Apartment Amenities:

• Controlled Access Community • Elevator • Bocce Ball & Pickle Ball Courts • Electric Charging Stations • Fitness Center • Walking Path

• Handicap Accessible • Water, Sewer, Trash Included in Rent • Walk-In Closet • Plush Carpeting & Flooring • Microwave & Dishwasher • Cable Ready

Call today for your personal tour!

410-612-2280 TTY: 711

Ask for Merion Village or leave a voicemail message.

www.merionvillageseniorapts.com

ONE APPLICATION NO APPLICATION FEE NO FEE

www w.cc-md.org/sen niors Inspired bby the Gospel mandates to love, serve and teach, Catholic Charities providees care and services to improve the lives off Marylanders in need.

904 B Edgewood Rd, Edgewood, MD 21040 06/06/24

C th li Ch Catholic Charities iti welcomes l peo ople l regardless dl off ffaith ith and d iis an EEquall H Housing i Opportunity O t it provider. id

Pets are welcome!

14

Law & Money | Subscribe online! See how on p. 22

SEPTEMBER 2024 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Easy, cheap updates you can do by yourself

By Kimberly Blaker So, you’ve been dreaming of updating your home or apartment, but the cost of new flooring or a kitchen remodel doesn’t fit your budget?

Check out these simple, inexpensive updates and fixes that’ll give your home a fresh new look, inside and out:

For homeowners Replace your front door. This is the first thing guests see when they walk up to your house. So it’s a great place to begin your updating.

A higher-end wooden door will add beauty to your entrance. But even a new steel door painted in an attractive color will add a lot of curbside appeal to your home.

Repair window screens. Torn window screens detract from curb appeal. Fortunately, they’re inexpensive and easy to fix.

Buy a package of replacement screening and a screen rolling tool to do it yourself.

If you’re not up to the task, hardware stores often do screen replacement at a reasonable cost. Just drop off your damaged screen, and they’ll have it ready for you in a couple of days.

Revitalize or paint cabinets. If your solid-wood bathroom or kitchen cabinets look worn, you can revitalize them by rubbing them with Old English scratch cover and furniture polish.

Painting them is a good alternative since white or gray cabinets are the trend. You can also get creative and choose a bold color to liven up your kitchen or bathroom.

Install a kitchen backsplash. A tile backsplash will add richness to your kitchen. Find do-it-yourself instructions at diynetwork.com.

If that’s more work than you want to in-

vest, choose from a wide selection of faux tile backsplash panels to add dimension and character to your kitchen.

For home or apartment dwellers Cure dirty or crumbling grout. The wonderful thing about tile is not only its luxurious look but also its longevity. But filthy or broken-down grout can spoil the look.

Make your tile floor or shower look new again by freshening the grout. If it’s just dirty, you can clean it. For instructions, visit bobvila.com.

If the grout is broken down and needs to be replaced, find grout removal instructions at thespruce.com.

Update switch plates & outlet covers.

This is a super-easy way to update a room, and there are so many choices for every decorating style.

ENTERPRISE RESIDENTIAL MOST COMMUNITIES ARE 62 AND BETTER ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY

BALTIMORE COUNTY (CONT.)

The Greens at Hammonds Lane: 410-636-1141 Park View at Furnace Branch: 410-761-4150 Park View at Severna Park: 410-544-3411

Park View at Rosedale: 410-866-1886 Park View at Taylor: 410-663-0363 Park View at Towson: 410-828-7185 Park View at Woodlawn: 410-281-1120

BALTIMORE CITY Ednor Apartments I: 410-243-0180 Ednor Apartments II: 410-243-4301 The Greens at Irvington Mews: 410-644-4487 Park Heights Place: 410-578-3445 Park View at Ashland Terrace: 410-276-6440 Park View at Coldspring: 410-542-4400

EASTERN SHORE Park View at Easton: 410-770-3070

HARFORD COUNTY Park View at Bel Air: 410-893-0064 Park View at Box Hill: 410-515-6115

HOWARD COUNTY

BALTIMORE COUNTY Cove Point Apartments I: 410-288-2344 Cove Point Apartments II: 410-288-1660 Evergreen Senior Apartments: 410-780-4888 The Greens at English Consul: 410-789-3000 The Greens at Liberty Road: 410-655-1100 The Greens at Logan Field: 410-288-2000 The Greens at Rolling Road: 410-744-9988 Park View at Catonsville: 410-719-9464 Park View at Dundalk: 410-288-5483 • 55 & Better Park View at Fullerton: 410-663-0665 Park View at Miramar Landing: 410-391-8375 Park View at Randallstown: 410-655-5673

Park View at Colonial Landing: 410-796-4399 Park View at Columbia: 410-381-1118 Park View at Ellicott City: 410-203-9501 Park View at Ellicott City II: 410-203-2096 Park View at Emerson: 301-483-3322 Park View at Snowden River: 410-290-0384

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY Park View at Bladensburg: 301-699-9785 • 55 & Better Park View at Laurel: 301-490-1526 Park View at Laurel II: 301-490-9730

Call the community of interest to you to inquire about eligibility requirements and to arrange a personal tour.

EnterpriseResidential.org PET-FRIENDLY

If you like the look of metal switch plates but don’t want the expense, buy some metallic spray paint in bronze, brushed nickel or silver. Just remove the covers, spray them, and in an hour they’ll be ready to put back on.

Replace ceiling fan blades. Do your ceiling fans look decrepit? The blades often deteriorate faster than the fixtures. Buy new blades to make your fans look new again.

Liven it up with paint. Fresh paint goes a long way toward updating and freshening a room.

Pick up paint brochures at your hardware store for color scheme ideas, then play around with different colors against your room’s flooring and furnishings. You might be pleasantly surprised to discover a beautiful new look.

Freshen trim & doors. Paint the trim and doors throughout your home in a single color. Not only will this freshen your home, but it’ll also give your home a cohesive look. If your home is small, white or light grey paint will keep it bright and make it feel more spacious.

If you have a larger home, you can go bold with a medium or dark color. This will add richness to your living space. Medium grays and tans or dark charcoal and coffee colors are good choices.

Wallpaper a small room. Wallpaper is in again and can transform a small space, such as your bathroom or foyer. Choose from the latest patterns, textures and colors for a great new look.

Replace vent covers. Over time, bangedup and painted-over vent covers become an eyesore. New vent covers will go a long way toward making your home feel like new.

Remove hard water stains. Clean hard water stains off your toilet and tub. If you have hard water, your toilet bowl and bathtub may be hideous.

Fortunately, CLR calcium, lime and rust remover does wonders on porcelain. If your bathtub is vinyl or acrylic, read instructions carefully.

For more hardened buildup on porcelain, buy a handled pumice stone and sand off the accumulation. But don’t use pumice stones on vinyl and acrylic because pumice is too abrasive and will leave scratches.

Update cabinet hardware. New cabinet knobs and pulls can give your bathroom or kitchen a facelift, and there are tons of styles from which to choose.

Update doorknobs. Do your doorknobs look shabby or dated? This is another easy fix. Brushed nickel is the latest trend in hardware.

Doorknobs come complete with instructions and are easy to change with just a screwdriver. Also, consider replacing the hinges to match the doorknobs.

Kimberly Blaker is a freelance writer. She also owns an online bookshop, Sage Rare & Collectible Books, specializing in out-of-print, scarce, signed and first editions; fine bindings; ephemera and more at sagerarebooks.com Copyright © 2023 Kimberly Blaker. All rights reserved.

Makes a great gift!

BALTIMORE BEACON — SEPTEMBER 2024

Travel

15

Leisure &

Some hotels and cruise lines are finally starting to care about solo travelers. See article on page 17.

Canadian rainforest’s bucket-list sights Vancouver, then the city of Terrace in north coastal B.C., near the border with Southeast Alaska. A shuttle whisked us to the Swell in Kitimat to begin our Great Bear Rainforest adventure.

Grizzly bears, eagles and orca The next day, the first full day on the boat, started the trip with a bang. We headed out in two Zodiacs (inflatable motorboats) to look for wildlife.

Our first sighting was a great blue heron near the shore. Then an eagle in a tree.

The main event was a lingering, upclose view of a young grizzly bear munching on sedge on the shore. The bear was unfazed by our company, pausing every now and then to check us out only a few yards offshore. At one point he even posed in full view on a log.

Then our guides received a crackly call on their shortwave radios from the skipper on the Swell about several orcas near the boat.

We sped over to see a family of three swim gracefully and majestically along the shore. The sun lit up their gleaming backs, dorsal fins and clouds of misty droplets emitted by their deep exhalations. We followed them for several minutes as they dived, surfaced and swam.

We saw less wildlife over the next couple of days, but the scenery grew even more dramatic as we entered the Gardner Canal, a long natural fjord and B.C.’s longest.

PHOTO BY PHILIP STONE/MAPLE LEAF ADVENTURES

By Don Mankin As our boat glided across Canada’s Kitlope Lake, the surface gleamed like glass, reflecting the steep, thickly forested slopes that lined the shore. Wrapped in silence, we gazed at the jagged, icy peaks looming in the background.

We were on the fourth day of a weeklong adventure deep into the fjords of the northern coast of British Columbia, one of the most beautiful places on earth.

The Great Bear Rainforest is wild and remote — no roads, only deep fjords and channels lined with lush forests, glacierencrusted mountains and granite cliffs.

At almost 16 million acres, it’s the largest intact temperate coastal rainforest in the world. Thanks to decades of advocacy by environmentalists and First Nations tribes, most of it is now a nature preserve.

In the sections of the rainforest that we explored, there are no cities, towns or villages, just bears, eagles, whales and the remnants of indigenous villages and camps dating back thousands of years.

These historic cultural sites added a human dimension to this wild place.

We were transported into this fairytale landscape on a historic vessel, the MV Swell, a 1912 tugboat converted into a touring boat.

With six private cabins and a crew of six, the Swell is compact and intimate, furnished in polished wood and brass fittings, with a combination salon/lounge/dining room, two outdoor decks and a hot tub.

To reach the ship, my wife and I flew to

PHOTO BY KEVIN J. SMITH/MAPLE LEAF ADVENTURES

Porpoises greet eco-tourists riding in a Zodiac. With its large population of bears, wolves, whales, orcas and other wildlife, the Great Bear Rainforest is known as the Galapágos of the North.

An 88-foot converted tugboat, the MV Swell, glides past the remote glaciers of British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest. The Ireland-sized wilderness area has few roads, so boats or planes are the best way to see its abundant wildlife and oldgrowth forests.

We were surrounded by steep, massive granite monoliths, thick with trees clinging to cracks in the stone like desperate rock climbers. One waterfall after another marked our way along the canal.

Another day, we landed on shore to search for evidence of bears — scratches, tufts of fur — on tree trunks in the forest.

Fresh bear poop reminded us that we were not alone.

We had the place pretty much to ourselves. No internet, no cell phone service, no CNN. I didn’t miss it.

Lake expedition On our fourth day, we embarked on a great adventure — a full-day excursion in the Zodiacs up the river to Kitlope Lake, the ancestral home of the Haisla First Nation people.

After three hours winding up the river amid puffs of cottonwood seeds drifting in the air and on the water, we spotted two skittish bears on the shore.

Soon after, we worked our way over a shallow stretch of river, dinging the propeller of our outboard motor on the rocky bottom. This was the last barrier before entering the lake — a barrier that had thwarted our guides in previous attempts.

We made it. For several minutes we sat

in silence, transfixed. No one else was there. No boats, no kayaks, no huts, no planes flying overhead.

Marlo, our chief guide, believes it’s the most remote place on earth. We lingered on the beach for a while. Except for a pool of thousands of tadpoles, we had this paradise to ourselves.

On the way back to the tugboat, we visited M’iskusu, the former village site of the Haisla nation, to see a replica totem pole — a copy of the pole taken from the Haisla people in 1929 and spirited off to a museum in Sweden.

The yearslong effort to return the pole to its rightful place among the Haisla people is an example of the First Nations’ struggle to preserve and recapture their culture and identity.

That night I slept better than I had in weeks.

Hot springs, porpoises, whales The next day, after spotting a bear on shore, we took some time off to soak in a natural hot spring with a view of the bay.

Since I was already in my bathing suit, I decided to top off the day with a soak in the hot tub on the upper deck of the Swell See RAINFOREST, page 17

16

Leisure & Travel | Subscribe online! See how on p. 22

SEPTEMBER 2024 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Makes a great gift! | Leisure & Travel

BALTIMORE BEACON — SEPTEMBER 2024

17

Solo travel still difficult, but improving

By Ed Perkins Travel is geared mainly to serve customers as couples. But for a variety of reasons, many travelers are not in a coupled relationship.

In my case, I’m a widower; others include the never-married, divorced or separated; and some couples have diverse interests, so they don’t travel together.

Over the years, the travel business has given short shrift to these travelers, but suppliers have recently taken a closer look at what they see as a big potential source of business.

Rainforest From page 15 with an even better view.

On our last full day, several porpoises escorted us on the way to the Whale Research Station on Fin Island. They darted in, out and under our bow as we plowed through the water.

Soon after, we spotted two humpback whales frolicking in the water — leaping and diving just 100 yards away. The show went on for several minutes.

Just when I figured the trip was over, we climbed in the Zodiacs for one last cruise into Gilttoyees Inlet for maybe the most stunning scenery of all.

The terrain was essentially the same — snowcapped peaks, lush forest, sparkling water — but the colors seemed even more vivid than usual. Maybe it was the realization that our trip was coming to an end, and I wanted to burn the scene into my memory.

A healing journey We almost didn’t make it to Canada. For three weeks before the trip, I had been

For years, some tour operators and cruise lines have been positioning themselves as “singles travel” specialists, but mostly their approach has been to match up singles into couples.

True solo travel is different. True solo travelers do not want to share accommodations with strangers or even with friends.

They want sole occupancy of whatever arrangement they make.

The “double occupancy” trap If you’ve traveled at all, you’ve seen that a lot of pricing is based on “per person, coughing and wheezing from asthma brought on by a bad cold.

But by the end of the trip, I felt better than I had in weeks. The combination of wilderness, fresh air and wildlife had flushed out my lingering illness.

I know that over time, the body often heals itself. The right medicines also help.

But I can’t help thinking that, to some extent, my body and mind were healed by the waters, trees and massifs — as well as the living things, animal and human, past and present — of the Great Bear Rainforest.

If you go Great Bear Rainforest trips are run by Maple Leaf Adventures (mapleleafadventures.com), the host for this trip. They offer a number of different itineraries in the Great Bear Rainforest.

The 11-day trips aboard the Swell start at around $15,000 per person. The shortest trips (5 days) start at around $4,600/pp.

Round-trip airfare to Vancouver on WestJet, United or Air Canada is less than $500. Round-trip airfare between Vancouver and Terrace, B.C. is about $225 on WestJet or Air Canada.

overnight trains such as Amtrak’s long-disdouble occupancy,” or PPDO. Most modern hotel rooms are designed tance trains, the price is the same for one as for two. to accommodate at least two Even with the prevalence of people with two single, douPPDO pricing, solo travelers ble or queen beds. These hohave a few reasonable options: tels charge the same rate for Hotels: Although most new either one or two occupants. or recent hotels are designed Similarly, the vast majority of for couples, small, older hotels cruise cabins are set up to acin Europe often have single commodate up to four people rooms designed for just one oc— two comfortably in separate cupant, as do Japanese business small beds, combinable into a hotels. Daily rates are usually double, and two more uncom- TRAVEL TIPS substantially less than, but more fortably in pull-down bunk By Ed Perkins than half, the double-room rates. beds.

Railroads charge each traveler the same See SOLO TRAVEL, page 18 for basic rail fare, but for compartments on

BELTWAY MOTEL & SUITES • Family Atmosphere • Spacious Suites with Discounts for Those 60+ • Close to Stores • Friendly Desk Clerks • Home of Hospitality

Just ask for our “60+ discount.” Call (410) 242-2363 3648 Washington Blvd., Halethorpe, MD

Welcome to the

301/207

Corridor CORRIDOR

ART, ANTIQUES, HISTORY, FAIRS, FESTIVALS, FOOD & FUN

VACTIONS BY BUS! CALL TODAY TO BOOK! (410) 442-6872 (M-F, 9-5)

Chattanooga & Knoxville: Tennessee Twosome

New York City Overnight Getaway

Oct. 28 - Nov. 2, 2024

November 10-11, 2024

$2,159 per person/Double Occupancy $2,659 per person/Single Occupancy Includes 9 Meals

$549 per person/Double Occupancy $749 per person/Single Occupancy Includes 1 Meal

everywhere!

r Visito en Op r e t n Ce Day Every M P 5 Until

See all our tours including holiday-themed trips in our Vacations Catalog! Request one today!

www.eyretours.com/signup • (410) 442-6872

CAROLINE COUNTY VISITOR CENTER

23724 Rogers Clark Blvd, Ruther Glen, VA 22546 visitcaroline.com • 804-633-3490

18

Leisure & Travel | Subscribe online! See how on p. 22

SEPTEMBER 2024 — BALTIMORE BEACON

BEACON BITS

Solo travel

WELLNESS WALK Ongoing MONTHLY Ready to walk your way to better health? Join Project Healthy

From page 17

Communities Collective for a self-paced walk every second Saturday of the month at 9 a.m. around Lake Montebello, Lake Montebello Dr., Baltimore. Come Sept. 14 to the entrance at the corner of Hillen Rd. and 33rd St. For more information, visit bit.ly/MontebelloWalk.

URBAN GARDENING

Ongoing Volunteer for BMORE Beautiful and support the beautification of urban gardens, farms, parks, vacant lots and other green spaces in Baltimore. If you are interested or have questions, email Morgan.Wittelsberger@baltimorecity.gov.

SENIOR LIVING IN HISTORIC MT. VERNON • Affordable housing for those 62+ • Utilities included/underground parking • Only steps away from theater, library, churches, shopping and restaurants • Penthouse view without the penthouse price.*

CALL US TODAY! 410-995-9719

FRESH SPACES

SAFETY FEATURES

On my recent trips, I’ve found comfortable single rooms at small family-owned hotels in Belgium, Switzerland and Germany, as well as in Japan. But most of the time, I have to settle for the usual double rate.

Tours: Despite a growing number of self-styled “solo” tour operators, most fall back on the idea that, “We’ll match you with a suitable roommate, and we won’t charge extra if we can’t find one.”

But if you really want accommodations by yourself, you pay a fee known as a “single supplement,” usually to occupy an accommodation designed for a couple. The supplement usually ranges from 50 percent more to double the PPDO rate.

However, what may be close to everybody’s favorite tour operator, Road Scholar (roadscholar.org, formerly Elderhostel but open to travelers of any age), posts a pull-down options menu on its website that includes “solo travelers only” filter. The choices are limited, but they’re genuinely for solo travelers. Google “solo travel” to find other outfits worth a look.

Cruises: For a long time, cruise lines ig-

nored the solo traveler, relying instead on stiff single supplements for double cabins.

But some of the newer liners feature cabins designed for one person. The good folks at Cruise Critic have compiled and posted a list of cruise lines and cruise ships with true single cabins (cruisecritic.com/articles/whichships-have-solo-cabins).

Norwegian leads the pack in number of rooms and cabins per ship, but the other lines are catching up.

Carnival, the biggest player among cruise lines, seems to be lagging the trend, but it does have a few on Cunard. Unfortunately, other than Cunard, no high-end lines yet make the “solo traveler” list.

Trains: I don’t know any way to hack the PPDO compartment prices on Amtrak, and Amtrak seldom puts them on sale. Sorry.

Keep a lookout for deals. Occasionally, tour operators and cruise lines have catered to solo travelers, mainly through “no single supplement” promotions, often for departures they believe are not likely to sell out — which means the best deals are last-minute deals. You can still find those.

Email Ed Perkins at eperkins@mind.net or visit his rail travel website at rail-guru.com. © 2024 Ed Perkins. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

BEACON BITS 524 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201

*Income restrictions apply

www.westminsterhouseapts.org

BASICS Sept. 3+ COMPUTER Join Enoch Pratt Free Library for a four-week introduction to comFANTASTIC VIEWS

puter basics. The class meets every Tuesday from Sept. 3 to Sept. 23 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Orleans Street Branch, Pratt Center for Technology Training, 1303 Orleans St., Baltimore. For more information, visit bit.ly/computerBasics or call (410) 396-0970.

BECOME A READING PARTNER

Ongoing Reading Partners Baltimore is looking for volunteer tutors to help students become lifelong readers. Volunteer for an hour each week in-person or online. No prior experience needed; training and background check provided. Must create an account. For sign-up and more information, visit readingpartners.org/volunteer-baltimore or call (410) 585-7600.

Charters orr Available fo All Occasions

New York City Day Trips!!

Sundays in Atlantic City

St. Michaels “Crab Claw Restaurant” Buffet

The World-Class Greenbrier Resort Sulphur Springs West Virginia

Sept. 15

November 10-13

Springsteen Concert!

World Famouss As seen on Pizza Tour!

The Today Show Brooklyn NY

* Transportation Only * Sept 13

Discover Enchanted Long Island, NY Sept. 18-21

The Stunning Mohonk Mountain House Resort

Oct. 24

Dutch Apple Dinner Theater “White Christmas”

Peace of Mind is Priceless

Since 1841 When you pre-plan your funeral, you give both yourself and your family a great gi .

Lunch & Show. Dec. 11

Your service will be exactly as you wish, and your family won’t be burdened with arrangements.

Sight and Sound Theatre “Daniel”

The Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall Orchestra Seats

Pre-planning also fixes the cost at today’s prices.

Plus: We offer a price-match guarantee!

Lunch at Shady Maple – Oct. 10

Dec. 10 or Dec. 12

Oct. 6 – Oct. 8

Call us for Reservations 410-602-1704 Visit www.superiortours.com today!

Call today to learn more.

Ask for Jim or Chris at (410) 747-4770

Makes a great gift!

BALTIMORE BEACON — SEPTEMBER 2024

Style

19

Arts &

How do you train a young dog?

Learn from a master. Our cover story continues on page 20.

Novelist Amy Tan shares bird obsession uralists was published in May: The Birds that Audubon Missed: Discovery and Desire in the American Wilderness by Kenn Kaufman.

Kaufman, an avid birder since he was a boy, has authored or co-authored more than a dozen books, including his own Kaufman Field Guides.

In his latest, he tells of the vicious competition among naturalists and John James Audubon, who is known for his efforts in the 1800s to describe and illustrate all the birds he could find.

But amid the rivalries, fraud and plagiarism, The Birds in America — Audubon’s seminal collection of 435 life-size prints — missed many winged creatures that were not discovered for years, including some common songbirds, hawks and sandpipers.

California birdwatching Tan could only identify three bird species when she first embraced birdwatching as a pastime.

The number of species she could identify steadily grew to 63 as she lured more birds to the area behind her home with a view of San Francisco Bay, dangling seed and nectar feeders from a stand and plant-

WE MAKE HOUSE CALLS! THE COMPUTER DOCTORS

ing her rooftop garden with succulents sporting white, yellow and pink blossoms.

“I’ve been spending more hours a day staring at birds than writing,” she notes at one point. “How can I not? Just outside my office, four fledgling scrub jays are learning survival skills.”

“We’ve been shut down by Covid-19, required to stay home,” she wrote on March 19, 2020. “Almost everything seems like a potential transmitter of disease and death — the groceries, a door knob, another person.

But not the birds. The birds are a balm.”

Like a loving mother, Tan watches in delight as fledglings learn how to get food from her patio cage feeders. She worries whether they’ll be affected by smoke from fires in California’s north.

Tan eventually becomes controlled by birds, feeding them 700 to 800 squirmy beetle larvae a day, at a cost of some $250 a month.

She also leaves alpaca yarn outside so an Oak Titmouse can line her nest with the soft fuzz.

As time passes, Tan becomes intentionally curious in nature, fascinated as a pair of Great Horned Owls take up residence in

PHOTO BY ENMAI TAN

By Anita Snow Birdwatching has become a cherished pastime for many since the start of the pandemic, when people stuck at home for months looked out their windows for entertainment and immersed themselves into the natural world, many of them for the first time.

Best-selling novelist Amy Tan of The Joy Luck Club fame is among about 45 million Americans the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has estimated are birders, with many investing seriously in their passion by purchasing birdseed and birdwatching accessories.

Now, with entries from her nature journal and astonishing illustrations thanks to lessons in bird illustration, Tan has published The Backyard Bird Chronicles about an obsession of hers that dates back to before the pandemic.

Tan’s book is the latest to grab onto the popularity of birdwatching.

It joins Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World, last year’s memoir by Christian Cooper, who famously clashed with a white woman walking her dog in New York’s Central Park.

Another book sure to delight amateur nat-

Amy Tan’s new birdwatching book is a bestseller.

her backyard, depleting the rat population as they regurgitate pellets comprised of bits of indigestible bone and fur.

She learns to stay motionless for long periods, even in the cold, to silently observe. “One must suffer for beauty, happily, for birds,” she writes.

—AP

OPEN S SEPTEM MBER 6

Voted Best of Baltimore!

Getting pop-ups?

Computer slowing down?

Internet and Wi-Fi Issues?

Email or printer problems?

• System tune-up, updates, security check, and virus removal • New computer set up with back up and data transfer • Help with computers, printers, phones, tablets, Smart TVs and streaming devices

Our senior-friendly, experienced techs come to you!

(410) 840-3434

www.computerdoctors.net Serving Baltimore and Surrounding Counties Since 1989

A MUSICAL L CO C MEDY

To obysDinnerTh bysDinnerTh heatre com heatre.com

Take $20 OFF with this ad!

New clients only.

Call for details.

CELEBRATING 45YEARS

20

Arts & Style | Subscribe online! See how on p. 22

Dog and trainer From page 1 national and international events makes it very hard to work 9 to 5,” she said. “I had all these people that were asking me to give [their dogs] lessons and teach them, so I started teaching dog agility full time.”

Hornor and her husband have three adult children, but none “caught the agility bug.”

Back yard for training Hornor teaches dogs from beginners to those who have placed in national competitions.

SEPTEMBER 2024 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Her large Ellicott City yard includes a fenced agility area with equipment. Hornor also teaches in Millersville and Hunt Valley, and offers online training classes for those outside the area.

She says basic training — with commands for sit, stay and heel — should start in early puppyhood. Dogs are ready for agility training at around six months old.

But not all dogs are cut out for fancy footwork. “Everybody says, ‘Oh my dog will be great at agility,’ but then they don’t pay attention to the handler, and they just run around.

“Just because they can run fast doesn’t necessarily mean they will follow cues and

Cars, boats, furniture, antiques, tools, appliances Everything and anything is sold on

Radio Flea Market Heard every Sunday, 7-8:00 a.m. on 680 WCBM

Senior Apartments Age 62 or Better LIVE WELL FOR LESS Roland View Towers • One- and Two-Bedroom as well as Efficiencies • Rents from $820 for efficiency, $1,015 for 1-bedroom, and $1,285 for 2-bedroom Utilities Included!

• 24/7 on-site Maintenance and Reception Desk • Beauty/Barber Shop on premises • Only 2 blocks from Hampden’s ‘The Avenue’ To schedule a personal tour call

410-889-8255 St Mary’s Roland View Towers 3838/3939 Roland Ave Baltimore, MD 21211

www.rolandviewtowers.com

not get distracted,” Hornor said.

Some dog owners drop out when they realize that training is hard work. But others, she said, “embrace it and love it. They have this bond and have fun with their dog. It really has to do with both the dog and owner working together.”

Food and toys are essential While some dogs learn cues from, and are incentivized by, food, others — like Nimble — have an affinity for toys.

Nimble’s favorite are little round balls.

But they’re so small they pose a choking hazard, so Hornor ties them to a bungee cord.

“You actually transfer the value of that toy to the [track’s] obstacles, so she learns to love the obstacles as much as the toys,” Hornor explained.

Nimble’s favorite piece of equipment is called the “dog walk” — a 12-foot-long bridge-like apparatus where dogs scamper up a ramp, across the flattened top, and then down a ramp on the other side. Nimble also likes to weave her way back and forth between horizontal polls.

“But, honestly, she just likes all of it. She just loves running fast,” Hornor said.

In fact, Nimble runs at a speed of seven yards per second. Agility competitions don’t convert that to miles per hour, but if Nimble were doing the 100-meter sprint in the Olympics, she might not run quite as fast as Noah Lyles’ 9.7 seconds, but she could still

cross the finish line in 15 seconds.

Keeping fit with her dog It’s not just the dogs that have to be fast and fit; it’s the trainers, too, Hornor said.

While Nimble is racing around the course, Hornor is keeping pace and giving cues.

“You do have to train yourself to make sure that you keep up,” she said. “I try to have a fitness program as much as I can because, while there are many people who are not terribly fit that do agility, I find that the people who are competing at a high level on really big courses need to be physically in shape.

“You also have to have a good mental game, and you have to be good at memorization,” she added.

Hornor said she’s “on the older side for a trainer. I’m competing against people who are 25.”

Last year, a new league for dog agility trainers over 55 was formed. The first Senior Open Agility World Championship was held in July in Belgium. Hornor and Nimble missed that one because they were already committed to another competition in England around the same time.

Hornor stays in shape on her Peloton bike, as well as hiking with Nimble, who also loves to swim and will prick up her ears in delight at the phrase “swim swim.”

“I think that being happy is really, really important for the dogs,” Hornor said. “And that goes for the trainers, too.”

Go to

jmorreliving.ccom for news, s deliciouss recipes and fun featurres.

Spectacular View

Make new friends

Makes a great gift! | Arts & Style

BALTIMORE BEACON — SEPTEMBER 2024

Classifieds continued from p. 23

BEACON BITS

Miscellaneous

Personal Services

Sept. 21 BIRDWATCHING WALK

PUBLIC POLICY VOLUNTEERS - The University of Maryland’s Legacy Leadership Institute on Public Policy, in partnership with the state of Maryland, is looking for volunteers age 50+ to serve as volunteer legislative leaders during the 2024-2025 session of the Maryland General Assembly. Classroom training begins in September for 12 weeks, two days per week, at the College Park campus, with site visits to the state complex in Annapolis. The volunteer assignment will be for a minimum of two days per week, starting in Jan. 2025 in the Annapolis offices of various senators and delegates. For more information or for an application, contact Wesley Queen at wqueen@umd.edu or call (301) 405-2529.

EVERY TIME YOU WALK OUTSIDE a layer of microbes lands on your skin. They cause aging.

Rose Beauty Cream takes them away. Sharon, a Leisure World resident says, “I won’t be without my Rose Beauty Cream,” www.barbarafrank222.com or call 301-949-4873.

BECOME A PUBLISHED AUTHOR. We want to Read Your Book! Dorrance Publishing-Trusted by Authors Since 1920.

Book manuscript submissions currently being reviewed. Comprehensive Services: Consultation, Production, Promotion and Distribution. Call for Your Free Author`s Guide 1-833-992-0110 or visit dorranceinfo.com/beacon

Personal Services CLEANING - Do you live in the Parkville / Nottingham area 21234 - 21236 and don’t like how cleaning services operate? - If so, give Mary Katherine a call. This one-time teacher has worked at Oakcrest in the past, and she grew up in Parkville, so she knows the area. Reasonable rates offered by someone who has experience working with seniors, knows the area, and will get the job done with a smile. Contact Mary Katherine (designsbymarykatherine@gmail.com) or leave a message at (443) 495-9901.

TV/Cable GET DISH SATELLITE TV + INTERNET! Free Install, Free HD-DVR Upgrade, 80,000 On-Demand Movies, Plus Limited Time Up To $600 In Gift Cards. Call Today! 1-844-560-5837 DIRECTV - All your entertainment. Nothing on your roof! Sign up for DIRECTV and get your first three months of Max, Paramount+, Showtime, Starz, MGM+ and Cinemax included. Choice package $84.99/mo. Some restrictions apply. Call DIRECTV 1-888-572-4953.

Wanted BUYING VINYL RECORDS from 1950 to 1990 JAZZ, ROCK, BLUES, R&B, DISCO, SOUL, REGGAE, & GOSPEL, ANY VINYL FORMAT 33 1/3 RPM Albums, small 45 RPM’s & some 78 RPM, Also CD’s, Prefer LARGER COLLECTIONS AT LEAST 100 items, PLEASE CALL JOHN 301-596-6201.

SQUARE DANCE LESSONS

Sept. 9+ Modern Western Square Dance can keep you sharp and fit.

Lessons take place this fall every Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Westowne Elementary School, 401 Harlem Lane, Catonsville, MD. Cost is $8 per lesson. Single dancers welcome. For more information, contact Melanie Jester at tomthumbsquares@gmail.com or leave a message at (410) 206-8707.

FROM PAGE 22 ANSWERS TO SCRABBLE

PAYING TOP CASH FOR ANTIQUES and collectibles. Housecalls made with prompt, courteous service seven days a week and 25 years of experience! Buying toys, trains, militaria, glassware, advertising merchandise, paper items and much more! Contact Mason or Megan at: 443-306-8816.

Special Offer!

The first 25 accepted applicants will receive $50.

Call for details.

• Free Reserved Resident Parking • Weekly Exercise Classes • Pet Friendly • Laundry Facilities • Close to Shopping and Theatres • Evening Bible Study Classes • Monthly Food Bank Deliveries

The Baltimore Bird Club is leading a birdwatching walk Sat., Sept. 21 from 9 to 11 a.m. at Enoch Pratt Free Library, Cherry Hill Branch, 606 Cherry Hill Rd., Baltimore. Learn tips for spotting the different species while taking a one-to-two-mile walk. Binoculars and field guides provided. For more information, visit bit.ly/BirdwatchWalk or call (410) 396-1168.

CASH FOR ESTATES; I buy a wide range of items; art, antiques, jewelry, cultural items, furniture, collections/accumulations. Whole estate/single item. Visit theatticllc.com or call Gary: 301-520-0755. License #18-SH-004-233.

Affordable Living for 62+ in the Heart of Towson

Virginia Towers

ANSWERS TO CROSSWORD L A S T S C A M P D E B I F N O T A R M O R E G O P I E R R E C U R I E P A D I C A N T A R D Y I R E D I C E D E R E C H O A T O F I R E C U T E B S T E A S E A K A U S E T H E R E C C E N T E R N A P A R O S E Y E S S U R E C A N L T S E E K S D I R E C T V P I T A H O E U N C L E R E D I R E C T I O N T A I S A I N T T O N T O E M S P E E T R E Y S P A S M

The Independent Lifestyle You Deserve in Cockeysville!

Warren Place Senior Apartments in Cockeysville, Maryland, is a 62+ senior community in a convenient location just minutes away from shopping centers, banks, pharmacies and restaurants on York Road.

Steps away from Cockeysville Senior Center to fit with your active lifestyle. We are a pet friendly community!

• All Utilities Included • On-site Parking • Laundry on Every Floor • Rents are $1146–$1375* • Elevators • Light Rail and Bus Stop Nearby

• Small Pets Welcome SPECIAL OFFERS • $500 Security Deposit • $500 OFF Move in Cost • Application $15 per person

A PA R T M E N T S

If you’re 62 or over, call and apply.

410-705-2690 for more information

It is our policy to admit residents without regard to race, color, religion, sex handicap or national origin and any other federal, state or local fair housing protections.

Note: Housing for Older Persons is exempt from the prohibitions against age or familial status.

21

10535 York Road • Cockeysville, MD

410-666-1030 Call our leasing office today for an appointment and to hear about all the fantastic details!* Email: WarrenPlace@gradymgt.com Website: WarrenPlaceSeniorApts.com

*Income restrictions

22

Arts & Style | Subscribe online! See below

SEPTEMBER 2024 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Crossword Puzzle Find a new crossword every day on our website at www.TheBeaconNewspapers.com/puzzles.

Dreck 1

2

By Stephen Sherr 3

4

5

6

7

17

15

22

27 33

30

50

51

23

36

37

40

41

34

35

38

39 42

44

45

47

BB924

29

16

28

32

43

12

26

25

31

11

19

21

24

Scrabble answers on p. 21.

10

18

20

46

48

49

54

53

56

57

61

62

64

9

14

13

52

8

58

55

59

60 63

65

66

65. Three-pointer Across 66. Involuntary twitch 1. Maintains the flavor 6. Where the Parent Trap twins met Down 10. Ball girl 1. Panel discussed at a doctor’s office 13. “___ now, when?”

2. In flames 14. Knightwear 3. Billy Idol’s trademark facial expression 16. Napoleon’s was big 4. AL East foe of BAL and BOS 17. He shared a 1903 Nobel prize with 5. Uncompromising his wife 6. Seeds that become chocolate 19. Sketchbook 7. ___ for the money 20. Indignation 8. Vaccine that prevents three infections 21. “___ buy myself flowers” (Myley Cyrus 9. Polynesian paste lyric) 10. Express disapproval 22. Arriving after the second bell, at some 11. “Zounds!” schools 12. Medical examiner’s subject 24. Powerful wind storm 15. Pensioner, usually 26. Part of a backgammon set 18. Amazon smart speaker 27. From ___ Z 23. Untouched serve 28. Protective joist with a slanted notch in 25. Direction most senators travel to their one end offices 31. Commonality of both CELEBS and 26. The D in CD or DJ DWEEBS 28. Plain as the nose on your ___ 33. Poke fun at 29. Four-stringers 35. Letters between Benjamin Siegelbaum 30. Driveway surface and Bugsy Siegel 31. Biblical twin 36. Attend a community Zumba class (or 32. Use the exact right words get started on nine answers in this 33. 1982 film source for a 2023 Disney puzzle) roller coaster 40. 40 winks 34. Some M.I.T. grads 41. Came to light 36. Prefixes that reverse words’ meanings 42. “Roger that” 37. Those that circumvent network security 43. “Ty Cobb is a [jerk], but he ___ hit” 38. Paleozoic and Mesozoic, for example (Babe Ruth) 39. Wall Street’s “Big Board” 45. The NFL’s blind-side protectors 44. Slippery as an ___ 47. Screams at showings of The Great 45. Reduced-calorie Mouse Detective 46. Religious pamphlets 48. Satellite broadcaster 48. Off-color 52. Peyton Manning, to Arch Manning 49. Home to most of the world’s pigs 54. Falafel holder 50. Sweetie pie 55. ___-down (rural party) 51. Likely cause of Cleopatra’s death 56. Word before chi or after mai 52. El Paso school 57. New plan of actions 53. Information on a driver’s license 61. Letters on the side of an ambulance 54. Coniferous tree 62. Very patient one 58. Participate in Nathan’s Fourth of 63. Johnny Depp’s character in 2013’s July contest The Lone Ranger 59. NNW or SSE 64. Next after elemeno 60. Where to put your 53 Down on a test

Answers on page 21.

Makes a great gift!

BALTIMORE BEACON — SEPTEMBER 2024

CLASSIFIEDS 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; Legal Services; Miscellaneous; Personals; Personal Services; Vacation Opportunities; and Wanted. For submission guidelines and deadlines, see the box on the right.

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.

Business & Employment Opportunities REAL ESTATE CONSULTANTS NEEDED Great For Seniors and All Others; Work From Home; PT/FT; No Travel; $2,125/wk/ptnl; No Selling; No RE-License; No RE-Exp.; EOE; Start Immediately; Paid Daily; Call: 1-703-398-1586.

Caregivers THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME! Jamhuri Healthcare Services recognizes the importance of keeping seniors or adults with special needs in their homes, rather than sending them to a skilled nursing facility. Our personal in-home care program is designed to implement non-medical tasks to meet the clients’ physical needs. Our home care aides provide a multitude of services for our clients, ranging from meal preparation & house cleaning to personal assistance & running errands. We are diligent in our staff & client pairings. We won’t put just anyone in your home or the home of your loved transportation services available 24/7.Call us toll-free at 1-800-5472851.Visit our website: www.jamhuricares.com. send us a text at the same number.

RETIRED AND ACTIVE MEDIA EXECUTIVE, now interviewing: For friendly person with pleasing personality for potential position as live in personal companion. Accommodation and meals provided with private bedroom, bath and parking! Location near American University in DC. Ideal opportunity possibly for Grad Student (or other qualified person) to have daytime access to nearby Universities: American, Georgetown, and GW for early daytime classes. Companionship position duties include: light meal and housekeeping activities and shopping at nearby pharmacy and restaurants. Schedule to be 5 days with Tuesdays and Fridays free. Compensation based on mutual agreeable arrangements. Please respond by email to James, jconnelly127@ gmail.com

Caregivers MOBILE HAIR & NAIL SERVICES - WE COME TO YOU. Professional Licensed Hair Stylist. Women and Men’s Services - All Hair Types. Cuts, Styles, Roller Sets, Color, Perms, Men’s Cuts & Facial Grooming, Manicures & more. Call 410-415-1760.

EXPERIENCED, COMPASSIONATE INDIVIDUAL SEEKING EMPLOYMENT in companion care. I will respond to the needs of the client. Drive and accompany client to appointments, prepare meals, join in games or other activities of interest to client. No lifting. References available. Please text or leave voicemail message at 443-921-5487 to arrange a meet and greet.

Computer Services PATIENT, PRACTICAL, PERSONAL. I can help you get comfortable and confident using your smartphone, tablet, laptop, printer, TV, Alexa, etc. 20+ years experience with all skill levels, PC, Mac. Julia: 443-436-2612, computercoachbaltimore.weebly.com

Events FIRST SAT’S SEPT-DEC, HOLIDAY SHOP with CRAFTS GALORE Marketplace in Balt County, MD. Find unique handmade goods and homemade food from juried artisans of Vendor Members Group. Interested vendors can exclusively inquire at www.vendormembersgroup.com PRIME TIMERS OF BALTIMORE is a welcoming community for mature gay and bisexual men. The Prime Timers offer social activities that cater to the mind and body. We meet for dinners, a book club, potlucks, hiking, tours, bowling, and more! Join us! Visit baltimoreprimetimers.org or e-mail primetimersbaltimore@gmail.com for info.

Financial 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 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 855-6268703.

For Sale 1 DOUBLE DEEP BURIAL PLOT with 2 vaults. Section G, Lot 159, Grave 4. Moreland Memorial Park, 2901 Taylor Ave. Present cost $5500. Asking $3500. Call Tom 443-653-5208.

NEW WINDOWS FROM WINDOW NATION. Special money saving offer - zero down, zero payments, zero interest for TWO years AND buy 2 windows and get 2 FREE! Offer is valid for select models. Labor not included.

Other restrictions apply. Call Window Nation today! 855-909-2278.

23

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 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 For Sale

Home/Handyman Services

PREPARE FOR POWER OUTAGES TODAY with a Generac Home Standby Generator. Act now to receive a FREE 5-Year warranty with qualifying purchase. Call 1-301-960-3174 today to schedule a free quote. It’s not just a generator. It’s a power move.

THE BATHROOM OF YOUR DREAMS in as little as 1 day. Limited Time Offer - $1000 off or No Payments and No Interest for 18 months for customers who qualify. BCI Bath & Shower.

Many options available. Quality materials & professional installation. Senior & Military Discounts Available. Call Today! 1-855-653-0087.

For Sale/Rent: Real Estate THINKING OF SELLING YOUR HOME? My total listing fee - 1%- Why pay 5/6/7%? Save thousands-full service- not full price! Over 20 yrs experience. Call/text for from home valuation. Robert Holmes, professional realtor. 443794-8297 Home Selling Assistance, Inc. office 410-256-3939 marylanddiscountbroker.com

Health DENTAL INSURANCE from Physicians Mutual Insurance Company. Coverage for 400 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.

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.

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.

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.

AMERICAN RESIDENTIAL HEATING & COOLING. As temps outside start to climb, the season for savings is now. $49 cooling or heating system tune up. Save up to $2000 on a new heating and cooling system (restrictions apply.)

FREE estimates. Many payment options available. Licensed and insured professionals. Call today 1-877-691-0273.

JACUZZI BATH REMODEL can install a new, custom bath or shower in as little as one day. For a limited time, waving ALL installation costs! (Additional terms apply. Subject to change and vary by dealer. (Offer ends 8/25/24.)

Call 1-833-994-0538.

ELIMINATE GUTTER CLEANING FOREVER! LeafFilter, the most advanced debrisblocking gutter protection. Schedule a FREE LeafFilter estimate today. 20% off Entire Purchase. Plus 10% Senior & Military Discounts.

Call 1-855-977-6078.

Miscellaneous CONSUMER CELLULAR - the same reliable, nationwide coverage as the largest carriers. No long-term contract, no hidden fees and activation is free. All plans feature unlimited talk and text, starting at just $20/month. For more information, call 1-833-742-1303.

Home/Handyman Services 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! 1-866-365-5170.

Classifieds continued on p. 21.

We thank our advertisers who make our publication possible.

Please patronize them and let them know you saw their ad in the Beacon.

Health Not Harm MD . . . . . . . . . .7

Home Health Care/ Companion Services

Adult Day Programs

Family & Nursing Care . . . . . . . . .6

St. Mary’s Roland View Towers . .20 Virginia Towers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Warren Place Apts. . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Westminster House . . . . . . . . . . .18

St. Ann Adult Day Services . . . . .13

Housing

Medical/Health/Insurance

Advocacy

Clinical Health Studies NIA Supplement Study . . . . . . . .10 Prediabetes Blood Sugar Study . .11

Events Congregation Beit Tikvah . . . . . . .4 Older Adults Thriving in Baltimore . . . . . . . .24

Funeral Services Cremation Society of Maryland . .18 MacNabb Funeral Home . . . . . . .18

Brightview Senior Living . . . . . . .8 Caritas House Assisted Living . . .13 Catholic Charities . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Charlestown/Erickson . . . . . . . . . .4 Christ Church Harbor Apts . . . . . .8 Enterprise Residential . . . . . . . . .14 Harmony at Enterprise . . . . . . . .1, 9 Harmony at Waldorf . . . . . . . . . .1, 9 Merion Village . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Oak Crest/Erickson . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Park View Apartments . . . . . . . . .14 Pickersgill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Hearing Wellness Center . . . . . . . .5 Kaiser Permanente . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Retail Radio Flea Market . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Senior Resources Maryland Relay . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation St. Elizabeth Rehab/Nursing . . . .13

Subscriptions Beacon Newspaper . . . . . . . . . . . .22 JMore Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Technology Computer Doctor . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Techmedic4U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Theater/Arts Toby’s Dinner Theatre . . . . . . . . .19

Travel Beltway Motel & Suites . . . . . . . .17 Caroline County, Va. . . . . . . . . . .17 Collette Hawaiian Adventure . . . .16 Eyre Tours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Superior Tours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

24

Subscribe online! See how on p. 22

SEPTEMBER 2024 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Join us for an exciting celebration of older adults thriving in Baltimore City!

September 26 Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor | 401 West Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 2024 SUMMIT THEMES

Aetna, in partnership with the City of Baltimore, invite you to the secons annual Older Adults Thriving in Baltimore City Summit! This fun and interactive day will provide you with all the tools and resources you need for leading a long and healthy life.

Enjoy complimentary food and refreshments, engaging conversations, extensive resources, prizes and giveaways, as well as presentations by community leaders. Do not miss this unique opportunity to learn, connect, and explore. We can’t wait to see you there!

Heart Health Mental Health Healthcare

OlderAdultsBaltimore.com The summit is free to attend, and complimentary transportation services are available.

Visit the website or call for more information.