Loving Life After 50: West Valley July 2019

CBD Therapy

Local vendors see bene ts in this treatment

Musical Memories

Cory McCloskey shares his theater background

You Sweet Thang!

Cupcake shop brings gooey goodness to Mesa

Creative Living

Glencroft’s Steve Heller gives seniors a

Upgrade at Thunderbird.

If you’ve been thinking about moving into a thriving independent living community, now’s the time to visit LifeStream at Thunderbird. For a limited time, you can Upgrade to a 1-Bedroom at the Studio rate of $1,210! That’s a 1-bedroom, independent living apartment with a monthly savings of nearly $500 every month! Call 602-938-5500 to set up a tour! Standard market rate security fee for leased unit is required (refundable except for $500 plus any damages), and one-time standard community fee of $500 is required. All other fees (e.g. Pet Fees), lease terms and conditions apply.

Upgrade at Youngtown.

If you’ve been thinking about moving into a thriving independent living community, now’s the time to visit LifeStream at Youngtown. For a limited time, you can Upgrade Your 1- or 2-bedroom at a Monthly Rate “one-step” below. For example, select a 2-Bedroom (normally $1,840) for the price of a 1-Bedroom Deluxe (normally $1,640)! Call 623-972-2371 to set up a tour!

(refundable except for $500 plus any damages), and one-time standard community fee of $750 is required. All other fees (e.g. Pet Fees), lease terms and conditions apply.

Senior

Administrator

Courtney Oldham

Graphic

Cover

INTERIOR DESIGN ON A BUDGET

On the news, we hear how great the economy is doing. This is great news. But that doesn’t mean we should ignore the smart practices we have used in the past. These money saving ideas can help us to stretch our dollars to get the most value for our hard-earned money. Companies like IRCA have great services and products that will hold up for years and not cost you a metaphorical arm and a leg.

IRCA is family owned and operated. Their main business is refurbishing Resorts all over the Valley and throughout the USA. These 4- and 5-Star Resorts (Marriott, Hyatt, Westin, Hilton, Sheraton, Radisson, Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons…) are renovated every 5 to 7 years. These high-end properties don’t use cheap furniture. Resorts purchase from manufacturers like Drexel and Henredon, which are brands that are found at the most expensive furniture stores. When resorts update their properties, all that quality furniture must go somewhere. The furniture has many years of use left on each item. Instead of wasting away in landfills, IRCA gives these quality commercial furniture items a second life in both homes and businesses.

all they have to offer:

Bedroom Sets. These sets start at $299.50. You get a Headboard, Mattress & Box Spring, 2 Nightstands, & a Dresser.

Carpet. Because of all the Resort work IRCA does in flooring, they can offer outstanding prices to the public. Right now, IRCA sells Carpet starting at 99 cents a square foot There are many colors to choose from.

Blinds. IRCA designs and installs blinds of all types for both Residential and Commercial use. Because IRCA deals with window coverings in a large volume, their pricing beats the big box stores. Also, they offer a better-quality commercial product which will last longer in our hot Arizona summers.

using the back of the owner’s truck as their workroom in the early 70’s. They still do a lot of reupholstery business all over the Valley, the USA, and even in the Caribbean.

Dining Room Set. These sets start at $129.50. You get a Dining Table, & 4 Chairs.

Wood Porcelain Tile. This is a very popular look! My friend had it installed in her home and it holds up against the constant abuse of her pets. There is no risk of water damage, which many have suffered with a regular wood floor. She loves the cool tile on her feet and the sophisticated look the wood porcelain. Many colors to choose from! Starting at $1.49 per sq. ft.

Check these guys out. They are very friendly and will help you with your design needs! Below is a list of items I saw during my last visit:

Patio Chairs, Loungers, Outdoor Heaters, Tables of all sizes, Ottomans, Umbrellas, and Teak Furniture.

It is impossible to describe what all IRCA has to offer on this small page. Their inventory changes daily from the demands of the many Resorts here in the Phoenix Valley. Check out their Facebook to see new items. You can also join their email list to get updates a couple times a month.

while supplies last

There are many styles to choose from. There are recliners, armchairs, sofa sleepers, loveseats, end tables, coffee tables, and sofa tables. They even had a twin sleeper sofa. IRCA has bookshelves, tv stands, table lamps, floor lamps, pictures, accessories, fridges, washers and dryers, and televisions. They have an impressive number and styles of mattresses and box springs to choose from. Included in the bedroom area are of course headboards, dressers, sheets, pillows, bedframes, and nightstands. I loved their collection of dining room tables and chairs. There were styles with and without arms, and some with wheels. I bought an entire set of Sant’ Andrea dishes when I was there last to go with my new table set. Going to IRCA is truly like a treasure hunt, I never know what bargains I am going to find. You will find just about everything you would see in a resort; IRCA even gives away free Bibles.

Living Room Sets. These sets start at $299.50. You get a Sofa Sleeper, 2 Arm Chairs, Coffee Table and 2 Side Tables.

Lamps. IRCA has an impressively large selection of lamps to light up your life! Quality heavy lamps starting at $10.00. You get to choose your lampshade, harp, and finial to go with your lamp purchase. Many styles have either a plug-in or a USB hookup. Can’t believe all the options!

Reupholstery is how IRCA first was born. They started out

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ

Running an errand this week, I watched two Phoenix police o cers o er a bottle of water to a homeless man grabbing some shade outside a local grocery store.

One of the o cers was still there when I came out and I said what I always say when I pass a cop on the street.

“Thank you for your service. Stay safe out here.”

He thanked me for thanking him. We went our separate ways. The moment stayed with me, however. Remembering it called to mind a number I looked up not long ago.

$31.08.

That’s the average hourly wage for a police o cer in Arizona, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

It’s a good living in a state where the average worker makes less than $24 for an hour’s work. Police work typically comes with decent health insurance, the opportunity to advance into management, and solid retirement bene ts.

It’s also a job I couldn’t imagine doing — not now, not in the 21st century, not in the present moment we nd ourselves in as a Valley, a state, a nation.

Not for $31.08 an hour. Not for 100 times $31.08 an hour.

A caveat: As I have explained before, my day job involves helping people and organizations tell their stories and answer reporters’ questions.

My clients include virtually all the state’s law enforcement organizations. That means, among other things, I am paid to help tens of thousands of cops explain the truth about their profession.

It also means I generally support and respect the men and women who do the job — a job I could never fathom doing myself. Not for $31.08 an hour.

My rationale for chickening out has little to do with the danger police o cers face every day — though that danger has never been more real.

Instead, when I think about not being a cop, I think mainly of the frustration occa-

sioned by working in a profession where everyone else is an expert despite never walking a day on a beat.

I think, as well, of having my work judged not by what I do myself, but by the conduct of a handful of my colleagues — a minute of video here, an allegation of abuse there.

I don’t think I could handle it.

In fact, I doubt many of us could. Americans as a general rule value personal responsibility, individual accountability and the concept of innocence until guilt has been proven — except when we judge an entire police department or the entire profession through the lens of a single frozen moment in time.

Then, instead of rational thought, the screaming begins. “The Phoenix police this.” “The Mesa cops that.” “The Tempe police this.” “The west side cops that.” Before you start screaming, please understand I am not excusing a single bad act committed by a police o cer, nor am I arguing that any cop should be above the law.

Bad acts committed in uniform should be punished accordingly, using the same investigative and prosecutorial tools and laws that govern holding accused criminals responsible for their crimes.

My point? That we appear to be choosing sides these days. There are those who view every police o cer as inherently evil. There are those who believe wearing a badge entitles the holder to be judge, jury and executioner.

Then there’s the rest of us.

We think that putting yourself in harm’s way to protect a community merits respect, not disregard. We see the man, the woman, not merely the uniform, not merely the video snippet. We think that maybe cops who work an hour deserve better than 31 bucks and all the disrespect an angry mob can muster.

Rx Matters

Medication misuse is an issue across all ages. Rx Matters, a program of Area Agency on Aging, is educating the senior community on the dangers of medication and opioid misuse.

• Learn the important questions to ask about your medications

• Understand the risks

• Use proper disposal techniques

Area Agency on Aging promotes healthy living for older adults with presentations to help you stay safe in your own home. Rx Matters will provide tips and information to help you manage your daily medications.

• Always take your medications as prescribed –Follow your doctors’ orders

• Mixing medications is asking for trouble –All meds don’t work together

• Share your friendships – Not your medications –Your meds are only for you

• Proper disposal of unwanted meds keeps everyone safer –Mix unwanted meds with coffee grounds or kitty litter before disposing in the garbage or visit DumpTheDrugsAZ.org for a drug drop box near you

Contact the Area Agency on Aging for additional information about an in home or community Rx Matters presentation, a Medication Disposal bag, or to order your Tips About Scrips magnet.

We Want to Hear from You! Your message might be printed in the next issue!

At Lovin’ Life, we believe your opinions should be heard. Give us yours! Space providing, your Sound Off will be printed in the next issue. Please limit your messages to one minute or 100 words.

Email us: soundoff@lovinlifeafter50.com

Leave a message: 480-898-6500, option 6

Write us: 1620 W. Fountainhead Pkwy., Suite 219 Tempe, AZ 85282

Ask Gabby Gayle Kids need to learn there are consequences for their actions

BY GAYLE LAGMAN-CRESWICK

Dear Gabby Gayle: Regarding your column a couple months ago, where someone took umbrage at your mention of giving a kid a swat on the bottom once in a while. I recall getting a swat on the behind for stealing a tricycle at age 5. When we were kids, we got spankings. That no longer happens. I think that is why too many kids have discipline problems nowadays. We knew not to touch them without an adult’s OK or we’d really get it. There were cleaning chemicals under the kitchen sink. If you touched that cupboard you got a swat on the hand. We knew the painful consequences of not following rules. So, we (mostly) obeyed our parents. If we really made momma mad, we had to wait in our rooms while she calmed down enough to give us a controlled spanking. The waiting was worse than the spanking! I spanked my kids and they are good, kind, considerate adults. I don’t think a swat is out of line.

Signed, AM

Dear AM: I raised seven kids, and I will have to say that the younger were raised differently than the first ones, because the times changed, and the parenting reading said do not hit your children. I listened to that and I would have to say it appears the older ones are more industrious, considerate, harder working, and have more of a sense of right and wrong. Whether it was from a stricter method, I can only guess. One thing I can say that I learned for sure: children have to know there is a consequence for every behavior, and consistency is very important.

Thanks for writing.

Signed, GG

Q A Q Q A A

Dear Gabby Gayle: I seem to be at a crossroads in my life. I am in my late 70s and chronically ill. I look around and I can only see that my doctors are very adept at keeping us alive. That is medicine it seems. Keep people alive at all costs. Never mind the quality of that life. It seems that medical science has made huge strides in almost every field. New

joints, new organs, etc. I am all for the advances that help us live healthier and more mobile. What is bothering me is when do I say enough already? I don’t want any more treatment just to keep me alive without the quality of life. It is hard to know where to draw the line on treatment.

Signed, BW

Dear BW: You have brought up a very deep subject that we could spend hours discussing. It is true that medical science has made huge strides in keeping us alive. I am starting to ask myself. Do I want to be kept alive so I can spend my last days in a nursing facility or in and out of the hospital? My advice is this: You have the right to call your own shots. You do not have to have treatments. You can refuse any treatment or medicine — it is your right. We get caught up in the system as if we have no say, but we do. I think more and more of us will be exercising those rights! Good luck.

Signed, GG

Dear Gabby Gayle: I am in my mid-fifties and just back into the dating scene after being widowed five years ago. I have met a few men with whom I would love to be friends, but I do not have any romantic feelings toward them. It seems none of them understand that and they want to become intimate. Am I expecting too much? Is friendship between a man and a woman obsolete?

Signed, BR

Dear BR: Having met two men on a dating site whom I have been friends with for quite a long time, I know there are men out there who feel like you do and would not expect to become intimate. Perhaps it would help if upfront you clarify you are looking for friendship. Of course, some of the best long-term romances began as friendships, right? Good luck.

Signed, GG

News Briefs

COMPILED BY

CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI

Bean bag baseball a hit at LifeStream

When the senior adults faced off against the associates at LifeStream at Youngtown in bean bag baseball, they brought their competitive spirit and their air horns. The faith-based nonprofit LifeStream Complete Senior Living organized this event, which resulted in hilarious banter between the residents and associates.

Bean bag baseball is similar to corn hole or bags, during which competitors throw bean bags from a distance, trying to sink the bag in a hole. This version has more holes denoted as singles, doubles or even a home run.

“The friendly tournament took a fun turn as the residents beat the associates at LifeStream at Youngtown for the first two games,” says Bruce Fischer, LifeStream’s executive director of resident services. “They let it go to their head, and it was hilarious to hear their razzing or heckling throughout the community when they encountered their competitors.”

The third competition was June 12, and it was the first time the associates won.

Genealogical society invites residents to library

The West Valley Genealogical Society and Library is open to the public and offers tools to help search for family — more than 19,000 books, 1,100 maps, 3,400 media and 1,900 periodicals. You can work in the computer lab and make new friends. Nonmembers are asked to make a $5 donation.

The library is located at 12222 N. 111th Avenue, Youngtown.

Info: 623-933-4945 or azwvgs.org

American Association of University Women visit Babbo

More than 40 members of the Northwest Valley-AAUW Women enjoyed lunch at Babbo Italian Eatery in Surprise on June 20.

The restaurant prepared pasta dishes and salads along with its focaccia bread for the Summer Survival Lunch hosted by Betty Merwin. Two more lunches are planned—July and August.

Info: rosemaryd4@cox.net

The Forum at Desert Harbor hosts casino night

Peoria’s The Forum at Desert Harbor drew scores of lucky seniors to the retirement community’s “Vegas Night at The Forum.”

The Forum’s gaming house was on a roll as attendees anted up to a wealth of blackjack, poker and roulette table games hosted by sharp-dressed dealers from Arizona Casino Parties. High rollers cashed in their gambling chips for raffle tickets, which afforded the added chance of winning an assortment of gourmet gift baskets.

Throughout the evening there was a “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” as Elvis Presley impersonator, Bret Kaiser, stacked the deck with the King of Rock and Roll’s chart-topping hits from “Viva Las Vegas” to “Blue Hawaii.” Adoring fans “Can’t Help Falling in Love” with this gem of a “Forever Elvis” tribute.

The Forum at Desert Harbor is located at 13840 N. Desert Harbor Drive, north of Thunderbird Road at 91st Avenue in Peoria. Info: 623-972-0995 or theforumatdesertharbor.com.

AARP members can save at Radisson Hotels

Radisson Hotel Group is teaming with AARP to offer the 50-and-older organization’s members 10% discount on the best available rate at more than 1,100 participating hotels worldwide.

AARP members will receive a special offer through Radisson Rewards, Radisson Hotel Group’s loyalty program. Through December 28, AARP members who are also Radisson Rewards members can fasttrack to Gold status through February 2021 when completing four stays at the eligible AARP Member Rate.

Info: radissonrewards.com/ joinrewardsft.

Kiva West Bridge Club donates to Alzheimer’s Association

Kiva West Duplication Bridge Club, Sun City West, held its annual fundraiser, “The Longest Day, on June 13 to benefit Alzheimer’s Association.

In conjunction with the American Contract Bridge Association, Kiva West hosted almost 100 people who played bridge and donated more than $2,800 to Alzheimer’s Association. The donations came through game fees, monetary contributions and raffle ticket sales.

Info: jekeane903@gmail.com

Arrowhead Valley Retirement Resort opens

Resort Lifestyle Communities opened Arrowhead Valley Retirement Resort, a new retirement community in Peoria, offering independent living for adults 55 and older.

“Our research indicated there was a significant need for additional independent senior-living communities in Peoria,” says Phil Benjamson, COO of Resort Lifestyle Communities. “Arrowhead Valley offers a life-enriching lifestyle with all the conveniences of home and provides peace of mind to residents’ families and loved ones.”

Located at N. 81st Avenue and West Beardsley Road, Arrowhead Valley offers 128 apartments for rent in studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom options at one monthly price including utilities and no buy-in fee or long-term leases. Included in the monthly rent is on-site professional staff, live-in managers, a 24/7 emergency call system, appointment transportation, concierge services as well as valet parking. Arrowhead Valley also has an in-house bank, business center, pharmacy, fitness center, game room, 150-seat theater, gift shop and salon. All-inclusive amenities also include a 24-hour chef’s pantry,

happy hour lounge, dining room and Freedom Dining program offering a variety of dining experiences including full-service, casual buffet, on-the-go snacks and room service; daily health and wellness programs, social invitations and activities; and a travel program.

Info: 480-4823000, arrowheadyvalleyretirement.com.

AGEconnect on 7th connects seniors, community services

The Area Agency on Aging has opened AGEconnect on 7th, an Aging Resource Center, at 2950 N. 7th Street in Phoenix for seniors to make connections to community resources and services.

The multipurpose building, constructed in 1970, was recently updated and renovated “to accommodate the growing needs among our older adult population,” says Area Agency on Aging President and CEO Mary Lynn Kasunic. “The building enables us to reach more community residents to help those looking for support and advice.”

AGEconnect on 7th is open from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.

Visitors to the first-floor Aging Resource Center can access Medicare counseling through the Area Agency’s Benefits Assistance Program as well as information and connection to community resources from the Senior Help Line staff. Care coordinators will provide support and guidance to caregivers. Legal assistance for low-income seniors age 60 and older is available by appointment.

The Benefits Assistance Program helps individuals navigate the complexities of Medicare benefits for those who are becoming eligible for Medicare as well as for the Medicare Limited Income Program. Information about the State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) and Senior Medicare Fraud Patrol is also available.

Info/appointments: 602-264-HELP (4357) to make an appointment.

Kiva West hosts “The Longest Day” charity event benefiting Alzheimer’s Association on June 13 at Beardsley Recreation Center, Sun City West. Kiva West members and event volunteers are, from row, from left, Dee Hjermstad and Cindy Carlson; back row, from left, Bonny Yamashita, event coordinator Joyce Keane, Brenda Biggs, Karon Chitwood and Kay Anderson. (Photo courtesy Kiva West)

Features

From

Sale SEED to

New World CBD brings ‘clean’ products to consumers every day

BY SHERRY JACKSON

“No, it won’t get you high,” says Brent Mann, president and owner of New World CBD, which has offices in Tempe and Oregon. “It’s the most common misconception that’s out there in the market today.”

After 30 years in the insurance business, Mann stumbled across the CBD

industry after a good friend touted the health benefits. Mann, played football for Oregon State in his college days, has had seven knee surgeries and was looking for pain relief.

“I was looking for alternative ways to reduce my pain on a daily basis,” says Mann, who lives in Chandler. “I started taking CBD and noticed a dramatic change. I have found it relieves the sharp, shooting pains I was experiencing. I feel clear-headed and calm when taking CBD.”

He dove into researching the industry. “I wanted to validate it myself first,” he says. He read up on the anti-inflammatory health benefits of CBD along with studies pointing to the benefits for those with arthritis, cancers, insomnia, anxiety, depression and most diseases. CBD is increasingly used as an alternative to

opioids, aspirin and other pain relievers which run through the kidneys and can cause other health issues. It’s also been proven safe for kids and pets to use.

Mann’s wife Nancy, who serves as the company’s vice president, is also a pediatric nurse and points to a study conducted by Phoenix Children’s Hospital on a child who was having epileptic seizures. After 24 hours of using CBD, the seizures subsided.

“It really helps with any trauma to the system,” she adds. “Free radicals. It works to keep it at bay. There are virtually no side effects and studies have shown you can’t overdose on it.”

After Brent was confident he understood the myths, benefits and challenges, he contacted his brother, Jerry Mann, who owns a farm in Dundee, Oregon. They partnered and instead of farming chickens, his brother started farming hemp, a much more lucrative farm crop.

“I wanted to control all aspects of the product,” Brent says. “There are a lot of companies and people out there making claims, but when their products are tested, they have little to no actual CBD. Roughly 85% of products are like that.”

With a company tagline of “from seed to you,” Jerry, started growing the plants in a 5,000-square-foot greenhouse. The plants go into the ground around June and are harvested in October. No pesticides are used in growing their hemp.

New World CBD has a 6,000-square-foot processing facility in Salem, Oregon, with the capacity to process several hundred pounds a day of hemp flower into oil, yielding over 50,000 grams of CBD hemp oil per month. Mann started the company in June 2017 and August 2018 was the first full-production cycle.

Quality is important as is making sure customers know what they’re buying. “There’s another misnomer — that CBD comes from the seeds,” Brent says. “CBD comes from the actual flower, not the seed or stalk. If you’re buying something on Amazon that says hemp oil, that is not the same thing as CBD oil.”

After the CBD oil is processed, it’s then shipped to a bottling and headquarters in Tempe where New World CBD packages 24 different products ranging from oil tinctures, to balms, lotions and even a sleep drink. The company also sells products that are “broad spectrum” with other plant-based ingredients in addition to the CBD.

In addition to owning the process from beginning to end, the company has a proprietary formula that extracts the oils, fats and lipids.

“CBD oil is initially dark, like motor oil. Ours looks like honey. We don’t use any fillers or sweeteners,” Brent says. “There’s no bitter aftertaste.”

“It’s clean and it tastes good,” Nancy adds.

New World CBD’s tagline is “from seed to you.”

Brent and Nancy Mann started New World CBD to help others who suffer from chronic pain. (Photos courtesy Brent Mann)

The company has the products tested through certi ed, third-party labs to ensure the quality.

Drew Hodson, a massage therapist for the past 25 years, says the quality and knowing “exactly where the product comes from” is what drew him to using New World CBD’s products. He’s been using CBD for about eight months and is also a sales representative for New World CBD.

“I was looking for something to alleviate pain from a herniated disc and chronic knee issues. My customers were also asking me what I knew about CBD,” Hodson says. “After about eight days of using CBD my knee pain was gone. After about 30 days my back pain subsided. I knew I was onto something special and I wanted to share it with my clients.”

Right now, the focus is on building the company and getting the brand out there, Mann says. New World CBD products are already in Albertsons and Safeway stores in the Southwest and will be expanding nationwide to more than 1,000 stores. They also have a distributor and partner system to sell at festivals and markets and are working on a program to bring their products to veterans.

There are challenges in the industry, of course, like any other new product or technology. Banks haven’t caught up to new regulations and nding one that will process credit card transactions for a CBD company can be challenging. But with the 2018 Farm Bill that President Donald Trump signed into law in 2018 legalizing industrial hemp that has a THC concentration of no more than 0.3% and removes CBD from schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, and the recent FDA approval of Epidiolex, a pharmaceutical-grade version CBD oil used to treat children with epilepsy. In June, the FDA began the process to set new regulations for cannabis and cannabis products. The Manns are optimistic about the future of the CBD industry.

Brent encourages consumers to look at the research if someone is hesitant about what they are putting in their body. “It’s been proven to work,” he says. “It’s about increasing awareness and what CBD can do for people on an everyday basis.”

For more information about New World CBD, call or visit 1-800-472-9017 or newworldcbd.com, respectively.

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The power of CBD Gary Miller wants to educate people about alternative pain relief

BY SHERRY JACKSON

It took six years of persuasion from a close friend to encourage Gary Miller to get into the CBD business.

“At rst, I thought it was like snake oil,” he says, referring to a well-used term to describe a deceptive marketing gimmick. “But then after researching and using CBD pain cream for a wrist injury, I decided it was worth getting involved in.”

In May 2017, Miller created Bioactive LLC, a company providing medical-grade CBD products to consumers. His background in sales, albeit in a di erent industry (restaurant marketing), has helped him build the company’s growing customer base.

CBD has been gaining popularity with consumers looking for an alternative pain medicine and as an alternative to opioids.

“Today the therapeutic properties of CBD are being tested and con rmed by scientists and doctors around the world,” says the nonpro t organization, Proj-

ect CBD, on its website. “A safe, nonaddictive substance, CBD is one of more than 100 ‘phytocannabinoids,’ which are unique to cannabis and endow the plant with its robust therapeutic prole.”

CBD can be incorporated into many different product types. Bioactive sells oils, creams, bath bombs, lip balms, soaps and vaping products. The main use of CBD products is to alleviate pain, anxiety and stress. “It’s so relaxing and so therapeutical,” he says.

There are many other bene ts too, Miller says. CBD is not regulated by the FDA, like many supplements, so he’s hesitant to lay claim to speci cs, but CBD has been shown to regulate blood pressure and insulin levels, used as an anti-in ammatory

and to treat chronic pain.

“Consumer consensus substantiates fantastic health bene ts and improvement,” Miller says.

Jay Horner, one of Miller’s customers agrees. Horner was taking up to four prescriptions and over-thecounter medications per day for lower back and spinal pain, a damaged rotator cu and dislocated shoulder. He started using Bioactive’s tincture’s and pain cream and was a convert.

“It’s literally the only thing that has worked for me,” Horner says. “It’s the way it works. I don’t take any prescription drugs anymore.”

Because CBD is just now nding its footing in the marketplace, there are a lot of misconceptions.

“It’s all brand new in a sense. The most important thing for customers to know is that our CBD products are 100% THC free and won’t get you high,” Miller stresses. Athletes, doctors, nurses and other professionals who may want to use CBD to alleviate pain and stress can do so knowing no THC will be detected in any blood or urine analysis.

Miller encourages consumers to know what they are buying when it comes to CBD products. “Many hemp-derived CBD products are mislabeled, and they’re not regulated, much like supplements, by the FDA. Others are tainted with toxic solvent residues, corn syrup, arti cial avors and colors, and other contaminants.”

Bioactive tests every shipment of CBD it gets from their farms at a Phoenix-based testing facility, Desert Valley Testing.

All Bioactive products are high quality and come from farms in Oregon and Colorado, Miller says. His friend who suggested he get into the business formulates the company’s products, which

are derived from the unfertilized female ower tops of high-resin CBD-rich industrial cannabis/hemp plants. Those plants are much better suited for medicinal oil extraction than low-resin ber hemp, he says. A CO2- ltered process then extracts out the medicinal CBD only.

Miller sells mainly online through his website, bioactivellc.com, and delivers free to local Valley-area customers. The products can also be found in several local smoke shops. He o ers wholesale pricing for resellers and a white label product for those wanting to sell CBD with their own brand.

With a recent cash infusion from an investor, Miller plans to roll out Bioactive’s products to local golf courses, bowling alleys, gyms, martial arts studios and other athletic-centered businesses. He’s also working on presentations for senior living facilities to educate his elderly customers on CBD’s bene ts. Miller also plans to o er turnkey distributorships to expand nationally.

Miller cautions potential customers to do their research before buying any CBD product, not only for the authenticity of the product, but also pricing varies widely. Bioactive o ers wholesale pricing and is often 50 percent less than competitors.

“It’s more about quality than quantity,” he says. “We o er the nest CBD premium products on the market. We’re a small, family run company that cares about our clients and our products.”

Gary S. Miller, owner of Bioactive. (Submitted photo)

Creative Living

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI

Sharon Wixon says Glencroft Center for Modern Aging is Glendale’s best-kept secret.

“When I came here, there wasn’t much going on (around the city) except for games,” says Sharon, 77. “I wasn’t ready to sit and play a lot of games. I wanted stimulation and education.”

She got it. The 50-year-old Glencroft recently adopted the Center for Modern Aging, which stresses a full-body approach including a healthy diet, good exercise, continued learning, strong purpose, social vibrancy and deep spirituality. The faith-based center’s approach is called ZOE-Life, a Biblical term for “life,” and its goal is to enable full and rewarding lives for their residents.

“It’s interesting to see the number of people who participate in our programs,” she says.

The nonpro t Center for Modern Aging o ers comprehensive programming

to help residents build wellness in each aspect of life. Residents are able to interact through group activity in the performance center, indulge in ZOE-Life healthy dining options and take part in lectures that address the Boomer demographic. University-style lectures cover topics like diet, depression and infection control. Reservations are suggested, but walk-ins are admitted, if space is available.

Steve Heller, vice president, director, Center for Modern Aging, says incoming residents are skewing younger, although the “old regime” is still excited about the programs.

“We have folks who are 99, 94 and they are so pumped to workout and learn,” Heller says.

He came to Glencroft Center for Modern Aging from Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, where he was the longtime tness director. Heller was impressed by Glencroft Center for Modern

Aging’s facilities.

“We have this massive physical therapy-style operation where it’s like a spa,” he says. “We have physical therapy and a juice bar. It’s elaborate.

“Next door is a state-of-the-art university area where we had 43 lectures last summer, or last semester. We’re big partners with Midwestern University, ASU and Grand Canyon University. A lot of their instructors come over and teach.

Whatever lecture I put out there, we sell out. The residents are just so engaged on learning.”

Heller says residents’ days are interesting. They can go from working out, to swimming, to eating and to a lecture.

“We really try to turn this into a campus college,” Heller says. “Our big spin is, even if you’re 90, going back to college is reasonable. We love the idea of learning again—on their terms.

Steve Heller helps Everett Miller, 99, stretch his back at Glencroft Center for Modern Aging in Glendale.

(Photos by Pablo Robles)

“I think even, relative to other facilities out there, we’re feeding them well in their home. There are activities like redefining this purpose and direction.”

Sharon and her 83-year-old husband, Ken, had lived in Glendale for 40 years and wanted to stay in the area. Ken says they were looking for a casita or cottage, instead of an apartment building. They changed their mind when they saw Glencroft Center for Modern Aging.

“I love the socialization,” says Ken, a former insurance agent. “There’s a lot of entertainment.”

A former nurse, Sharon keeps busy by volunteering at the gift shop and running Glendale Center for Modern Aging’s newspaper.

“I’m looking forward to the lectures starting up again in the fall,” she adds. “They talked about meditation, which was really interesting.”

Sharon wishes to see younger folks moving in.

“The grounds are beautiful,” she says. “I think they would enjoy them. There’s a lot of grass to walk your dog. There are a lot of outside activities. It’s nice.”

Fellow Glencroft resident, former 45-year nurse Barbara Lathrup, moved from Florida to Arizona to be near her sister. She’s 72 and calls herself one of the younger people at the facility, which helps her stay as active as she can.

“Steve’s program is excellent,” she says. “He works on it all the time. I exercise three times a week. I lost a lot of weight and have a lot of energy. I feel five years younger, at least.”

Heller says it’s fun to see the seniors so engaged in the courses.

“This has taken the shape of a fullfledged college atmosphere and there

are even 90-year-olds running around with backpacks, going to class, learning, running to eat and swimming,” he says.

“These 78- and 90-year-olds were not being treated like athletes.”

A ‘Modern’ success

Heller calls his plans a success.

“Our sales team loves it because the phones are going bananas because we’ve been doing so many good things. We’ve been doing these ‘stay and plays’ where for free (prospective residents) can come stay one night and just immerse themselves in the culture.”

Prospective clients — and Heller himself — are amazed by the center.

“This feels right,” he says. “The acreage feels nice because residents can move around.

“The freedom to maneuver 40 acres and then have all this programming in place for an added value of life in here is amazing. It’s all free once you live here, too.”

He admits, he received a bit of flack when he left Kierland to come to Glencroft, where his niche was professional athletes and golfers.

“They were like, ‘How do you leave that to go to these seniors,’” says Heller, who adds the athletes visit him and the residents for encouragement. “I said, ‘You guys on the Cardinals are just trying to catch a few more football. These guys are trying to walk again.’ This is emotional stuff.”

Glencroft Center for Modern Aging

8611 N. 67th Avenue, Glendale

623-939-9475, glencroft.com

Sharon Wixon exercises with Steve Heller at Glencroft Center for Modern Aging in Glendale.

The Need for Speed

BY SHERRY JACKSON

Growing up in Southern California, during the heydays of street cruising, Jerry Hutchcroft knew he wanted to race cars. He was inspired by legends like Eddie Sachs and A.J. Foyt, who ran the track at the 1962 Indianapolis 500.

Howeer, in the mid-1960s, hot rods and nitro funny cars became popular. He discovered drag racing and was hooked.

“When I was 16, I started racing my motorcycle and didn’t crash and die,” Hutchcroft jokes. “Once I got my driver’s license, drag racing and girls was pretty much all I thought about.”

Now, more than 50 years later, his career and hobby have been acknowledged with a recent induction into the Arizona Drag Racing Hall of Fame. Hutchcroft was honroed along with 21 others this spring.

“Jerry was very deserving of his nomination. Not only for his contribution in creating the Arizona Drag Racing Hall of Fame, but also his continued efforts with the car

culture,” says Bill Goosic, board member, Arizona Drag Racing Hall of Fame.

Hutchcroft and his wife, Donna, moved to Texas in 1988 after selling their lucrative printing brokerage in Huntington Beach, California, with the dream to pursue racing full-time.

“There weren’t many opportunities to race in California, but the sport was going strong in Texas,” he says.

The couple were getting ingrained in the Texas racing community and created the Drag Racing Bulletin, a free monthly newspaper dedicated to the sport of drag racing.

But Donna wasn’t happy living in Texas. After 18 months, in 1991, they relocated their family to Arizona. The state had a robust racing community and the couple says they felt they had found their niche. They continued publishing the newspaper, eventually changing the name to Roddin’ & Racin’. Today, the newspaper has a circulation of 15,000 per month with subscribers

nationwide.

The couple also promoted several drag racing events in the 1990s, including the Front Engine Pro Nitro Drag Racing Series. The Pro Nitro series featured 250 MPH front engine top Fuel Dragsters, Nitro Fuel Altereds and a class called Blown Bad Boys, that ran on a mid-seven second index with speeds near 200 miles per hour. The Pro Nitro series held races in Arizona, California and Nevada.

In 1999, the Hutchrofts created the Arizona Drag Racing Hall of Fame and inducted the first 15 members in its first three years. In 2006, they created the “Roddin’ & Racin’” TV show that aired on a variety of channels, including ESPN2. The TV show ran for 10 years until the economy crashed and sponsors bailed.

Hutchcroft doesn’t race professionally, instead opting to compete in the sportsman class of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). While speed is still important, he says the kind of racing he does is more about elapsed time as opposed to the actual speed.

He admits he’s not a very good racer. He’s only won four races in his life, but he enjoys the sport, the social interaction and the competition. His one and only professional NHRA race was in Las Vegas many years ago.

“I had a ’63 Nova that was fast enough to qualify for those (NHRA) races. So, I went to Las Vegas and raced it about three times in a divisional points race. My only claim to fame with that car was one run was a perfect run, a 10.90 with a zero index, which made me the No. 1 qualifier. I actually won my first round, but that was the only round of racing I won at an NHRA competition and then my muffler fell off.”

Hutchcroft has been a member of Team Wild Horse Pass for about 25 years and this year also joined Team Tucson Dragway,

racing in the Summit ET Racing Series. He estimates he participates in about 10 to 12 sportsman races a year, including the NHRA Summit Racing Series bracket finals in Las Vegas.

“So many people like racing from afar but going to the races and not participating is sort of boring for me. But going to the races and participating, even to this day, I love it.”

While he’s had plenty of different race cars over the years, Hutchcroft says he’ll race about anything, including a Ford Focus rental car once. His current race car is a 1984 Mazda RX7 with a V-8 engine that tops out about 110 MPH in 12.3 seconds.

“I’ve raced almost all of our vehicles at one time or another,” he says. “I’ll put blocks under the pedal, so I don’t do full throttle and risk ruining the car.”

Even with his lifelong passion for the sport, earlier this year Hutchcroft was contemplating quitting drag racing. He was frustrated due to the quick reaction times needed for the sport.

“In 50 years of racing, I’ve never figured out how to get off the starting line with the current systems with any kind of consistency.”

That’s when he came up with a ball bearing drop-type device, to help drag racers come off the starting line quicker. He’s passionate about the invention but doesn’t want to share too many details right now, only that he’s working with the NHRA on approval.

“It’s so amazing. It’s based on gravity and it’s deadly accurate.”

With a renewed focus for his drag racing passion, Hutchcroft is looking forward to the future.

“I’ve loved racing all my life,” he says. “But now at 68, what motivates me today is that I can still do it. Going to the racetrack. Its just fun to be out there with the guys, walking around, getting to know people.”

Jerry Hutchcroft has been a part of the drag racing community since he was 16.

(Photo by Pablo Robles)

New Beginnings

Merrill Gardens couple marry after meeting in church

BY OCTAVIO SERRANO

Pete Lee sat next to Mary Jo Waters at church and asked to hold her hand. Six months later, they said “I do.”

The residents of Anthem’s Merrill Gardens, Pete, 92, and Mary Jo Lee, 85, celebrated their friendship and companionship when they married in late May. The couple became close after that first day in church.

“He explained that he had always held his wife’s hand at church for 65 years and he wondered if it would be okay if he held my hand,” Mary Jo says. “So ever after we sat in church together and held hands.”

Mary Jo and Pete had previous loving marriages — 45 years and 65 years, respectively — when they learned what it’s like to be devoted to someone. Both of their spouses passed away.

When asked what she learned about marriage, Mary Jo says, “You got to give and take. It’s not a one-way street and nobody can have their own way all the time.”

Pete says that, for a marriage to be fruitful, people must “live and love.”

They enjoy life with each other and separately. Pete likes to play bingo and other social activities, while Mary Jo enjoys staying inside with a nice book.

Mary Jo was impressed by Pete’s gentle nature toward people with disabilities.

“I very much appreciated the way he treats handicapped people because I have a handicapped son,” says Mary Jo, who has three children. “When I saw Pete loving and taking care of the handicap people here, I knew it was a good man.”

When he was one, Mary Jo’s son suffered from red measles, which spiked a fever that left permanent brain damage. Mary Jo says, at the time there wasn’t social assistance, so she worked full-time so he could get the attention he needed. Being with a man who cares for and respects people with disabilities is a dream come true for Mary Jo.

“He’ll talk to them when everybody else avoids them and he’s patient with them. He doesn’t get impatient with handicap people and that’s a beautiful thing,” Mary

Jo says.

Marriage is an incredible commitment, Mary Jo says. After meeting him in church, she knew she wanted to be with him.

“You have to have a feeling before you can have an intention and I adore Pete,” Mary Jo says. “I just really enjoy spending time with him.”

When the day finally came, Pete wore a light blazer with a striped tie and he could not have been more excited. After listening to the long delivery, the pastor made, he couldn’t help but impatiently ask him, “Can I kiss her now?”

Mary Jo and Pete rose slightly from chairs and kissed. Soon after, they were met by friends and family and had their first dance to Bing Crosby’s “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.”

Even at an advanced age, two people found commitment and meaning in marriage. This couple shows love and appreciation for each other with the heart of young people.

Pete adores Mary Jo for her accomplishments through her life and Mary Jo can’t get more than a few words out without saying something nice about Pete. Mary Jo, who worked for the Reformed Church in America, wrote 12 books and taught adult Christian education.

“The two major things that I admire and love about Pete is his sense of humor because he makes me life every turn of the switch,” Mary Jo says. “The second is his goodness to people that are less fortunate.”

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Pete and Mary Jo Lee met in church roughly six months ago and married in May. (Photo by Octavio Serrano)

An Enterprise of the Tohono O’odham Nation.

Entertainment Calendar of Events

Live and Death

Howie Mandel shares his scary journey with high cholesterol

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI

Comedian Howie Mandel is known for being a funny guy, but he learned cholesterol is no laughing matter.

When he was diagnosed as having high cholesterol in his 30s, he considered it “mumbo jumbo,” and he didn’t really accept how it would affect his life. His physician told him to take statins and that should take care of the problem.

Still, it didn’t seem urgent.

“There was no red flag,” Mandel says during an interview at Found:RE hotel in Phoenix.

“I didn’t like the way the statins were affecting me, so I stopped taking them. I have since been informed that 50% of the people who are prescribed statins do that and they don’t inform their caregiver.”

When he returned a year later for a physical, his doctor was shocked about his cholesterol numbers. Mandel confessed he was off his meds. The physician said there was a simple remedy: change the prescription.

“He saw I was being somewhat cavalier about it and he explained it to me,” he says. “It scared the heebie jeebies out of me.”

Mandel now tours the United States, sharing his tips and tricks for managing high cholesterol as part of the Take Cholesterol to Heart campaign. The “America’s Got Talent” judge makes it a priority to take care of his heart health when he’s on the road.

Mandel runs 7 miles a day and eats healthy.

“I’m so active,” he says. “I’m young and I don’t feel my age. I feel amazing. I have an amazing amount of energy.”

He also takes the words “high cholesterol” to heart.

“I learned this is the leading cause of heart disease and possible strokes,” he says. “That freaked me out. Years had passed and I partnered with lovely people and we made this website, takecholesteroltoheart.com.

“This campaign existed before I came

onboard, but it’s my story and apparently it’s everybody’s story about how important this is.”

Many people don’t realize they’re walking time bombs.

Folks who suspect high cholesterol can’t just visit a website and figure it out. Mandel isn’t a doctor nor a caregiver, but he’s just trying to share his message.

“I want to just talk and share,” he says.

Mandel is busy these days with the weekly “America’s Got Talent.” He was especially touched by the blind, acoustic pianist Kodi Lee. Mandel gets emotional just thinking about Lee.

“That’s probably the most emotional I’ve been and I’ve been a judge on that show for 10 years,” he adds. “I’ve never been more surprised than (when) I was watching Kodi, that a young man with autism and blind can get up on stage with his mom and perform.

“My heart was just welling up with concern. I just wanted it to go well for him. He sat down at the piano and then boom. His video has more than 200 million hits online.”

MONDAY, JULY 1

“Mummies of the World,” through September 2, Arizona Science Center, 600 E. Washington Street, Phoenix, $13-$18, children 2 and younger are free, 602-716-2000, azscience.org. The largest collection of mummies will creep out the Valley until September 2. Come see up to 40 real mummies from all corners of the world including ancient Egypt, South America and Europe, and uncover 4,500 years of history at the Arizona Science Center.

TUESDAY, JULY 2

Meditation & Coffee, 7 to 8 a.m. Tuesdays, Tryst Café, 4205 S. Gilbert Road, Chandler, $10, nicoleannyoga.com. Nicole Anne Yoga offers a 45-minute Yoga Nidra class at the Tryst Café in Chandler to help individuals release the chatter of their minds and enjoy a feeling of deep relaxation. Yoga Nidra is a guided, sleep-based meditation that uses a series of body, breath and awareness techniques.

Yoga Nidra, 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesdays, Mesa Artspace Lofts, 155 S. Hibbert, Mesa, $10, nicoleanneyoga.com. For those who are looking to improve their sleep, focus and reduce any pain, stress or depression, Yoga Nidra classes are being offered. Yoga Nidra is a guided relaxation technique that’s great for when your mind is hyper anxious and what you desperately need is sleep. Bring your own mat, water, pillow and blankets.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 3

So far, Mandel has been impressed by the new judges, Gabrielle Union and Julianne Hough. He misses Heidi Klum and Spice Girl Melanie Brown.

“I miss my old friends who went off because they had other projects,” Mandel says. “One went to be a Spice Girl and tour the world, the other is taking on the world of fashion.

“This was my first time meeting Gabrielle and Julianne. They are so beautiful and smart and accomplished. They have so much to add to our show. I feel like a foster judge. I sit there for 10 years and we take in all these rescue judges who will sit there for a little while until they find a better gig. That’s how I roll.”

Mandel juggles “America’s Got Talent,” “Animals Doing Things” on National Geographic and “Deal or No Deal” on CNBC with 200 comedy performances each year. He also has a special on on demand, iTunes and Amazon.

“That, unlike my other shows, is not kid-friendly or family-friendly, but if you’re an adult and you want to sit down and you want to laugh, I’ll help you escape for a little while.

“When I’m not doing all those shows, I’m spreading the word to help make people’s lives hopefully go a little easier.”

Gentle Yin Yoga, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Abundant Space Meditation Center, 10824 N. 71st Street, Scottsdale, $15, nicoleanneyoga.com. Join yoga instructor Jenni Pirmann from the mobile yoga company, Nicole Anne Yoga, for her weekly, gentle yin practice featuring elements of mindfulness and meditation. Pirmann’s calming and soothing class promotes recovery and relieves stress from the mind and spirit.

THURSDAY, JULY 4

Sunland Village Bingo, 7 p.m. Thursdays, Sunland Village, 4601 E. Dolphin Avenue, Mesa, charge depends on number of cards, 480-832-9003. There’s a $900 progressive pot. Auditorium doors open at 4:30 p.m., cards sold at 6 p.m., play begins at 7 p.m. Concessions available.

Arizona Celebration of Freedom: Mesa, 6 to 10 p.m., Mesa Convention Center, 263 N. Center Street, Mesa, free, 480-644-2069, azcelebrationoffreedom.com. Celebrate Independence Day with Revolutionary War reenactments, live music, games, water slides and a myriad of vendors. This four-hour event also features a fireworks show.

FRIDAY,

JULY 5

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Colorado Rockies, various times through July 7, Chase Field, 401 E. Jefferson Street, Phoenix, tickets start at $12, 602-462-6500, dbacks.com. The Arizona Diamondbacks face one of their foes, the Colorado Rockies as the season approaches the halfway point. July 5 enjoy a fireworks spectacular, while the first 20,000 fans on July 6 can expect to receive a reusable bag, courtesy MLB Network.

SATURDAY, JULY 6

Hillcrest Dance & Social Club of Sun City West, 7 to 9:30 p.m., RH Johnson Social Hall, 19803 N. RH

Comedian Howie Mandel visited Found: RE hotel to discuss his TV shows and the Take Cholesterol to Heart campaign. (Photo by Kimberly Carrillo)

Johnson Boulevard, Sun City West, $4 members, $6 guests, 623302-0249, hillcrest.scwclubs.com. Manuel Dorantes provides the music.

SUNDAY, JULY 7

Food Truck Sunday, noon to 2 p.m., The Pentecostals of Phoenix, 2341 W. Royal Palm Road, Phoenix, prices vary, 602-9447209, thepop.church. The Pentecostals of Phoenix is hosting a food truck event the first Sunday of the month. Food, corn hole, and indoor and outdoor activities will be available for the whole family.

MONDAY JULY 8

The Sun Lakes Democratic Club Meeting, 7 p.m., Sun Lakes Country Club’s Navajo Room, 25601 E. Sun Lakes Boulevard, Sun Lakes, free, 480-200-3322, craftidoll1@ gmail.com. The speakers include Rachel Yanof, Achieve 60AZ’s executive director. She will discuss the coalition’s goal of 60% of Arizonans having a degree or professional certificate by 2030. All Hands Arizona’s executive director, Jen Buck, will discuss how her group is supporting asylum seekers and migrants traveling from Central America.

TUESDAY, JULY 9

Avondale’s Got Talent Show, 10 a.m., Avondale Community Center, 1007 S. Third Street, Avondale, free, 623333-2703.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 10

Summer Craft Series: Quilled Paper Earrings, 6 to 8 p.m., Foothills Library’s Hummingbird Room, 19055 N. 57th Avenue, Glendale, 623-930-3600. Instructor Dru Heffington will walk adults through the steps of how to make quilled paper earrings.

THURSDAY, JULY 11

Summer Spectacular, 6:30 to 9 p.m., Downtown Scottsdale Gallery District, free, scottsdalegalleries.org. The monthly art walk in the Scottsdale Arts District is held along Main Street from Scottsdale Road to the Goldwater Boulevard and north of Indian School on Marshall Way to Fifth Avenue. Participants are invited to take a virtual vacation to the tropics, while enjoying cool, refreshing drinks and ice-cold treats.

“The Pajama Game,” various times through July 21, Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe, $42-$58, 480-350-2822, tempecenterforthearts.com. Fox 10 personality Cory McCloskey headlines Scottsdale Musical Theater’s show that features a 20-piece live orchestra. The premise: labor and love clash in this delightful classic musical comedy about a union leader and a factory supervisor who fall in love in the midst of a labor dispute. From the songwriting team that wrote “Damn Yankees,” this production boasts a variety of memorable hits. Presented by Scottsdale Musical Theater Company.

FRIDAY, JULY 12

Dueling Pianos, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 N. Galvin Parkway, Phoenix, $25 for members, $30 nonmembers, 480-951-1225, dbg.org. The Desert Botanical Garden invites members and guests to witness two pianos and voices duel in Dorrance Hall amid beautiful desert landscaping. The performance will include a clap and sing along portion so warm up those pipes and get ready for an evening of fun, nature and music.

SATURDAY, JULY 13

Hillcrest Dance & Social Club of Sun City West, 7 to 9:30 p.m., RH Johnson Social Hall, 19803 N. RH Johnson Boulevard, Sun City West, $4 members, $6 guests, 623-302-0249, hillcrest. scwclubs.com. Michael Carollo provides the music.

SUNDAY, JULY 14

Sizzlin’ Summer Dance, 5:30 to 9 p.m., Silver Star Theater, 5247 E. Brown Road, Mesa, $20, 480-288-0300, silverstartheater.com. Light buffet from 5:30 to 7 p.m., with listening and dance music from 6:15 to 9 p.m.

Hugh Jackman, 7 p.m., Gila River Arena, 9400 W. Maryland Avenue, Glendale, tickets start at $45, 623-7723800, gilariverarena.com. “The Showman” from Down Under is bringing his many talents to the stage for a variety show featuring songs from his films, Broadway and other magical moments accompanied by an orchestra.

MONDAY, JULY 15

KNIX Birthday Bash, 7 p.m., Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington Street, Phoenix, resellers’ tickets only, 602-3792800, iknixcountry.iheart.com. Dust off those cowboy boots and get ready to celebrate the birthday of the Valley’s premier country station. The KNIX Birthday Bash sees Jon Pardi, Midland and the legendary Tim McGraw hitting the stage.

TUESDAY, JULY 16

Queen + Adam Lambert, 8 p.m., Talking Stick Resort Arena, 201 E. Jefferson Street, Phoenix, resellers’ tickets only, 602-2797800, talkingstickresortarena.com. Queen + Adam Lambert return to the stage on the heels of movie “Bohemian Rhapsody” and its accolades. “American Idol” alum is formidable as a frontman, joined by Roger Taylor and Brian May. Completing the tour lineup are long-term collaborator Spike Edney on keyboards, Neil Fairclough on bass, and Tyler Warren on percussion.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 17

Ability 360 Presentation, time TBA, free, Avondale Community Center, 1007 S. Third Street, Avondale, 623-3332705.

THURSDAY, JULY 18

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Milwaukee Brewers, various times, through July 21, Chase Field, 401 E. Jefferson Street, Phoenix, 602-514-8400, dbacks.com. This series against the Milwaukee Brewers is out of this world. The D-backs will celebrate Space Day with a Nick “Ahmed on the Moon” bobblehead, given to the first 20,000 fans in attendance.

FRIDAY, JULY 19

Marlin Zimmerman’s All-Star Band, 6 to 9 p.m., Sunland Auditorium, 4601 E. Dolphin Avenue, Mesa, $7 in advance, $8 at the door, 480-832-9003. Bring own snacks and beverages.

SATURDAY, JULY 20

Malt Shop Memories, 5:30 to 9 p.m., Silver Star Theater, 5247 E. Brown Road, Mesa, $43, 480-288-0300, silverstartheater. com. The grand buffet is 5:30 to 7 p.m., with the show following at 7:30 p.m. This is the most popular “specialty” show and features great hit songs from the 1950s and early 1960s. The Rhythm Cats will perform hits from that era.

SUNDAY, JULY 21

Doesn’t get any creepier than this: It’s Invite an Alien to Live with You Day.

MONDAY, JULY 22

Yum! It’s National Penuche Fudge Day!

TUESDAY, JULY 23

Now here’s one we can all relate to: Gorgeous Grandma Day!

WEDNESDAY, JULY 24

Mystery Trip, 10 a.m., Avondale Community Center, 1007 S. Third Street, Avondale, $1, 623-333-2703.

THURSDAY, JULY 25

Slow Art and Mindfulness, noon, Phoenix Art Museum, 1625 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix, free with general admission, 602-666-7104, phxart.org. Slow Art and Mindfulness is a guided meditation event that seeks to help participants create a deeper understanding of the Phoenix Art Museum’s pieces. Relax, reflect and take the slow and thoughtful look at art that provides meaningful insight.

FRIDAY, JULY 26

Sizzlin’ Summer Karaoke, 5 to 8 p.m., Silver Star Theater, 5247 E. Brown Road, Mesa, free admission, 480-288-0300, silverstartheater.com. Jerry Rider will offer karaoke with a large selection of music. All adds up to an evening of fun entertainment. Its raffle prizes each hour and a pizza party for the community brings in a slew of singers and viewers.

“Get a Clue,” times vary, to July 27, Arizona Broadway Theatre, Encore Room, 7701 W. Paradise Lane, Peoria, $49, Arizona Broadway Theatre, Encore Room, 7701 W. Paradise Lane, Peoria, 623-776-8400, azbroadway.org.

“Ice Fantasy: Where Cirque Meets Ice,” various times to July 28, Mesa Arts Center, 1 E. Main Street, Mesa, $29-$69, 480-644-6500, mesaartscenter.com. This 70-minute on-ice production features the arts of gymnastics, acrobatics and figure skating. This family show includes world-class talent and is created and directed by Jeb Rand, who has been producing and directing ice shows worldwide since 1998.

SATURDAY, JULY 27

Day of Dance and Local Vendor Fair, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Kaleidoscope Dance, 2848 S. Carriage Lane, Mesa, free, 480-6920332, kaleidoscope-dance.com. The free “Day of Dance” features free dance classes for adults and children every 30 minutes. It also includes “Christmas in July.” Local vendors will sell handmade gifts and products such as jewelry, fashion accessories, essential oils, lotions, soaps, candles, fragrances, organic coffees, teas and food. Complimentary light refreshments will be served.

SUNDAY, JULY 28

Sizzlin’ Summer Dance, 5:30 to 9 p.m., Silver Star Theater, 5247 E. Brown Road, Mesa, $20, 480-288-0300, silverstartheater.com. Light buffet is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and dance music follows from 6:15 to 9 p.m.

MONDAY, JULY 29

Walmart and Chick-Fil-A, 10 a.m., Avondale Community Center, 1007 S. Third Street, Avondale, $1, 623-333-2703.

TUESDAY, JULY 30

Art Unraveled, various times to August 6, Embassy Suites Phoenix-Scottsdale, 4415 E. Paradise Village Parkway South, Phoenix, prices vary, artunraveled.om. The event features artists from around the world hosting mixed-media art workshops, as well as evening workshop regarding painting, drawing, jewelry making, book making, collage, journaling and res metal clay.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31

Birthday Party, 10 a.m., Avondale Community Center, 1007 S. Third Street, Avondale, free, 623-333-2703.

Have an event you’d like us to list? Send your email to christina@timespublications.com

Musical Memories

Starring in ‘The Pajama Game,’ Cory McCloskey shares his theater background

BY BRIDGETTE REDMAN

Cory McCloskey has come a long way. From “The Music Man’s” Man No. 2 in a small town of 3,000 in Pennsylvania to a popular Fox 10 News weatherman in the nation’s fifth largest city, McCloskey has entertained people since he was a child of the 1960s.

Now, the Fox 10 weatherman is taking the stage as the leading man, Sid Sorokin, in the classic musical “The Pajama Game” with the Scottsdale Musical Theater Company from July 11 to July 21 at the Tempe Center for the Arts.

McCloskey’s second stage musical he saw was “The Pajama Game;” the first was “Little Mary Sunshine.” “The Pajama Game” made a big impression on him. He was a young child and the high school theater director brought elementary students to attend dress rehearsals.

“I remember so clearly this particular show,” McCloskey says. “‘Little Mary Sunshine,’ ‘The Pajama Game,’ ‘Damn Yankees’ — we were allowed to say ‘damn’ — it was a big deal. I could count the years of my elementary school with the shows.”

Staged first in 1953, “The Pajama Game” features a battle between labor and management. Sorokin is a new manager at the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory where the workers, led by Babe Williams, are about to go on strike for a 7.5-cent-per-hour raise.

While the two protagonists are on opposite sides of the union battle, the two fall in love.

“I really do enjoy that stretch of musicals,” says McCloskey, referring to the Golden Age musicals of the 1950s and 1960s.

“I like a couple things about them. I like the predictability of the shows. You know they are going to tie a beautiful ribbon on everything at the end. I’m a real history fan, so for me, to do a show like ‘The Pajama Game,’ I love imagining Midwestern America.”

Having grown up in a Pennsylvania small town fueled by two shoe factories and a garment factory, he recognizes the characters as the parents of his friends, the people who slugged it out day after day sewing soles onto shoes.

The role is a challenge because Sorokin

is brusquer than most of the roles McCloskey plays and not as instantly likeable.

“He’s a little bit more trouble than perhaps other characters I’ve played,” McCloskey says. “He doesn’t have a smooth time of it. He has a job to do and he cannot fail at being this factory supervisor. He has kind of bluffed his way into the position, so he has to make it work or he’ll be in big trouble. The challenge for me will be trying to make him evolve into someone people can like.”

Climbing the ladder

It was in the Pennsylvania town where McCloskey first saw “The Pajama Game” that he also got his first stage role as a freshman in high school — a bit part in “The Music Man.”

“I’m sure everyone remembers that moving moment in Act 2 where (Man No. 2) vaults to his feet and says, ‘Yeah, that’s what I heard!’” McCloskey says.

As a sophomore, he auditioned again, thinking maybe he’d get a role in the “Hello, Dolly!” chorus. The musical director, who was also the band and choir director, Bob Stoner, had other ideas. He cast McCloskey in one of the leading roles, that of the chief clerk, Cornelius Hacki.

“I was scared to do it,” McCloskey says. “I would never have presumed to audition for it. It was just a thrill of an experience to really be able to knock around the stage in an energetic role with lots of running around and some fun solos.”

He would eventually go on to New York and earn a living as an actor and model in his 20s. He earned his Equity card and continued to perform until he decided to settle down and earn a regular paycheck. That came in the form of television and weather forecasting. Performances were occasional treats. As a morning show weather reporter, he typically wakes up between 2:30 and 3 in the morning and goes to bed between 7 and 9 p.m. — which makes it difficult to attend rehearsals or perform in shows.

For the last six years, McCloskey has performed as “Scrooge” in the Hale Centre Theatre’s “A Christmas Carol.” When he does “The Pajama Game,” he’ll take enforced naps every day to make sure he

gets enough sleep to stay healthy and perform all his jobs at top energy.

“It requires a schedule that a mom would hold a toddler to,” McCloskey says. “There’s a scheduled nap that cannot be missed. Anyone can fight through a day or two of very little sleep, but if it stretches out, you’re not at your best, so I’ve learned how to do it. This will be fun and it’s a rather compressed rehearsal schedule.”

McCloskey has attended shows at Scottsdale Musical Theater, though this will be his first time performing with them. He saw its most recent show, “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” and said it was fantastic.

week if required. I’ve watched her in a couple shows and I’m excited about playing opposite her.”

“The Pajama Game” is being directed by David Hock, with choreography by Hock and Hillary Conrad, and musical direction by Joni Van Rossum. McCloskey is looking forward to performing with live musicians, rather than recorded ones.

“I love looking down into that pit and seeing a director who is looking right up to you, eyebrows kind of raised, waiting for you to make your decision,” McCloskey says.

“Maybe there’s a longer pause if you’ve dropped a line and are trying to get back on track. That thrills me. I love to sing with an orchestra. You can’t beat it.”

The cast is filled with people with whom he is excited to work with. He had high praise for the actress playing Babe, Elizabeth Blair, saying she is a lot like the character she plays — no-nonsense and a triple-threat who can act, sing and dance.

“I would like to be her friend,” McCloskey says. “She could pop me into next

McCloskey is thrilled that Hock asked him to be a part of the show and hopes it won’t be his last there. He also hopes Fox viewers will get a kick out of seeing him perform in a musical.

“It will be a fun night for those who know me already,” McCloskey says. “I think they’ll enjoy it. I’m likely to break out in song on our show, we don’t have any rules. But they might not know this about me. They can see what else I do and if its fun and if I’m any good at it. It will be worthy of the ticket for sure.”

MORE INFO

What: “The Pajama Game”

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays to Sundays; 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, July 11 to July 21

Where: Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe Cost: $42-$58

Info: scottsdalemusicaltheater.com

Fox 10 personality Cory McCloskey stars in “The Pajama Game” at Tempe Center for the Arts from July 11 to July 21. The musical is a Scottsdale Musical Theater Company production. (Photo by Pablo Robles)

Cauldron

Sources for sauces

Ordinal suffix

Supermarket lineup 2 Help on the sly 3 Creche trio 4 Long, narrow drum

5 That is (Lat.)

6 Jeremy of basketball

SeniorLiving

EVEN EXCHANGE

by Donna Pettman

16 Suggestions 20 Kitten’s comment

-- out (supplemented)

Yuletide refrain

Grow weary

Open slightly

Source of riches

United nations 29 Talk on and on 32 Surgical stitching 33 Queued (up)

35 Curry or Coulter

36 Cubes, spheres, et al.

38 Incite

39 English composition

42 Take out of context?

43 Summertime pest 44 Leave a lasting impression

45 Bake sale org.

46 Aries

47 Lemieux milieu

49 Swelled head

SUDOKU TIME

Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.

Each numbered row contains two clues and two answers. The two answers differ from each other by only one letter, which has already been inserted. For example, if you exchange the A from MASTER for an I, you get MISTER. Do not change the order of the letters.

GO FIGURE!

by Linda Thistle

The idea of Go Figure is to arrive at the figures given at the bottom and right-hand columns of the diagram by following the arithmetic signs in the order they are given (that is, from left to right and top to bottom). Use only the numbers below the diagram to complete its blank squares and use each of the nine numbers only

SCRAMBLERS

Unscramble the letters within each rectangle to form four ordinary words. Then rearrange the boxed letters to form the mystery word, which will complete the gag!

Travel

Buenos Aires: The Paris of South America

BY ED BOITANO

Three days were not long enough. Nevertheless, when I had an opportunity to visit Buenos Aires, Argentina, I jumped at the chance. As soon as I climbed into a cab, I was immediately awestruck by the city’s wide boulevards, grandiose monuments, rolling parks and distinctive neighborhoods of somewhat faded glory.

As my taxi cruised down 9 de Julio Boulevard, the driver informed me that it was the widest boulevard in the world, named in honor of Argentina’s Independence Day. He added that due to Argentina’s fluctuating economy “BA” had been really dirt cheap 10 years ago. Do not be concerned for today, though. It is dirt cheap, and your Yankee dollar will go far, he said with a laugh.

It’s always seemed to me that the best information comes from a taxi driver who has seen it all and gives it to you straight unlike PR firms who have a tendency to sugarcoat certain attractions. But sugarcoating was not required for I was already dazzled by this city proper of approximately 2.9 million people, with a lifestyle and architecture that is more European than any other city in South America.

in “The Godfather.” Mate (pronounced “mah-tay”)—the national beverage of Argentina—is a tea made from yerba mate, courtesy of the Tupi People. They introduced it to the gauchos (skilled horsemen) of the pampas, the vast plains extending westward across central Argentina from the Atlantic coast to the Andean foothills.

Served communally in a gourd (squash rind) and sucked through a bombilla (metal straw), which acts as a filter, the bitter, flavored tea seemed to be consumed everywhere I looked: shops, offices, saloons, picnics, even a bus driver on his route.

The cost was a staggering $5. Didn’t my cab driver say something about my Yankee dollar going far? Not to be missed is a tango show, a scandalous dance born in the brothels of Buenos Aires’ immigrant quarters. It gained respectability and popularity when Argentine students traveled to Paris and introduced it to the French, who proclaimed it a dance of great artistic value.

Sampling this local tradition is an easy way to get a literal taste of Argentinean culture.

The cafes were filled by stylish-looking people speaking a unique dialect of Spanish with an Italian accent, with many words and phrases in Italian. Over 62.5% of the populace is of Italian heritage, and I could not help but notice porteños (locals, people of the port) gesticulating with their hands like Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone

Beef from the pampas is also a defining cultural tradition. You’ll find the delicious steaks served at countless restaurants, but vegetarian empanadas are also widely available for those who shy away from meat.

My first lunch was at a simple restaurant in San Telmo where I consumed a steak with fries, an empanada and local beer.

A walking tour of the vibrant La Boca (Italian for “the mouth”) barrio was on my list. Established by Italian immigrants from Genoa in the late 17th century, it’s a bit of a helter-skelter barrio, complete with colorful houses and a pedestrian street where tango artists perform and tango-related memorabilia is sold. It is also an unofficial national shrine dedicated to internationally famed football player Diego Maradona. His football career kicked off there, as he played for the Boca Juniors football club. It’s still a fairly poor neighborhood so keep your eye on your valuables.

My brief trip ended with a stop at La Recoleta Cemetery to pay homage to María Eva Duarte de Perón, “Evita,” at her simple black tomb. Born into a poor rural family, Evita moved to Buenos Aires and secured a living as a B-movie actress. Her fate dramatically changed when she married Col. Juan Perón, later president of Argentina. Despite his dictatorial and fascist leanings, Evita dedicated her life to helping the poor, caring for orphans and the home -

less women. She was also a strong proponent for women’s rights. Even today, I noticed her passionate admirers placing

Aries...continued on page 29

Fun facts

There are actually a few things most people don’t know about BA.

• Buenos Aires has an official tea time, much like Great Britain.

• Tango (declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO) originated in brothels surrounding the city and the moves are meant to dramatize the relationship between a prostitute and her pimp. The tango is a fusion of cultural influences from Africa, Argentina’s native gaucho and colonial traditions. Every August, the city hosts the Tango Buenos Aires International Festival and World Cup, with milongas, shows, classes, exhibitions and the most important international tango dance championship.

• BA has the most bookstores per person of any city in the world, according to a 2015 World Cities Cultural Forum report.

• La Recoleta Cemetery is considered the most important cemetery in Latin America for its historical and architectural significance.

• Avenida 9 de Julio is the widest avenue in the world.

• Jardin Japones de Buenos Aires is the largest Japanese garden outside Japan.

• The Buenos Aires Underground is the oldest system in LATAM.

• The first animated feature film was made in Buenos Aires.

• In 2002, Buenos Aires because the first Latin American city to allow gay marriage.

• BA has highest percentage of pets per capital.

For further information about Buenos Aires, visit https://turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/en

Argentina’s capital city is filled with epic boulevards and magnificent monuments. (Photo courtesy of Turismo Buenos Aires)

A stroll through the eclectic La Boca Italian immigrant barrio must be on everyone’s list. (Photo courtesy Turismo Buenos Aires)

Buenos

Tango on the streets at La Boca. (Photo courtesy Harrison Liu)

PARADISE FOUND: Beautiful Destinations Around the Globe

OUR GUIDE TO THE WORLD’S MOST ENCHANTING TREKS, TOURS & DESTINATIONS

v Compiled by Ed Boitano

INTERNATIONAL

Cruise One offers cruise and land vacations to the world’s most exotic destinations, including South America, Alaska, the Mediterranean, Hawaii and Caribbean. Programs range from family reunions at sea and honeymoon cruises to river cruising and land vacations. Each independently owned and operated business combines the latest technology with old-fashioned customer service. Ask about our Buenos Aires land packages. Contact Joni Notagiacomo in Los Angeles at (800) 600-4548 or www.luv2cruz.com

DIGNITY TRAVEL – Discover the riches of Madrid, sample the gastronomic delights of San Sebastian and get acquainted with Gaudi’s masterpieces. Join Dignity Travel on this deluxe fascinating journey to some of the most beautiful places Spain as to offer. This tour features luxury and deluxe accessible accommodations, culinary experiences at Michelin-star restaurants, time to meander through Bilbao’s gleaming Guggenheim Museum, a chance to try your hand at traditional

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To advertise in this section, contact Ed Boitano at 818.985.8132 or Ed@TravelingBoy.com

SEDONA

CANYON VILLA BED & BREAKFAST INN OF SEDONA – An award-winning bed & breakfast inn, Canyon Villa was uniquely designed to showcase views of Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte, two famous Red Rock icons of Sedona. Each and every day of the week begins with a gourmet breakfast in our world renowned private Sedona bed and breakfast, which was designed for adventurous, congenial, and seasoned travelers. Over the last decade, Canyon Villa Bed and Breakfast has been listed multiple times in Trip Advisor’s Traveler’s Choice Awards for “Best B&Bs and Inns in the U.S” including a top 25 World Ranking in 2012. (800-453-1166; Innkeeper@ Canyonvilla.com or www.Canyonvilla.com

ALASKA

Cruise Lines & Land Packages

Contact: Joni Notagiacomo Los Angeles

“Ask about our Buenos Aries land & South American cruise packages.” (800)600-4548 www.luv2cruz.com CST2006278-40

Discover Madrid and Northern Spain Tour

Experience the cultural treasures of Madrid, the Basque Country & Barcelona with Easy & Accessible Tours! (877) 337-4272 • 612-381-1622 • www.Dignitytravel.biz

SUNBREEZE SUITES & SUNBREEZE HOTEL are a short stroll apart, located downtown and oceanfront in San Pedro, Belize. The properties are the perfect vacation hideaway to experience the pleasures of Ambergris Caye. Enjoy oceanfront suites and partial ocean view rooms just one-half mile from the world-renowned diving and snorkeling on the Belize Barrier Reef. The fresh water pool offers the ideal place to relax after a day of activities. SunBreeze Suites & SunBreeze Hotel are walking distance to restaurants and attractions. Ask about our full day adventure to the ancient Maya City of Lamanai Temples. (800) 688-0191; www.SunBreezeSuites.com; www.SunBreeze.net

TARA TOURS specializes in tours to Latin America with more excitement and mystery one could experience in a lifetime of travel. Tara Tours can take you there, with great service and tour programs, designed with your desires and budget in mind. Experience the majesty of Machu Picchu, Rio de Janeiro’s “Cidade Maravilhosa,” indigenous market of Chichicastenango; Peru’s Amazon Jungle; the incredibility of the Galapagos Islands, Chile and Argentina’s Patagonia,the ruins of Tikal, Easter Island, and natural beauty of Costa Rica. (800) 327-0080 or www.TaraTours.com

ALASKA WILDLAND ADVENTURES - The leader in high-quality, small group nature tours and independent lodge adventures in Alaska’s protected lands since 1977. Adventure by day with expert naturalist guides, and relax by night with gourmet meals and deluxe lodging with authentic Alaskan ambiance. (800) 334-8730 or www.alaskawildland.com

GRAY LINE ALASKA has been sharing Alaska with visitors for over 70 years, offering vacation packages from 1 to 8 nights. Breathtaking scenery, wildlife, glaciers and mountains are just a few of the perks you may experience when traveling with Gray Line Alaska. Most itineraries include rail

travel in our own glass-domed railcars, perfect for viewing the scenic landscape as you travel from Anchorage to Denali. Enjoy 2 for 1 rates on select Rail Tours or save up to $400 per couple on select tours 6 days or longer! Visit graylinealaska.com or call 1-800-544-2206 for reservations.

TOGIAK RIVER LODGE — Located in Togiak, Alaska, we are all about the fishing, keeping you comfortable and well fed. Yes we have the hot tub on the river’s edge, and a sauna too; satellite television for those who must catch up on their sports teams, Wi-Fi, daily room service, but it is the world-class salmon fishing, King Salmon fishing, fly fishing Silver Salmon, and

Trophy Rainbow Trout fishing that people travel to Togiak for. Allow us to take care of you, your family or friends on a remote Alaskan wilderness fishing adventure of a lifetime. (503) 7847919; www.togiaklodge.com or llchinook@aol.com

CALIFORNIA

PISMO COAST VILLAGE RV RESORT — Located right on the beach, this beautifully landscaped RV resort features 400 full hookup sites, each with complimentary Wi-Fi and cable TV on 26 acres. Enjoy a general store, children’s arcade, restaurant, Laundromat, heated pool, bicycle rentals and miniature golf course. The resort offers the ideal location for wineries, golf or Hearst Castle. Pismo Coast Village RV Resort was awarded the 2007/2008 National RV Park of the Year. (888) RV-BEACH or www.PismoCoastVillage.com

DOLPHIN BAY RESORT & SPA — Set along the rugged California Coast, just south of San Luis Obispo, Dolphin Bay Resort & Spa is centrally located in Pismo Beach. Dolphin Bay is the ideal hotel for romantic getaways or family vacations where guests stay anywhere from two nights to months at a time. With 60 spacious 1 and 2 bedroom suites featuring all the amenities of a home, The Spa, award winning-restaurant, Lido at Dolphin Bay and an array of activities, guests can experience the best of the Central Coast. (800) 516-0112 or www.thedolphinbay.com

SANDS RV RESORT

THE LAGUNA RIVIERA HOTEL is a beachfront resort located in the world-famous artist community of Laguna Beach. Just a quick stroll to restaurants, art galleries, boutiques, summer festivals and museum, we offer a variety of rooms to satisfy every need from ocean front studios to grand one bedroom suites, some with a full kitchen, private ocean front deck, and cozy fireplace. All rooms offer a refrigerator, coffee maker, color TV, HBO,

PISMO SANDS RV RESORT is located just minutes from Pismo Beach, and convenient to all of the many activities on California’s Central Coast. We offer 133 paved sites, many pull throughs up to 80 feet in length, each with complimentary satellite TV and WI-FI, all situated on 11 beautifully landscaped acres. Go on a wine country tour, hit the beach, take a kayak trek or enjoy a relaxing dip in our sparkling year-round heated pool and spa. Family owned - we are dedicated to making your stay with us a pleasant one. (800) 404-7004 or www.PismoSands.com

COLORADO

COLORADO TRAILS RANCH — What you need is a week unwinding and exploring the wonders of our first class guest ranch. Colorado Trails Ranch is not far from Durango, in lovely Southwest Colorado. Set in the spectacular panoramas of the San Juan Mountains, our dude ranch resort offers lifetime experiences for singles, groups and entire families. There isn’t one difficult activity in our perfectly personalized programs. All our cabins are new over the past four years. We specialize in providing a super venue for multi-generational family get-togethers, taking care of all the planning. You just sit back and enjoy your family. The food is delicious, the comfort is wonderful and you’ll feel like a well cared member of the family. (970) 247-5055 or www.ColoradoTrails.com

HAWAII

CONDOMINIUM RENTALS HAWAII offering COOL condos at the best BEACH locations on Maui & Kauai. Choose from studio, one, two and three bedroom vacation condos. Escape the heat

and book your vacation to save up to 25% off. Travel

UTAH

engaging amenities, such as a fitness center and social rooms, indoor and outdoor pools, and pickleball and tennis courts, Brio promotes energized resort style living right outside your door. Coupled with beautiful custom home designs and nearby access to golf courses, national and state parks and more, Brio makes every day feel like a vacation. For more information, visit www.lifeatbrio.com or call 800.303.BRIO

LOGAN, UTAH — This beautiful high mountain valley offers unparalleled access to world class performing arts on the edge of the great outdoors. Fly into Salt Lake City or enjoy the drive through this diverse state. Logan is only 4.5 hours from Yellowstone and 3.5 hours from Jackson and the Grand Tetons. Take your time and enjoy the journey. When you get to Logan you’ll feel like you’ve stepped back in time to classic Americana. It’s only a 10 minute drive from the downtown theater district to hiking, fishing, or picnicking in the Wasatch Cache National Forest. Explore Logan Canyon National Scenic Byway. Enjoy our Foodie Trek, outdoor adventures, hands-on living history experiences, and fine arts. Just 90 minutes north of Salt Lake City. (800) 882-4433 or www.explorelogan.com

Meet Me in St. Louis

The Gateway to the West offers plenty to do besides watching Goldy

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI

When America’s first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was traded from the D-backs to the St. Louis Cardinals, the move crushed Valley baseball fans. There was only one thing to do this summer: Head to St. Louis.

The trip to the “Gateway to the West” started with a turbulent flight with swearing male flight attendants. But we landed safely at 10 p.m. to a storm. The rain was refreshing; a departure from the mostly arid Arizona.

After picking up our baggage, we made our way to the taxi stand and met an East African driver. He was friendly — even though he never heard of our destination, the Hotel St. Louis, and said he hated the media. He said they were ruining the city’s reputation by reporting nothing but crime stories. When I told him I was working on a positive St. Louis story, he hung his head in embarrassment.

Hotel St. Louis

The Hotel St. Louis is a new addition to the city, which is repurposing buildings all over the town. The 14-story hotel is located in the Historic Union Trust building designed by architect Louis Sullivan. Vacant since 2013, Amy and Amrit Gill of Restoration St. Louis bought the structure at 705 Olive Street for $3.3 million and spent more than $64 million to renovate it.

The heat from the lobby fireplace embraced us when we walked through the door. Comfy couches and armchairs filled the lobby, bookended by tables adorned with elaborate glass lamps, flower arrangements and geometric art sculptures. The most impressive feature are the elevators; brass with a fantastically retro floor number dial. Don’t forget to

National Park can be claustrophobic, but it offers an amazing view. (Photos courtesy Explore St. Louis)

ents as we watched them through a glass tunnel.

One of the elephants was feeding as we were passing and stood up on its back legs to seemingly wave to the guests. The real reason for visiting St. Louis was to see Goldy. On the way to Busch Stadium, we saw modern art sculptures and fountains downtown.

The 20,000-square-foot Ballpark Village, which is adjacent to Busch Stadium, didn’t disappoint. It has a host of restaurants and a small team shop, but it is well known for its 40-foot LED TV in the dining area that serves as a gathering spot for major events. A nod to the Chicago Cubs, Ballpark Village has rooftop seating.

look up: the beautiful stained glass ceiling could be right out of a Vegas hotel.

Once we checked in, we made our way to the fifth floor, king room. There was a surprising touch: a turntable with albums by the likes of Harry Belafonte. The sizeable room had an en suite bathroom with a wet room shower, bathtub and a modern-style basin counter with a television built into the mirror above it.

The treat cabinet had everything from chips and chocolate, to several small bottles of liquor and a fridge with some locally brewed alcoholic beverages.

Thursday

Upon waking, we walked from the hotel to a local breakfast favorite, Rooster, another retrofitted building. We met with Explore St. Louis to hear suggestions on what we should see.

The entrees were incredible, namely my ham and cheese omelet, and the scramble with three eggs served over potatoes with bacon, mushrooms, emmenthaler and arugula.

After breakfast, we explored St. Louis. Perhaps the most impressive and obvious landmark is the Gateway to the West Arch near the Mississippi River.

The Gateway Arch National Park has a large museum that shares the history of the manmade monument above it. Two trams — north and south — take guests to the top of the arch. Be warned: claustrophobes shouldn’t even consider it. Those who do brave the ride are entertained with video and projections showing more facts and figures like the tram is a cross between an escalator and Ferris wheel.

The elevator ride is 4 minutes, but the view makes guests breathless. Peeking

through rectangular porthole-type windows travelers see both sides of the Mississippi. The coolest part, however, was seeing the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, Busch Stadium.

Located near the Arch is the Museum of Westward Expansion, the former courthouse primarily depicts the history of African-American life in St. Louis and has wonderful artwork throughout.

The next stop was the National Blues Museum, a magnificent trip through the history of the blues. It exhibits instruments from Africa, which are said to be at the genesis of this music style. Guests see and hear how the blues influenced rap, country and rock music. One of Chuck Berry’s guitars is on display, showing the wear and tear of the working man’s instrument. Visitors can create their own blues song, thanks to lyrics and instrumentation in the Jack White mix room. The finished piece is sent via email.

When we returned at night to the Sugarfire Smokehouse, we saw a jam session in the National Blues Museum’s concert hall with a handful of stellar musicians.

Friday

Uber and taxi drivers concur the St. Louis Zoo is one of the best in the country. Admission is free, which is commonplace in the city. There’s no monkeying around with that. The enclosures are animal-friendly and, like most zoos, some of the animals aren’t visible. Various vantage points allow guests to peek in at their favorite furry friends.

The polar bear enjoyed the children’s attention when he was swimming past them. The flamingos were majestic and the playful sea lions showed off their tal-

But Busch Stadium is a gem. It’s a mouth-watering introduction to St. Louis with its touch of blues music in a courtyard, a smattering of barbecue and, of course, Anheuser Busch beer. (If the vendor at the barbecue/brisket joint Centerfield Carvery in Section 189 says he’s out of barbecue sauce, just know there is plenty of it on the condiment islands throughout the ballpark.) Don’t pass by Dinger’s Donuts, crunchy donuts — like cider mills back home — with hot fudge. The main event was two days of baseball: the Cardinals vs. the Pirates. The Pirates won 2-1, but the “slumping” Goldschmidt had three hits in five at bats.

Saturday

We heard Saturday was very likely to be rainy. The game delayed for nearly three hours, so in the meantime we checked out the City Museum.

The impressive City Museum is an ever-changing art exhibition inside a historic building that now showcases antique items from around St. Louis.

There are creatures fashioned out of mechanical items; the elevator was bordered by piece of printing presses. This is a perfect place for children to explore, as this has many tunnels, climbing frames and slides that zoom in and out of the building. (The outside was closed due to inclement weather.)

We braved going to the ballpark in the rain, but, after an hour, we realized how fortunate we are to have Chase Field and its retractable roof. It was fun to see Goldy and a different ballpark in the rain. While we didn’t stay for the game, we went to the upper level to view the arch and to say goodbye.

The Gateway Arch

Buenos Aries continued from page 24 owers and notes at her tomb. Apparently on the anniversary of her death crowds grow to the thousands.

Well, my time was over. I did my best to explore Buenos Aires from a tourist’s perspective: wide boulevards, Italian heritage, mate, beef from the pampas, the gauchos, the tango, Evita; but I know I barely scratched the surface.

people who are misdiagnosed each year. Symptoms of neuropathy often feel very similar to symptoms of poor circulation in your legs and feet. It’s time to stop playing the neuropathy pain game. Call today. We can help.

stopped the tingling, pain and numbness in your feet—you may be one of the countless people who are misdiagnosed each year. Symptoms of neuropathy often feel very similar to symptoms of poor circulation in your legs and feet. It’s time to stop playing the neuropathy

GARBY, MD

JAMES MCEOWN, MD • MICHAEL MAKKI, DO • JEFFREY BRAXTON, MD • KEVIN DUWE, MD

JOSHUA CADY, DPM • DANIEL SCHULMAN, DPM • SHAH ASKARI,

Sweet Thangs bring full bakery to Northeast Mesa

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI

Mary Zeiner watched her daughter, Ariana, bake as a teen. The younger Zeiner attended EVIT and Scottsdale Community College and concurrently opened Sweet Thangs Bakery out of parents’ home.

In February, she took her talents to the next step, opening the brick and mortar Sweet Thangs Bakery and Waffle Crush, which began as a food truck. The storefront offers hot breakfasts, hot or cold lunch sandwiches and salads, as well as a full line of bakery items and housemade custard.

“We use all fresh ingredients with no preservatives. We also do custom cakes, cupcakes and dessert platters.”

The cookie ice cream sandwiches have proven to be a hit, as they sold 660 at the recent Barbecue and Beer Festival.

“Literally, everything we took, plus all the drink and smoothies and stuff like that, we all sold out,” she says.

The storefront is playful, with pink walls, cases of sweets and custard and examples of custom-made cakes.

“We have an amazing 100 percent made from scratch bakery, as well as gourmet coffees and fresh beverages,” Mary says.

“It was green, red, pink and brown before we redecorated it,” she says with a laugh.

Most important to the mother-daughter team is supporting the neighborhood.

“We’re trying to be in our community as much as possible,” she says. “We’ve helped with anniversary parties and the Falcon Field Open House. It’s nice to be involved with the people who are around here. We help the community and they send people our way.

“She never really wanted to be just a cupcake shop or just a sandwich shop,

but she wanted to do this because there are no full bakeries around here,” she says. “This was her dream.”

5735 E. McKellips Road, Suite 107, Mesa 480-350-7255, sweetthangsbakery.com

Cherry vanilla, S’mores and Nutella cupcakes.

Blueberry honey granola waffle Berry with cookie butter waffle Cream puff

Frosted sugar cookies

Mary Zeiner and daughter, Ariana, founded the bakery. (Photos by Kimberly Carrillo)

What’s Cooking? Sole Meunière

BY JAN D’ATRI

I was searching for a great recipe for you that’s simple, takes very little time and cooks so quickly it will hardly heat your kitchen during the summer months.

I found my catch of the day thanks to celebrity chef and cookbook author Ina Garten, my favorite Barefoot Contessa.

This simple skillet dish is called Sole Meunière (pronounced “mah-nyear”).

But don’t let the name scare you. Meunière is really a fancy word for fish sautéed in butter and sprinkled with lemon juice and chopped parsley. That’s pret-

Sole Meunière

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

- 4 fresh sole, 3 to 4 ounces each

- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

- 6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)

- 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley, divided

Directions:

Combine the flour, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a large, shallow plate. Pat the fish fillets dry with paper towels and sprinkle one side with salt.

ty much it! Once you grate and squeeze the lemons, the entire process only takes about 5 minutes, and it goes right from the skillet to the table. Not only have I never “Meunière” something but I’ve never had Dover Sole, so this week I experiences two “firsts” in the kitchen. Is Sole Meunière destined to be one of my go-to dishes? I could answer that by telling you how many times I’ve made it since discovering it, but let’s just say a lot.

Sole Meunière is the perfect catch for dinner any night of the week.

Heat 3 tablespoons of butter in a large sauté pan (10- to 12-inch pan) over medium heat until butter just begins to brown. Dredge 2 fillets in the seasoned flour on both sides and place them in the hot butter. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 2 minutes. Turn carefully with a spatula and cook for 2 minutes on the other side. While the second side cooks, add 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to the pan. Sprinkle with the parsley, salt, and pepper. Keep fillets warm in a 200-degree oven and make the second batch using the remainder of the sole, butter, lemon, parsley salt and pepper. When all fillets are cooked, serve immediately.

Watch my how-to video here: jandatri.com/recipe/sole-meuniere

The Real Deal

New York Bagels ‘N Bialys throws aside misconceptions

BY GREG THILMONT

What makes for a perfect bagel? According to Shelley Curtis of New York Bagels ‘N Bialys, dunking it in a steaming kettle of bubbling hot water before it’s baked in an oven.

“We serve a traditional New York bagel,” Curtis says. “We boil our bagels first. It’s not bread with a hole in it.”

This boiling-before-baking stage gives bagels their signature crusty outsides and chewy insides, and along with co-owner Ruth Leatherman, Curtis has been creating the circular mainstays of Jewish deli cuisine in Scottdale since 2005. Their inhouse bakers turn out thousands of individual bagels daily in a wide range of flavors, most of which are kosher.

Leading styles include all-time favorites like egg, salt, poppy, pumpernickel, rye, onion and garlic. Modern bagel innovations are served, too—ones that were probably never dreamt of a century ago on the Lower East Side. Think blueberry, strawberry, jalapeño and asiago cheese. And, of course, everything bagels are also among the many holey choices.

Sliced in half, New York Bagels ‘N Bialys’ bagels go perfectly with velvety cream cheese, whether plain or blended with aromatic chives, savory veggies, spicy chili peppers or sweet strawberries. For a deluxe schmear, the house lox cream cheese is made with premium cured salmon from

Brooklyn’s acclaimed ACME Smoked Fish. Peanut butter and jelly are also on the list of spreads.

And while bagels have been a part of everyday mainstream American culture for more than 30 years now, some might wonder just what is a bialy.

“It’s similar to a bagel, except it’s not boiled first, so that makes it lighter and fluffier,” Curtis says of bialys. She adds they’re less sweet than bagels and are lower in calories. They also don’t have holes. Available with many of the same toppings as found in the restaurant’s bagels, the rustic disks also come in flavors like chocolate chip, cinnamon-raisin and tomato-basil.

a

New York Bagels ‘N Bialys’ menu goes beyond these two baked namesakes and features breakfast dishes from across the American culinary map. Lox and onions with scrambled eggs hail from the Upper East Coast. The Deep South makes a show with chicken fried steak and country gravy. And the Southwest shines with zesty huevos rancheros. Omelets abound from the chock-full-of-ham Denver to the Greek’s twist of spinach and feta. Delica-

“One of our signature dishes is the ‘Pile Up,’” adds Leatherman, joining in to describe the restaurant’s wide-reaching fare.

The astounding (and aptly named) creation impresses with three crispy potato pancakes layered with eggs, ham, bacon and sausage with cheddar and American cheeses. Then, for good measure, everything’s bound together with a drizzle of delectable cheese sauce.

Eggs Benedict fans can choose from six styles of the Hollandaise-draped dish, including combinations like the avocado-centric California, the chorizo-laden Southwestern and the Reuben with mounds of corned beef and sauerkraut.

Lunchtime offerings lead with cold sandwiches piled high with sliced meats including roast beef, pastrami, salami and turkey breast

as well as spreadable toppings like tuna and chicken salads. Hot sandwich styles range from beef brisket and French dip to grilled chicken and salmon. Add in to the mix leafy salads such as sirloin on fresh greens with bleu cheese and balsamic glaze, plus piping-hot matzoh ball and chicken noodle soups, among others. For beverages, a full bar is available for cocktails, including Bloody Marys and mimosas. On the soft drink side, stars include rich vanilla egg creams, bubbly chocolate phosphates and an array of Dr. Brown’s bottled sodas.

Save room for dessert and try Leatherman’s scratch-made cookies, macaroons, rugelach, halvah bars and more. To round out New York Bagels ‘N Bialys offerings, there’s a fun kid’s menu (think finger-friendly silver dollar pancakes, quesadillas, grilled cheese and the like) and even pooch-friendly snacks including grilled chicken breasts and beef patties for pet owners to share with their furry family members.

No matter what you order at New York Bagels ‘N Bialys, Curtis says to expect “a family vibe.”

“We feed you what we like to eat,” says Curtis with a smile. “We take care of you like you’re friends.”

New York Bagels ‘N Bialys

10320 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale 480-991-3034, nybagelsnbialys.com

tessen classics include matzoh brie, knishes, cheese blintzes and

towering version of French toast made with challah bread.

Shelley Curtis, left, and Ruth Leatherman, right, are co-owners of Scottsdale’s New York Bagels ‘N Bialys. (Photos by Greg Thilmont)

New York Bagels 'N Bialys has been serving Jewish deli cuisine in the form of bagels and bialys for the Scottsdale community since 2005.

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Aging Today Kicking the can down the road of the aging crisis

BY BOB ROTH Managing Partner of Cypress Homecare Solutions

I’m old school. I still get the newspaper delivered. Primarily, because it is our therapy dog Lacey’s morning routine to get the paper and bring it to me. How could I interfere with her sense of purpose? Besides, I like turning pages and I don’t really mind a little smudgy newsprint on my ngers.

Not really out of step with news delivered electronically, I am a fan of the podcast medium. I really love the segment “Can’t Let It Go” from NPR Politics podcast. Once a week, usually three or four of the correspondents talk about something from the current week that they “just can’t let go, politics or otherwise.”

I would love to air my “Can’t Let it Go” and my hope is that it will become yours as well. The year 2030 marks an important demographic turning point in U.S. history according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 National Population Projections. By 2030, all baby boomers will be older than age 65. This will expand the size of the older population so that 1 in every 5 residents will be retirement age. In Arizona it will be nearly 1 in every 4 residents.

By the year 2030, there will be twice as many people over the age of 80 as there were in 2016 and the fastest growing demographic in the United States is people older than 90.

I can’t let it go…

Why haven’t any of the 2020 presidential candidates addressed the aging crisis?

This rapid growth of the older population contrasts with an almost at youth population (under age 20) and moderate increase in the working-age (aged 20 to 64) population projected over the same period. In a nutshell: The potential pool of family caregivers, will not sustain the growing demand for care.

Family caregivers make up a silent support army—without them, health and social systems within our aging societ-

ies would be absolutely overwhelmed. Compounding pressure on this unpaid labor force is a shortage of paid caregivers. These unsung heroes who tenderly care for our aging population with skill and compassion perform an important job that our society does not su ciently value.

I can’t let it go. It is time to move issues of longevity and aging to the political mainstage. Congress and the White House have continuously kicked the can down the road, e ectively waiting for the issue to become a crisis before they deal with it. We need to ask our candidates how they are going to a ect change? Addressing health care is not the only facet to addressing the needs of our aging population.

Normal aging increases the incidence of disabilities. Nearly 40% of people age 65 and older had at least one disability and need daily assistance, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report that covered the period 2008 to 2012. Of those 15.7 million people, two-thirds of them say they had di culty in walking or climbing.

Di culty with independent living, such as visiting a doctor’s o ce or shopping, was the second-most cited disability, followed by serious di culty in hearing, cognitive di culty, di culty bathing or dressing, and serious di culty seeing.

Do you know that less than 2% of our housing stock is built to be safe and accessible for elders? One third of our elderly population fall each year and falls are the leading cause of death in people over 65. About 75% of all emergency room and urgent care visits for people over 65 are the result of falls. Question to the candidates, how can our communities become more aging friendly? Routes of public transportation were created with young workers, not retirees in mind. Ask our candidates how to remedy the social

isolation due to lack of transportation options. Speaking of social isolation 1/3 of our population 65 and older today lives home alone. It is projected this number could climb to close to 50% by 2030. Social isolation is said to be the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

I can’t let it go! The prolife/prochoice debate appears in the news daily. The caregiving crisis is a woman’s issue that faces women during and beyond their child-bearing years. The caregiving crisis disproportionately a ects more women. More than 88% of family caregivers are women. And a startling new statistic is that nearly two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s are women. Half of the family caregivers work full time in addition to their family responsibilities for caregiving with 18% of caregivers leaving their fulltime job to care for a family member. The impact on the caregiver is loss of health insurance, loss of retirement bene ts, diminished assets and lost credits toward social security.

I can’t let it go, is aging not tweet-worthy, Washington? Where is the aging pride parade? Mr./Ms. Candidate, what is your biggest idea for what America’s 68 million retirees could be doing to contribute to our society?

In 1961, JFK committed to landing on the moon in the next decade. We need the commitment to proclaim a bold goal of stopping Alzheimer’s as our moonshot. I can’t let it go!

Calling out to my favorite podcasts, NPR’s Planet Money: Why are we not talking about the economic impact of the silver tsunami? The New York Times, The Daily: Where is your deep dive into these issues? To my daughter, Samantha-Jo, a Washington D.C., broadcast journalist covering Congress, please for your dear old dad, ask the tough questions. I can’t let it go!

Hospice Is Hope Chef at Heart

ALS

patient continues dinner tradition with the help of a volunteer

BY LIN SUE COONEY

Whether it’s Hungarian paprika chicken, sausage lentil soup or Brussels sprouts with pickled onion, Mark Adinol loves to try new recipes. He is happiest feeding his passion: Whipping up gourmet dishes for his wife Jeanne and daughter Sophia. But in January 2016, Adinol was diagnosed with ALS, a type of muscular dystrophy sometimes called Lou Gehrig’s disease. At rst, Adinol noticed a loss of strength in both hands. As his condition progressed, he was no longer able to prepare meals — even though his heart ached to be in the kitchen, chopping, dicing, sauteing.

“Because of ALS, I can’t provide other things as much,” Adinol explains, “but I still wanted to spoil my wife, who appreciates good food.”

Thanks to a marvelous assistant, Adinol is still a chef. Hospice of the Valley volunteer Je Riddle has become Adinol ’s hands. Though he calls himself “a reluctant cook,” Riddle dutifully executes the detailed instructions Adinol gives from his motorized wheelchair — from sprinkling Aleppo Turkish pepper on potato slices to slicing apples just the right thickness.

“This disease isolates me. But a wonderful guy comes into my life and sometimes when he shows up, I say, ‘Dude, we’re cooking whatever falls out of the fridge,’” Riddle says with a laugh.

“Cooking and sharing a meal with Mark and his family is the best thing that I do,” Riddle says with passionate emphasis. “We improvise a lot due to his prowess and it always tastes amazing!”

Every Friday, the Adinol kitchen is

lled with laughter. The weekly ritual is something both men, now fast friends, anticipate with excitement. They tease and joke as if they’ve always known one another. Sophia even decorated an apron for Riddle. The 11-year-old inspects the meat to make sure it’s brown enough before going in the oven. A beaming Jeanne sets the table, savoring the happy noises and the tantalizing smell of caramelized onions.

About an hour later, dinner is served: beautifully roasted pork tenderloin with green apples and rosemary potatoes. The meal is perfect.

But it’s not really about the food.

“Je met me in a wheelchair,” Adinolsays. “He’s not like an old friend who maybe has a little sadness in their eyes. Je knows me exactly as I am now… He’s a genuine new friend.”

Such friendships are waiting for anyone who might feel moved to volunteer with a family.

“There is nothing more powerful you can do as a human being than walk alongside people who are facing incredible challenges,” Je gushes. “It feels incredible, and what you receive far exceeds anything that you can give.”

If you’re interested in providing companionship to Hospice of the Valley patients and o ering support and respite to their families — whether it’s cooking reading, singing or just being present and caring — we’d love to have you join our volunteer family.

For more information, go to hov.org/ volunteer or call 602-530-6900.

HOV volunteer Je Riddle, patient Mark Adinol , wife Jeanne and daughter Sophia. (Photo courtesy Hospice of the Valley)

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The Healthy Geezer Be aware of colorectal cancer symptoms

BY FRED CICETTI

QWhen seniors gather, it doesn’t seem to take long before we get to our aches and pains. You must get more than your share of that.

Answer: My friend, Pete, has instituted a colonoscopy rule. He insists that, if a bunch of us geezers are talking about aches, maladies and visits to the doctors, everyone has to change the subject as soon as someone uses the word colonoscopy. Usually we switch to grandchildren, which is a lot more fun.

But, while we are on the subject of colons...

colorectal cancer: blood in the stool, diarrhea, constipation, stools that are narrower than usual, frequent gas pains or cramps, unexplained weight loss, unrelieved fatigue and vomiting.

Colorectal cancer — cancer of the colon or rectum — is the second leading cause of death from cancer in the United States. Early detection of colon cancer is especially important because, if it is found in its early stages, it can be cured nine out of 10 times.

Who’s at risk? The chances of getting it increase with age. But other risk factors include polyps, your history, diet and whether you’ve had ulcerative colitis.

Polyps are benign growths on the inner wall of the colon and rectum. Not all polyps become cancerous, but nearly all colon cancers start as polyps.

Colorectal cancer seems to run in families. And, someone who has already had colorectal cancer may develop this disease a second time. So greater vigilance is a good idea if you or your relatives have had it.

This form of cancer is more likely among people on a diet high in fat, protein, calories, alcohol, and both red and white meat. Low-fat, high- ber diets seem better for the colon.

Ulcerative colitis is a condition in which there is a chronic break in the lining of the colon. Having this condition increases a person’s chance of developing colorectal cancer.

The following are some symptoms of

Go to your doctor if you have symptoms. The medical profession has many detection tools. These include: a test to check for hidden blood in the stool; a sigmoidoscope, a lighted instrument for examining the rectum and lower colon; a colonoscope, a lighted instrument to examine the rectum and entire colon; a barium enema with a series of X-rays of the colon and rectum; a digital rectal exam to feel for abnormal areas.

Two recent studies showed that colonoscopy can nd many precancerous polyps that sigmoidoscopy misses. Another major advantage of the colonoscopy is that it enables the doctor to remove any polyps found during the procedure. There is a virtual colonoscopy, a minimally invasive procedure. Doctors are able to see the entire colon using 3-D computer graphics from a computerized tomography scan, or CT scan.

Known as CT colonography, this exam is an alternative for patients who are at risk of complications from colonoscopy such as patients who are frail. If a virtual colonoscopy nds signi cant polyps, they have to be removed by conventional colonoscopy.

Fred Cicetti is a freelance writer who has covered health topics since 1963. If you have a question for him, email fred@healthygeezer.com.

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