Middletown Magazine January 2022

MAGAZINE

JANUARY 2022

NEW SURROUNDINGS LFPL DIRECTOR LEE BURCHFIELD TALKS NEW MIDDLETOWN LIBRARY

LIFE IS AN ADVENTURE Local Resident Shares What It’s Like Living With Multiple Sclerosis A GLIMPSE INTO ANOTHER WORLD New Book Features Stories of Parents With Disabilities

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IN THIS ISSUE

JANUARY 2022

34

FOUNDER/CEO TOM BRITT tom@townepost.com 317.496.3599 PRESIDENT JEANNE BRITT jeanne@townepost.com 317.810.0011 PRODUCTION COORDINATOR ERIN TURK DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT JOSH BROWN CREATIVE DIRECTORS TONI EADS VAL HACKER GRAPHIC DESIGNER ROBBY BERRY COPY EDITOR JON SHOULDERS

6

21

Local Resident Shares What It’s Like Living With Multiple Sclerosis

22

LIFE IS AN ADVENTURE

9

WITNESSING THE WHOOPING CRANE

TIPS FOR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

26

10 REAL-TIME ANALYTICS Scan the QR code to see this magazine’s real-time reach and distribution numbers.

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A GLIMPSE INTO ANOTHER WORLD New Book Features Stories of Parents With Disabilities

16

Cindi Rhodes Exemplifies the Healing Power of Music

30

FOR LOVE OF THE MUSIC

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LFPL Director Lee Burchfield Talks New Middletown Library

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In December of 2018, Pettus set out on a new adventure - this one, unfortunately, not so fun or exciting. She began dropping things from her left hand, but it wasn’t due to clumsiness. In fact, she didn’t even realize things were falling from her fingers because her hand was numb. Suspecting carpal tunnel syndrome as the culprit, she went to see a neurologist for an exam.

“I’m an expert in nothing but know everything,” Pettus says with a chuckle.

LIFE IS AN ADVENTURE

MIDDLETOWN RESIDENT SHARES WHAT IT’S LIKE LIVING WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photographer / Chanel Nicole

For many people raising three young kids, if a spouse were to come home and announce a need to move to Mexico, there would be a period of panic, or at the very least a moment of melancholy at the thought of all the work that comes with such a move.

For Kimberly Pettus, who is always up for an adventure, when her husband Terence told her in 2007 that he had to move to Hermosillo, Mexico, for work, she replied, “What a great opportunity for our family.”

“Terence would go to work and I’d take the kids out to explore,” Pettus says. “I called it our adventures.”

She soon learned that MapQuest doesn’t work so well in Mexico, but that didn’t deter her. Flying by the seat of her pants only made the adventure that much more spectacular. It was impossible not to pick up the language along the way - especially the children, whose developing minds were like little sponges that soaked up knowledge and verb conjugations.

“I often used my 5-year-old as an interpreter, asking, ‘What did they just say?’” Pettus says.

The family lived in Mexico twice throughout a span of four years. By the time they returned to the states for good, the children were fluent in Spanish. They have lived in Louisville for the past two years.

Soon thereafter, she began losing feeling in her entire left side, which made her wonder if she was battling something bigger than carpal tunnel syndrome. Balance issues also plagued her so doctors ran tests, including an MRI, which showed that Pettus had lesions on her brain and spinal cord. That’s when they determined she had multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease that affects the central nervous system. With MS, the immune system attacks the protective layer around nerve fibers, causing inflammation and lesions, making it difficult for the brain to send signals to the rest of the body. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, more than 1,000,000 people in the U.S. live with MS. After her diagnosis, she began researching the disease and found that African American women often don’t seek out a neurologist until they start exhibiting symptoms. As a result, they are often misdiagnosed and therefore receive inadequate health care. While she was relieved to know what she was dealing with, she was not yet ready to accept her new reality. Initially, Pettus was determined to go on living her life with the gusto to which she had become accustomed. The problem was that her body pushed back on that plan.

“I would overdo it and my body would go, ‘You know what? That was too much so we’re going to sit down for awhile,’” Pettus says. “I’d be wiped out for two days.”

MS is a progressive disease so symptoms typically worsen with time. In an effort to keep her mobile, last year her husband brought home a snazzy walker-wheelchair that had cool features and a leopard print

6 / MIDDLETOWN MAGAZINE / JANUARY 2022 / TownePost.com

“ YOUR ISSUE MIGHT NOT BE MS, BUT WE’VE ALL GOT SOMETHING GOING ON. MY PURPOSE IS TO MOTIVATE PEOPLE NO MATTER WHERE THEY ARE.” —KIMBERLY PETTUS

design. Though it was a thoughtful gesture, Pettus was irked, mostly by what the equipment represented.

needed it. She also knew that her engineer husband had her best interest at heart.

“I still wanted to go places and do things,” Pettus says. “For example, there was something going on at the park, and I was going to do what I did before which is walk to the area where I always go, but I couldn’t.

Then I realized when I got there I would need to sit down and I wouldn’t have any

“When he presented it to me, he asked what I thought and I said, ‘I think it’s a walker and I’m barely 50 years old. What do you think I think?’” Pettus says. “My feelings were hurt.”

Despite her frustrations, she knew she

place to sit. That was a revelation of, ‘You might not want this thing, but you need it.’

That’s when I started using my walker.”

Pettus was thrilled when she came across a book called “The Wahls Protocol” written

by Terry Lynn Wahls, a physician who suffers from MS. The book is all about feeding the brain through diet changes.

Pettus admits that some of the changes were

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tough to make, like eliminating sugars and introducing liver and organ meats. The diet is also rich in antioxidant foods like berries.

“In the beginning I was eating a bunch of sugar, which exacerbates MS symptoms and causes flare-ups,” Pettus says.

The other adjustment was learning to accept that she would have to take medicines. Prior to getting MS, Pettus didn’t even swallow aspirin. With MS, however, she had to narrow in on the right medicinal protocol, which meant trying different drugs, not all of which worked. One upset her stomach and another wreaked havoc on her digestive system. Now she does a five-hour infusion twice per year. These infusions are called DMTs, or disease modifying therapies.

“The point is to try and stop the progression,” Pettus says. “I think I’ll be on them indefinitely.”

Pettus always shares her story with others

who are facing their own health challenges, in hopes that they will feel less alone.

“Your issue might not be MS, but we’ve all got something going on,” Pettus says. “My purpose is to motivate people no matter where they are.”

Just prior to COVID-19, she started giving motivational speeches - her theme being “rethink, innovate and change where you are.” It’s based off the fact that when she was first diagnosed, she was reluctant to accept it. Once she realized that refusing to accept reality wasn’t doing her any good, she had to rethink and reinvent herself. Those who have listened her talks have told her how much they appreciate her authenticity.

“Someone told me that their mom has Alzheimer’s and that my talk helped her deal with coming to terms with it,” says Pettus, a certified public accountant who works for Humana.

Though Pettus didn’t plan this route in life, she has learned to settle into her new normal. Part of doing that is identifying her gifts and utilizing them.

“One of the things we are all very good at is saying what we can’t do,” Pettus says.

“Everybody has something they can do, so I encourage people to figure out what that is.”

She asks people to pose the following questions to themselves: What do I care about? What are my strengths? What am I good at?

Right now, due to COVID-19, her talks are all virtual, but her goal down the road is to do them live.

“My mother used to always say, ‘Can’t nobody shut me up,’” Pettus says. “I’ve always been one to talk, and I have a billion ideas an hour.”

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Tips for New Year’s Resolutions

Writer / Stanley Hewson Photography Provided

It’s resolution time. It’s the time of year when we look to better ourselves. The attempt to better oneself is a worthwhile pursuit.

People make these attempts through myriad ways. One of those ways is the well-known New Year’s resolution. Is there something magical about making a decision to better yourself on January 1, compared to any

other time of the year? Probably not, but the symbolism behind it may provide a little something extra to help you succeed with your goals.

Regardless of what your resolution may be for 2022, it’s important to realize that there are certain things you can do to increase the probability of success. Maybe your resolution is wanting to eat better, or maybe it is to exercise more often. Maybe it’s

specific to relationships. Maybe you want to be a better friend or parent. Maybe you’d like to learn a new skill, or some other bit of knowledge that will help you live your life in a more productive and meaningful way.

Maybe it’s just a resolution to spend your time more wisely by watching less TV, and to spend more time with friends, more time outdoors, more time reading, and more time doing things that aren’t just an attempt to numb and distract yourself.

WHATEVER YOUR RESOLUTION MAY BE FOR THE COMING YEAR, HERE ARE A FEW SUGGESTIONS AND TIPS TO HELP YOU ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS: SET REALISTIC GOALS.

BE HERE NOW.

Micro-goals that lead to your big goal. If your focus is on a goal that is too big, you’re more likely to give up.

However, if you have a series of micro-goals leading up to a bigger goal, then your likelihood of persevering increases. You’ll eventually reach the big goal by focusing on all the small goals in between. Figure out what those stepping stones for your resolution are and focus on one at a time.

Reside in the present more often. Stop dwelling on past failures. Stop obsessing over how far you have to go.

Make a conscious effort every day to be in the present moment, and meditate daily on what your objective is for that specific day. Don’t lose sight of why you made the resolution to begin with.

STAY POSITIVE. A negative mindset can derail even the most successful people. Be grateful for all the things you have, and for all the opportunities you have. Make the best of every situation as you move forward in the progress towards the achievement of your resolution.

DEVELOP EXTERNAL ACCOUNTABILITY through a friend or family member.

STRENGTHEN YOUR INTERNAL ACCOUNTABILITY, OR GRIT. Grit is the biggest determining factor for whether you will succeed in your goals. Take steps to learn how to strengthen and develop grit.

BE ACTIVE, BOTH PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY. With more activity comes more focus and more energy.

Move your body and engage your mind. In turn, you’ll be better equipped to reach your goals.

Good luck in 2022. You’ve got this!

JANUARY 2022 / 9

A Glimpse Into Another World NEW BOOK FEATURES STORIES OF PARENTS WITH DISABILITIES Writer / Grace Schaefer Photography Provided

When he started volunteering at the Cerebral Palsy School while studying at Bellarmine University, Dave Matheis couldn’t have imagined how much his service would change his life. At the time he was simply helping the swimming instructor with water therapy at the school, and was experiencing his first real connections with the community of disabled people.

While there, he met Jo Anne Donaldson, a lady whose lifelong battle with cerebral palsy gave her severe physical limitations. These limitations didn’t stop her from painting. In fact, she painted with her teeth in a special area the school staff set up for her to work. Matheis would visit with her and they became good friends. Donaldson has since passed away, but years later, Matheis still keeps two of her paintings.

It was largely her influence, and his work at the Cerebral Palsy School, that led Matheis to enter into a career connected with the disabled. After spending his career working in the Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR), he retired and began working part time with the Center for Accessible Living in Louisville. He had worked with the Center before, during projects with the OVR.

Additionally, more than half the staff at the Center have a disability of some kind, allowing those with disabilities to participate in providing resources to others in similar situations.

At the Center, Matheis spoke with some of his co-workers about their experiences being parents with disabilities. Feeling that it was important to share information about parenting with disabilities, they held a few panels on the subject at conferences. Eventually Matheis made the decision to try creating a collection of stories of parents with various disabilities. Along with Jason Jones and Austin Nugent, he worked to recruit individuals with disabilities who would be willing to share their experiences in the book. The goal was to collect 30 stories of parents with all types of disabilities - physical, intellectual, mental and sensory. Most stories came from Kentucky, though to ensure representation for various disability groups, some interviewees were found out of state.

Most everyone who was asked for an interview was graciously willing to participate. When considering a certain disability to include in the collection, Matheis often found that he already knew someone with the given condition. All in all, he knew 21 of the 30 participants before their interviews were conducted. Some participants even work or have worked at the Center for Accessible Living with him.

10 / JANUARY 2022

George Smithers

“Like individuals, no two families are alike.”

— Dave Matheis Dave Matheis

After finding the participants, most were interviewed via Zoom calls. These calls were recorded, converted into transcripts and edited. For others, interview questions were sent and typed answers were returned. After editing, the stories were compiled into book form and titled, “A Celebration of Family: Stories of Parents with Disabilities.”

The Center for Accessible Living helped with the project and paid Matheis as he worked on the collection. He expresses his gratitude to the Center for their support and generosity, saying that they are “responsible for the book.”

Every story found within the book communicates themes of perseverance, empathy and strength to readers. A mere sampling

of the stories serves to emphasize the variety of challenges and solutions interviewees worked through. There is the story of Gerry - not only did she provide a view into her disability, but also a view into the racial relations of her time. She knew Muhammad Ali in high school, she marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in Frankfort, and she worked on Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaign, even getting to meet him. Though she advocated strongly for civil rights, Gerry was also a strong disability advocate. Her disabilities did not stop her from taking strong steps towards racial equality.

Jason Jones, who wrote the book’s introduction, is also featured in the third story of the book. Beside his work on the book’s content, Jones also assisted the book by gaining the support and promotion of the local Paralyzed Veterans of America chapter. Due

JANUARY 2022 / 11

to sponsorship from the chapter, it was important to Matheis and his team to include a disabled veteran’s story. This desire led to the final story collected for the book - that of Tom and Junie. Their story, like all those in the collection, speaks of parenting with disabilities.

Theirs, however, is told in a unique way. Tom and Junie tell their story, but their children also join in. This veteran family provides a unique view of parenting with disabilities, as they are able to show both the parents’ and children’s perspectives.

of the manifold forms family may take. Whether these are tales of children learning to buckle their own car seats, or of toddlers learning to climb onto their parent’s wheelchair, many interviewees emphasized the point that children often adapt more to their parents than their parents adapt to them. The same children who learn to help their parents with these day-to-day tasks are the children who grow up with a sense of empathy, an acceptance for others, and a sense of how and when to ask a difficult question.

Matheis believes the collection shows “the variety of the American family.”

Though some may say these children don’t get the normal childhood experience, they grow up gaining something far greater than normalcy - a kind heart willing to look past the physical differences between themselves and others. These children will not find it strange to see a lady in a wheelchair.

They will not be phased by a man who

“Like individuals, no two families are alike,” he says.

By detailing the adaptations parents and children make in the face of disability, the stories provide poignant examples

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cannot hear. These are the children who will shine as an example to their peers of what it looks like to be kind to all, and to look past physical skills or limitations. These are the children who learn, more than most others, that it is acceptable to seek help to work around a limitation, and that it is natural to try, fail and try again. Their parents lead the way for them, and as the children adapt to their parents’ needs and vice versa, they all learn a valuable lesson in caring for others above themselves.

Matheis doesn’t plan for “A Celebration of Family” to be his final project, nor is it his first. He has previously edited a magazine centered on disabilities. He also wrote two church histories. Additionally, he is helping a lady with significant disabilities write her own memoir.

Matheis speaks of his upbringing, saying 16 years of Catholic education “instilled in me a strong sense of social justice.” This sense of justice is apparent in his advocacy for all disabled people and in his dream to include a comprehensive view of parenting with all types of disabilities. His book, as well as his career, provide a glimpse into a world many people may never have seen before - a world where it is natural to adapt, assist and accept. It’s a world we can all learn a lesson from. It’s a kind, willing world, and one that any person would be blessed to know.

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E D U T I T A R ING LY G U IS Writer / Chris Palmore

Long ago, I was taught an important lesson. It was a hard lesson, and fortunately my dad was ready for this to happen. I'm not saying he was expecting it, but he had the insight and soundness of mind to show me the way.

It was, I believe, my tenth birthday. My parents threw me a little party. I was sitting at the head of the table, opposite the windows facing our backyard. My dad had set up the camcorder that he had borrowed from the school where he taught. They happily sang happy birthday to me.

Once the singing ended, I blew out the candles. A little later, I opened my presents, mostly clothes and things I was not impressed by or even happy to get. I was frowning the whole time, the lack of happiness plastered all over my face.

People who loved me had spent time and money celebrating me, all to make me feel special and loved, but this was totally lost on me at this young age in my life. I was a selfish child who just wanted toys. My dad was video recording my birthday celebration. I don’t remember this moment at all. I remember what happened after this moment, later in the day.

My dad told me to go into our television room and sit down. He then played the video of me during the party. I could see how I was acting. I could see my ingratitude. I could see the ugliness it radiated. My dad explained to me how mean I was being. He explained it and showed it to me. This created a memory I will never forget. Modern technology allows a person, in this case a parent and a child, to revisit an event with the slightest of ease.

Seeing yourself behave awfully is a powerful lesson. It's hard to watch and it takes a special person, a person who cares, to show it to you. My dad showed me a lot of love, tough love.

I deserved to be punished, but, instead, he cared enough to show me the ugliness so that I could see the truth of the situation and make a choice not to be that person ever again.

The sooner we can understand and see all the gifts around us, the better. To be receiving so much and not taking notice of it is a disease. It will rot you from within and steal your joy.

This disease silences happiness. It breaks up families and friendships. All people want is to feel appreciated and loved. Giving appreciation freely will result in it being freely given back to you. It's reciprocal, and it works. Spin the wheel, and it will come back around to you.

Check out gratitudespace.com for more gratitude related content.

JANUARY 2022 / 15

Kalsang Rapgyal

COMPASSION IN A TUMULTUOUS WORLD

DREPUNG GOMANG CENTER FOR ENGAGING COMPASSION TURNS 20 Writer / Andrew Toy Photography Provided

In a time when chaos and fear run rampant, compassion isn’t a word that comes to mind often. However, compassion is what it’s all about at Drepung Gomang Center for Engaging Compassion (DGCEC).

It was founded as a Tibetan Buddhist Dharma Center, the North American seat of Drepung Gomang Monastery - a large educational monastery in South India, and a monastery in exile from Tibet.

Geshe Kalsang Rapgyal is DGCEC’s executive director and teacher.

Being an education center, DGCEC teaches universal human values, or secular ethics, as the Dalai Lama has guided them to do.

Rapgyal offers dharma teachings, meditation and retreats (at least during non-COVID times). All three resident monks offer prayers and ceremonies daily for all who are suffering.

There is a secular perspective offered as well. After all, compassion 16 / JANUARY 2022

can be taught to anyone with any religious or cultural background.

People learn topics like meditation, earth reverence, nonviolence and compassion engagement.

How is all of this being conducted during the ongoing pandemic?

Well, just like most other organizations and businesses, all the classes are being held via Zoom or Facebook Live. While it might be unfortunate that the center’s 20-year anniversary (for which the tagline is “Keeping Louisville compassionate”) fell in the middle of this global crisis, and the students and teachers couldn’t celebrate as they would have normally, Anne Walter, the director, is quick to point out simply - and optimistically - that “it is the time that it is.”

The kickoff anniversary celebration was held in October of 2021, with other little celebrations held throughout the year by gathering classes together virtually. The anniversary celebration continues through October of 2022, when they hope to be in person.

How did DGCEC get its start here in Louisville? What exactly happened in 2001? It turns out that three Louisville women, Catherine McCliment, Carol Stewart and Amy Peterson, met a traveling group of Tibetan monks from Drepung Gomang Monastery in India. They were visiting the United States. The three women got to know the group and began to envision Louisville as a warm and welcoming home for the Tibetan Buddhist Center.

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Drepung Gomang Institute, as it was first called, was incorporated on October 1, 2001, even though they didn’t yet have the location or the funds. What they did have was a compelling experience of and attraction to the compassion and loving kindness that these Tibetan Buddhist monks shared so effortlessly and freely. This was the fuel they used for their efforts.

Now, just 20 short years later, DGCEC is one of Louisville’s finest treasures for those seeking to help make the community, and the world, a better place. At the Dharma Center there are opportunities to reserve a Retreat Room, or to meditate in the Shrine Room.

Visitors and attendees can offer flowers and fruit, and on the first Saturday of every month one can partake in prayers to Green Tara, the most beloved of all the Tibetan feminine meditation deities.

Green Tara, practitioners believe, responds with compassion to all in need, including those who are ill, in need of protection, and need help with life’s challenges.

DGCEC’s Compassion Education Center offers opportunities based in universal human values (His Holiness the Dalai Lama calls this “secular ethics,” which guides all people regardless of religious perspective) including compassion training, meditation classes, education on the meaning and practice of nonviolence, courses on respecting and revering the earth, and interfaith gatherings for world or community crises. They host Louisville Recovery Sangha,

movie nights, and a chance to experience Tibetan takeout food.

“It’s not so much about supporting us,” Walter says, when asked about how the community can support DGCEC. “Our causes are people’s causes, right? We want to help generate compassion in the community, and that happens one person at a time. Five years ago we began Louisville’s Arms of Compassion. We meet every Friday and remember by name those who have been killed by homicide, and we stand in solidarity with their families. Then also, we take a pledge of nonviolence. We’re working on growing nonviolence ourselves by participating in it. We want to invite people to be a part of that. It’s very informal, 30 minutes long, and we meet at noon on Fridays. Right now it’s on Zoom.”

“I think it’s fair to say that we exist to serve the community,” Walter continues. “Geshe Rapgyal’s teachings serve those who are interested in being practicing Buddhists, but also people who are just interested in the philosophy and trying to be better people.

We’re just looking to do what our role is in the community.”

Rapgyal sheds some light on interfaith efforts.

“My personal experience is that we can more understand the common values and we can attach the two together and respect each other and have conversations - and share each other’s wisdom,”

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Rapgyal says. “The main goal, the believers and the followers, is to become good people. That is what interfaith relationships are.”

“It takes the form of gathering people to make statements, to stand for a justice issue, or to pray after there’s been a disaster,” Walter adds. “We convene some interfaith gatherings, and then we participate in ones that are started by other groups too.”

Walter says the end goal is to help people become more compassionate, however they choose to do so.

The biggest project DGCEC hopes to launch is called “Nonviolent Compassionate Louisville,” a catalyzing project, where different people from the community, from organizations to schools to businesses, are invited to explore the elements of nonviolence and implement them into their lives.

What exactly is the foundation of compassion, according to DGCEC? “To not harm.” The commitment not to hurt another, as Walter says, “is what allows space to love one another toward building compassion, which is being willing to suffer with another and wanting to alleviate that suffering.”

For more info, visit drepunggomangusa.org.

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Witnessing the Whooping Crane

Writer / Curtis Carman Photography Provided

22 / JANUARY 2022

I

have been an avid hiker and naturalist all of my adult life and have had some amazing wildlife encounters through the years. I have seen black bears in Rocky Mountain National Park, wolves in Yellowstone, porcupines and humpback whales in Acadia, and even bald eagles right here in The Parklands. However, none of those wildlife experiences were as special as my most recent one in Seymour, Indiana.

JANUARY 2022 / 23

I found myself in Seymour with my grandfather John Mann, who is an avid birder. We were there to see migrating sandhill cranes as the farm fields surrounding Seymour are a popular rest stop for these majestic birds, and boy did we see sandhill cranes - at least 200.

Not only did we see sandhill cranes, but we also saw a lone whooping crane. For those

who do not know, the whooping crane is the tallest bird in North America and one of the most endangered. There are currently only 826 left in the world. The species is broken up into migrating and non-migrating populations. The non-migrating populations exist in Florida (9 birds) and Louisiana (69 birds), and migrating populations are categorized as eastern migratory (85 birds) or Arkansas/Wood Buffalo migratory (504

birds). There are 159 birds in captivity.

The whooping crane that we saw was one of only 85 eastern migratory cranes left in the world. These cranes spend the summer in Wisconsin and Michigan, and then migrate to Florida for the winter months, making stops in between to rest and refuel.

In photos we could clearly see the green, white and red leg bands on each crane’s legs.

24 / JANUARY 2022

The distinct pattern of colors on each leg identifies the individual bird, and each band is outfitted with a radio tracker. By using this distinct color combination, we were able to identify this individual bird as #14-12, nicknamed Lily. Lily was born in captivity in 2012 at a wildlife refuge in Wisconsin. After spending many weeks getting used to the wetland habitat and other cranes (including sandhills), Lily was released into the wild

on October 29, 2012, and has spent the last eight years making the annual migration with a group of Sandhill cranes. Six other cranes were raised in Lily’s cohort, but only two of those birds remain alive, making our sighting even more special.

draining of wetland areas throughout the United States as well as hunting. Wetlands are crucial habitats for whooping crane breeding and migratory stopover, so the loss of these wetlands decimated crane populations. Conservation efforts have focused on captive breeding programs, and In the mid 1800s it is estimated that there reintroduction and restoration of wetland were between 1,500 and 2,000 whooping habitats. The fact that the total population cranes in the wild. By the 1940s this number of whooping cranes is now more than had plummeted to 21 birds. The species loss 800 birds is a testament to these efforts.

However, there is a long way to go to restore can be chalked up to the development and

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their traditional numbers.

Here in The Parklands, we remain dedicated to restoring historic wetland habitats, not just for cranes, but for all the wildlife, plants and people that depend on these critical ecosystems. To see a wetland rehabilitation project in action, head to Humana Grand Allee in Beckley Creek Park. Keep your eyes peeled - you never know what you might see.

Play On

CINDI RHODES EXEMPLIFIES THE HEALING POWER OF MUSIC Writer / Annette Skaggs Photography Provided

Music can be healing. When you have a rough day, or are celebrating a win or milestone, isn’t there some kind of music that you sometimes tie in with those events, and doesn’t it either alter or add to the feelings of the moment?

her, Rhodes attended Charleston Southern University with the intent to use music as a tool for healing. Right out of college, Rhodes received her certification as a registered music therapist.

While lifting or elevating one’s mood with music can be helpful, being able to use that same tool to connect with another is too.

What brought Rhodes to Louisville? Love, of course. With her high school sweetheart Patrick, Rhodes came to study at the Southern Seminary for a master’s degree in divinity in 1991, which then segued to attending the University of Louisville’s Kent School of Social Work.

Cindi Rhodes serves as a music therapist for Morning Pointe of Louisville. Rhodes has been a musician for most of her life, having been raised with a mother who enjoyed performing in choral societies in her native South Carolina. With music imprinted on

Rhodes has an unusual distinction - she was the first music therapist in Kentucky. As one can imagine, it took her some time to find a clientele and organizations that were willing to take a chance on such a new and innovative way of therapy that is still being 26 / JANUARY 2022

explored and expanded.

While settling in Louisville with her husband and two boys, Campbell and Andy, her career jumped around a little. She took a chance and served as a self-employed clinician for 15 years. While she was doing rather well for a time, making up to $30 an hour on some occasions, she found that she was losing clients due to their decisions to conduct therapy sessions in-house.

In 2000, the University of Louisville began to offer coursework in music therapy where Rhodes served as a clinical director. As part of the curriculum, the students would go out to preschools, nursing homes and Seven Counties to apply their learning and practicum.

“While the classes were rather small in the beginning, maybe four to five people, the interest grew as the practice became more widely learned and accepted as a viable career,” Rhodes says.

While she enjoyed her work at the university, Rhodes did some work with Signature HealthCARE for three years, where she was able to continue to hone her skills and talents while helping patients. She has been with Morning Pointe, an assisted-

living retirement community (formally Lamplight), for the past year and a half, and she loves her patients and what she has accomplished.

“Music is so positive because we process music with almost every part of our brain,” Rhodes says. “We are able to be moved and feel the association. It is a remarkable feeling when you see a patient react, whether it be with a smile or a laugh when they’ve heard a familiar song, or have taken an instrument

and made a delightful sound on their own.

There is a strong connection between the brain’s auditory cortex and the limbic system. Sound is processed immediately by the area of the brain that is associated with long-term memory.”

What kinds of music do her patients react to?

“Believe it or not, our patients are influenced a lot by the kinds of music that our caregivers play around the area,

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especially the younger ones in our care,” Rhodes says. “At this time, I am using and playing quite a bit of big-band music, like Cab Calloway and Glenn Miller, and maybe some jazz. I get the most reaction from ’50’s rock and roll, and Elvis.”

Rhodes says there is often a connection to an individual’s favorite music.

“Familiar and likeable music can reduce depression, lessen agitation, and increase

sociability, movement and cognitive abilities,” she says. “Through studies, it has been determined that familiar music can help to decrease problem behaviors. Part of the role of a music therapist is to activate a part of the brain that controls balance and movement, the cerebellum, in addition to the cognitive and limbic areas. We begin with passive listening, then move to active participation to involve the whole brain and body.”

This includes dancing and playing

instruments.

“We use piano, rhythm instruments and vocal,” Rhodes says. “We sometimes have to coerce the patients into learning dance moves, but it is all for their benefit, to be sure. A typical day at Morning Pointe begins with a morning meeting, and then we move to exercise and music with cognitive activity.

Lunch is then served, and recently we’ve been playing jazz with artists like Dave Brubeck in the background. After lunch is

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“Familiar and likeable music can reduce depression, lessen agitation, and increase sociability, movement and cognitive abilities.”

— Cindi Rhodes a quiet activity or game such as bowling or horseshoes, dinner, and then to cap off the evening, the residents and patients enjoy a sensory activity such as aromatherapy and soft music.”

One might imagine that there are rewards from the work that the therapists do.

“I’ve had stroke patients who have had successful vocal rehab because of music,” Rhodes says. “Because Alzheimer’s affects more than five million Americans, and this number doubles every five years, music has been a link to the past and a nourishing connection to the past. I see the happiness in our patients when they have that deep connection, and they are able to communicate it in some small but significant way. Aside from victories such as

those, music brings physical and emotional closeness with friends and families.”

Rhodes says that while music therapy cannot change the course of a disease, it can provide opportunities such as engagement and socialization.

“In the earliest stages of therapy patients have been found to maintain memory, lower agitation, and maintain cognitive skills which add in sequencing tasks,” she says.

“Conversely, in later stages the therapy has proven to reduce anxiety and stress, aid in the patient’s maintaining of motor skills, and increase attention, motivation and focus.”

In her spare time, Rhodes performs with a few different musical groups.

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“I perform with the River City community band,” she says. “While we’ve not had a lot of opportunity to go out because of the pandemic, we’ve performed all over the area in the past. As a multi-instrumentalist I stay rather busy. I play clarinet, oboe, piano, organ and guitar. I also perform with the three-octave handbell chorus of First Baptist Church of Middletown.”

What is on the horizon for Rhodes?

“I look forward to when [Morning Pointe] can return to some normalcy, such as our monthly family nights, and being allowed to bring in outside entertainment, such as my handbell choir,” she says. “Personally, I see me spending time with my family and friends and practicing music therapy on the side, upon retirement.”

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Danny Flanigan Photo by Rachel Stump

FOR LOVE OF THE MUSIC

DANNY FLANIGAN STILL HAS A PASSION FOR PERFORMING AFTER 35 YEARS Rick Redding is a realtor with eXp Realty (502-439-6391). He owns and operates the longest-running and most interesting podcast in the ‘Ville - the Rusty Satellite Show.

Writer / Rick Redding Photographers / Rachel Stump and Jesse Hagan

Danny Flanigan keeps a record of every gig he’s played in more than three decades of performing in and around the city. It all adds up, he says, to more than 4,000 gigs, at places both current and long-shuttered, large and small, as front man or able guitarist.

For instance, you have to have a few years on you to remember Dutch’s Tavern in St. Matthews, where he spent a decade hosting a songwriter showcase. More recently, before it shut down in October, he and his quartet LittleBand were playing a weekly gig in the same building, then called Street Grub and Hops.

“I’ve been very fortunate,” he says. “I’ve

been playing around this town for 35 years.

I’ve been gigging out for 35 years. I’m so fortunate to have my hands in so many things.”

The hardest-working man in local music learned early on that the best way to keep getting gigs was to, well, keep getting gigs. When he’s not organizing sets for his original band Danny Flanigan and the Rain Chorus, or his mates in LittleBand, Flanigan plays guitar for a Fleetwood Mac tribute band, Back 2 Mac, or a Rolling Stones tribute band, Tattoo Babylon - or just helps out fellow songwriters on their performances.

getting paid and I don’t care. It’s stress-free music for me. There’s a lot that goes into gigs.”

When he started playing local bars back in the 1980s at places like Dutch’s Tavern (four blocks from his family home on Chenoweth Lane) or the old Rudyard Kipling, Flanigan may have imagined himself playing all over the world before giant crowds. Today he’s thrilled with his life, playing gigs a few miles from his home in St. Matthews, the place where he grew up, went to school and raised a family.

“I still live in St. Matthews - very blessed to grow up here,” he says. “I didn’t grow up with money but I did grow up in a nice neighborhood.”

“I love the guitar gigs because I just show up with a guitar and amp, I plug in, I don’t choose the songs and I don’t write the songs,” You might think all this music is allhe says. “I don’t know how much we’re consuming - in August alone he played on 30 / JANUARY 2022

“THERE’S A DISTINCTIVE LOUISVILLE SOUND THAT HATCHES FROM OUR UNIQUE LOCATION - A MIX OF NASHVILLE COUNTRY, BLUES, ROCK AND FOLK.” — DANNY FLANIGAN

18 of 31 days - but Flanigan has another career. He’s a nonprofit administrator, first at New Directions Housing and for the last six years at St. Vincent de Paul. He proudly boasts that St. Vincent de Paul is the city’s oldest charity, serving the needs of the homeless and hungry. On his LinkedIn page a photo depicts him in a sharp bow tie and closely cropped beard.

he says, explaining that many bands, including his own, released new studio recordings. “That’s what you do during the zombie apocalypse - you make a record,” he says. “A lot of bands did that.”

These days Flanigan sports a scraggly patch of facial hair, a likely ode to the pandemic that certainly curtailed his ability to perform live. Somehow he managed to play 44 gigs in 2020.

“A lot of bands made a record and they still couldn’t tour, so they went back in and made another record,” he says. “We’re going to be awash in new music. There will be all these albums released over the coming year. It might be like a renaissance - like a digital distribution Woodstock.”

“I got buddies who play a lot, and some of them didn’t play a single day in 2020,”

LittleBand released a debut record in 2020, and Flanigan thinks the world will be filled with new music in coming months.

Photo by Jesse Hagan

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Photo by Rachel Stump

Photo by Jesse Hagan

Flanigan plays a lot of covers with all the acts he plays in, but takes a special pride in the songs he writes and records. You can find five albums of his music with the Rain Chorus online, in addition to the one with LittleBand.

decades, moving from an original spot at Dutch’s Tavern to Anthony’s by the Bridge, the Rudyard Kipling and finally Clifton’s Pizza Co.

“That’s how we pay homage to these folkrock cats,” he says. “I’m never going to be as big as Neil Young or Bob Dylan, but I sure respect the hell out of them. I want to be that good. I don’t need to be that famous, and of course I’m never going to be, but it would be great to be 1% that good.”

Among those who played regularly were the late, great Tim Krekel, Alan Rhody and Carter Wood, all of whom signed publishing “There’s a distinctive Louisville sound that There’s no end in sight, it seems. Live deals in Nashville. hatches from our unique location - a mix music has survived the pandemic and is of Nashville country, blues, rock and folk,” thriving. With two tribute bands, his own “I got to play with those cats on a regular he says. “ I just love songs, and I love the LittleBand, and friends in the business who words to songs. I’m not going have any more basis,” Flanigan says. can always use an ace guitar player, it’s hard children, but if I did I’d name it Song. I love promoting songs and songwriters. I love the In music terms, a lot of what Flanigan plays to imagine Flanigan not working in front of an audience. two-legged performance.” pays tribute to folk-rock artists, going back to the 1970s. He has a unique ability to play “I’m going to keep on writing songs and Ultimately, Flanigan’s claim to fame may requests on demand, and knows material maybe one day I’ll write one that doesn’t be his association with well-known singers from a full library of folk-rock artists suck,” he says. and songwriters. His songwriter showcases, whose works from those early days are still featuring Flanigan and another performer recognizable and popular today. on stage, were a big local attraction for two

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NEW SURROUNDINGS

LFPL DIRECTOR LEE BURCHFIELD TALKS NEW MIDDLETOWN LIBRARY Writer / Jessica Able Photography Provided

From toddler story time to adult book club gatherings, a library acts as a hub of activity in a community. Residents in Middletown once again have such a space to learn and connect.

The new Middletown branch of the Louisville Free Public Library (LFPL) provides 5,200 square feet of space with a collection of more than 30,000 items. There are 20 public computers with free WIFI

with access to printing, scanning, faxing and reduced hours. In March of 2020 it closed copying. Fees apply to printing and copying. due to the pandemic, along with all LFPL locations. In October of 2020, it reopened The Middletown branch space, which was with limited computer access and curbside most recently used as an interior design pickup of library materials. business, will have spaces for reading and studying, a children’s area, dedicated teen In December of 2020, the lease was up space, and meeting rooms. at the East Government Center and the branch closed again. Construction at the The previous library space was located in new location on Shelbyville Road began in the old East Government Center at 200 April of 2021.

Juneau Drive. It closed in June of 2019 as a result of ongoing budget challenges. It Lee Burchfield, LFPL director, says he is reopened later that year in November with thrilled to have a space solely for the use of

34 / MIDDLETOWN MAGAZINE / JANUARY 2022 / TownePost.com

“We are very excited to get back to Middletown in a more permanent location,” Burchfield says. “There is a great deal of visibility from Shelbyville Road and great parking available.”

An agreement between the Louisville Metro Government and the City of Middletown allows the LFPL to use the space free of charge. The City of Middletown owns the building and will provide upkeep and maintenance on the structure, Burchfield says, while the Louisville Metro Government has covered the renovation cost.

Burchfield says the close proximity to Eastern High School - less than a quarter of a mile - provides a great deal of pedestrian traffic, and students can gather after the school day.

“It’s really convenient for students and faculty to walk to meet with friends, and to work on school projects,” he says.

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“Mayor [Greg] Fischer, Mayor [Byron] Chapman, Council Member [Markus] Winkler and Council Member [Anthony] Piagentini have been pivotal in us being able to get this done,” Burchfield says. “This is a great example of cooperation between a suburban city government and a metro city government coming together to make something great Sales Rep: happen for a neighborhood.” jvice

Burchfield has been director since April of 2019. He began with the

Burchfield is hopeful the new teen space and dedicated programming

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LFPL in 1997 as assistant branch manager at the Iroquois branch. Later positions included electronic resources supervisor, manager of computer services, director of strategic planning and technology, and assistant director.

Throughout high school and in college, he continued to work in a library setting.

“In college I got to know professional librarians,” he says. “They were so encouraging and had a tremendous effect on me.”

Burchfield’s lifelong relationship with books Despite his many years of working in began at an early age. In an effort to ditch study hall in middle school, he volunteered libraries, Burchfield thought his career path to work in his school library - a decision that would lead in a different direction. would chart his path later in life.

“I planned to earn a Ph.D. and teach college,” he says. “That’s what I thought I’d “Just being in that environment, being do. I spent a great deal of time in the library around books and being around people while finishing my Ph.D. program. I had no who loved books was just such a positive plans of working in one long-term.” experience for me,” he says.

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In the end he decided teaching college courses was not what he was called to do, so he enrolled in a master of science in library and information science program at the University of Kentucky. Following completion of the graduate program, he applied for a position with the public library system and was offered the role.

Though there have been numerous changes since Burchfield first joined the public library system in Louisville, libraries remain important in the communities they serve.

“Libraries are resources for people to be better connected in their communities and provide opportunities to be more successful in life,” he says. “There is no system or other

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programs such as “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten,” and summer reading programs.

place in our community that is so welldesigned and equipped to nurture children than a public library system. Libraries provide the needed support for parents and caregivers to help develop the skills they will need in order to succeed when they do reach school.”

When a parent brings a child in for preschool story time, they are not just teaching the child pre-reading skills, but also teaching the parents how to cultivate skills children need in order to be successful adults, Burchfield says.

Once children are in school, library leaders encourage them to be lifelong readers through

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The same is true, Burchfield says, for senior citizens. Many adults who have retired visit the library in order to connect with others and to learn about what is going on in their community.

“They could stay home and read the newspaper online, but there is something about meeting in person and interacting with one another that is more engaging,” he says.

Burchfield says the new Middletown branch offers many of the programs and services patrons have come to love and rely on.

In total, there are 17 branches of the Louisville Free Public Library. The Middletown Library is located at 12556 Shelbyville Road in Louisville. Call 502-245-7332 for more info. Up-to-date programming and event information can be found at lfpl.org.

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