December 2013 Baltimore Beacon Edition

VOL.10, NO.12

I N F O C U S F O R P E O P L E O V E R 5 0DECEMBER 2013More than 125,000 readers throughout Greater Baltimore

I N S I D E …

Our 10th Year!

FITNESS & HEALTH 3k Bacteria that may fight fatk Raising a toast to grape juice

LAW & MONEY 16k Finding lost savings bondsk Obamacare scams

VOLUNTEERS & CAREERS 22k Turning vets’ lives around

PLUS CROSSWORD, BEACONBITS, CLASSIFIEDS & MORE

ARTS & STYLEA new Baltimore poet finds her voice; plus, theater andmusic highlight the holidayseason

page 30

By Robert Friedman“Just because your brain can’t hop on a

treadmill doesn’t mean it can’t exercise,”said Dr. Majid Fotuhi, chief medical officerof the NeurExpand Brain Centers inLutherville and a recently opened centerin Columbia. The centers, which Fotuhi heads, treat

“anyone who has concerns about memoryand brain functions,” he said. “Our memo-ry makes us who we are. It shapes thekind of life we live.”Fotuhi, a Baltimore-based neurologist, is

fast becoming recognized by experts, fromDr. Mehmet Oz to RealAge author Dr.Michael Roizen, as being on the cutting edgeof treating brain and memory problems. Fotuhi also plans for another center

next year in Chevy Chase. Executives ofthe company that has been formed to runthe brain centers have set a goal to opensome 100 centers around the country inthe next five years, according to the Balti-more Business Journal. “What this [center] is designed to do is

to focus on what you can do to make yourbrain stronger and improve your memo-ry,” said David Abramson, who helpedput together the new company. He saidthat he sees a significant business oppor-tunity among the millions of aging babyboomers concerned about their brainfunctions.

Memory loss isn’t inevitableWhereas memory specialists have long

concentrated on the physiological elementsof the brain, the centers will move to im-prove the brain’s functioning by treating thelifestyle — eating, sleeping, exercising — ofthe individual to whom the brain belongs. “Slowing of memory and memory loss

is a common occurrence as we age,” saidFotuhi, a Harvard Medical School gradu-ate who got his Ph.D. in neurology fromJohns Hopkins University. “But it doesn’t have to happen,” he said.

“Through physical and mental activities,people can keep their brain and memoryin good shape and ward off Alzheimer’s.” A recent article in AARP magazine

noted that “a mounting stack of studiessuggests that the condition of the bodysomehow affects the condition of the

brain…Being obese quadruples the risk of[Alzheimer’s]. Diabetes can speed upbrain shrinkage, as can high blood pres-sure,” as well as sleep apnea, depressionand everyday stress. Depression, which used to be treated al-

most exclusively by psychiatrists going intomental histories and prescribing drugs, cannow be greatly relieved, according to men-tal health specialists, through a change inlifestyle — especially increased exercise. And Fotuhi said not only could memory

loss be averted, it could also improvethrough a 12-week, individualized pro-gram devised at the center and meant togrow the brain. “The best remedy for late-life Alzheimer’s

disease is mid-life intervention,” he said. While the program costs several thou-

sand dollars, “all our testing and treatmentprotocols are covered by Medicare andmajor insurances,” Fotuhi said. “Patientsdo not need to have a major neurologicaldisease to qualify.”

Fighting brain shrinkageThe treatment aims to expand the hip-

pocampus, the portion of the brain deepwithin the temporal lobes that controlsshort-term memory and determineswhich remembrances are stored long-term. It’s the hippocampus that “makes

Majid Fotuhi, chief medical officer of NeurExpand Brain Centers, examines an MRIof the brain. The centers help patients with memory problems by working to increasebrain size through lifestyle improvements, memory exercises and biofeedback.

See BETTER BRAIN, page 6

Can you expand your brain?

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LEISURE & TRAVELVoluntourism makes for thetrip of a lifetime; plus, how torent a car and drive it in Europe

page 25

You know how it is that sometimessomething very ordinary strikes you asmeaningful in a new way?

For example, I attend Sab-bath services every week at asynagogue near my home.There are a number of placesin the service where every-one is expected to sing alongor sing in response.

Normally, at these times, Ihear mostly my own voice inmy head. But if I stop singingand listen for a moment, I canhear the whole room singingas if it were a symphony.

There are the lady sopra-nos (with a diva or two), some altos, themale tenors and baritones, an occasionalbass. All blend, usually, into a nice, richtone, at least when the tune being led is afamiliar one.

But the other day, I was aware not of asymphony, but of a cacophony. A fellow sit-ting near me, apparently a visitor or new-comer, had begun to sing loudly right atthe start of the song — but at a note or twolower than the leader and, to my mind, therest of us in the room.

Now, I happen to be used to the fact that

a different gentleman who often attendsthe same service cannot carry a tune. I

have learned to tune out hisnear misses on those occa-sions when he chooses tosing along.

But this new fellow was dif-ferent. He didn’t have any trou-ble keeping to his key. He wasdead on — just in a differentkey from everyone else, and itwasn’t a key that harmonized.

He even had a nice voice.He probably was well awareof that, too, as he continuedto sing quite loudly and clear-ly in his own personal key,

every single note clashing against the oth-ers in the room, grating on my nerves.

In the sanctuary as a whole, his disso-nance was probably negligible. In fact, Imay have been the only person aware of it.

For some reason, though, it continuedto occupy me long after the song was over.(Yes, I daydream in synagogue. Some-times.)

So I kept thinking: Why did this fellow,who evidently was quite musical, not realizethat he was out of sync with everyone else?

Or did he realize it and not care? Was

he, perhaps, trying to make a statement?Did he think that, somehow, he wassinging in the “right key” and everyoneelse was wrong?

Was he listening so intently to his ownvoice that he remained truly unaware ofthe dissonance he was causing? Or did heview the clashing notes as a problem creat-ed by others, not himself?

I have no idea who the fellow was orwhat, if anything, he was thinking. But Icouldn’t help but see the whole experienceas a metaphor of sorts — for human differ-ences in personality, political beliefs,lifestyles and the like.

Most of us are content to play our role insociety and to focus for the most part on our-selves, with some secondary attention tothose around us and to society as a whole.

We prefer to do the work, or sing thepart, that comes most naturally to us. (Per-haps that’s because when we must strainto reach beyond our register, our voicesbecome “falsetto.”)

Then there are some whose song/per-sonality/belief is a bit different. It soundsto the rest of us like it’s off-key, or as ifthose people can’t carry the tune the waymost of us can. But they’re singing alongjust the same, eager to participate in theirway, and we generally respect that.

But it can be harder to deal with thosewho, knowingly and unabashedly, insist onsinging loudly in a different key altogether

— a key, in fact, that creates dissonancewith the song the vast majority of us sing.

Now, it’s interesting to realize that, werewe to listen to this other song on its own, wemight well think it is a perfectly fine song,as melodic as any other. It only producesdissonance when it’s sung a half-tone or sodifferently from the song others sing. (Afterall, it takes two to make a dissonance.)

If yet more people start to pick up thesame “off” melody, the resulting “dischord”can grow even more noticeable for awhile.But in some cases, so many others adoptthe new melody that it can supercede thefirst one.

We hear a lot nowadays about our diver-sity in culture, our conflicting political par-ties, and the split in opinions that deeplydivide us. These are not subtle differ-ences, and they can tear apart a family, aninstitution, even a government.

Yet, on some level, we are all just tryingto sing our song — sometimes followingthe notes, sometimes riffing on themelody, other times purposely belting outsomething completely different.

It’s all just part of what it means to be afree human being, a member of the cho-rus, each with our own unique voice.

Dear Editor:Your September issue contained a travel

guide to Myrtle Beach, S.C. Since I wasplanning a trip there, I read the articlecarefully.

When I arrived, I was amazed at howmany restaurants were available. However,for our last dinner, my friend and I ordereda carry-out dinner from Mr. Fish, one ofthe two places mentioned in the article.

Wow! It was delicious, plentiful and areal bargain. My friend commented that

we should have eaten there when we firstcame because we would have had moremeals there.

When I picked up my meal, I told thecashier that Mr. Fish had been mentionedin your publication. He immediately calledover the owner, with whom I had a lovelychat.

Love your magazine, by the way. Youhave many informative articles.

Grace Planalp Randallstown

Imperfect harmony

FROM THEPUBLISHERBy Stuart P. Rosenthal

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MATISSE’S MARGUERITE The Baltimore Museum of Art is presenting a special exhibition ofprints, drawings, paintings and sculptures that provide a fascinat-

ing glimpse of Henri Matisse’s relationship with his only daughter, Marguerite. Onview through Jan. 19, “Matisse’s Marguerite: Model Daughter” brings togethermore than 40 works from the BMA and other public and private collections toshow Marguerite over the course of 45 years. Matisse made more portraits of hisdaughter than of all the other members of his family combined. The museum is lo-cated at 10 Art Museum Dr. For more information, visit www.artbma.org or call(443) 573-1700. Admission to the Museum is free.

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

By Lauran NeergaardIt happens too often: A doctor isn’t sure

what’s causing someone’s feverish illnessbut prescribes antibiotics just in case —drugs that won’t work if a virus is the realculprit.

Now Duke University researchers aredeveloping a blood test to more easily tellwhen a respiratory illness is due to a virusand not a bacterial infection, hoping to cutthe dangerous overuse of antibiotics andspeed the right diagnosis.

It works by taking a fingerprint of yourimmune system — how its genes arerevving up to fight the bug. That’s very dif-ferent from how infections are diagnosedtoday. And if the experimental test pansout, it also promises to help doctors trackbrand-new threats, like the next flu pan-demic or that mysterious MERS virus thathas erupted in the Middle East.

That viral “signature could be quite pow-erful and may be a game-changer,’’ saidDr. Geoffrey Ginsburg, Duke’s genomicmedicine chief. He leads the team that re-cently reported on a study that providedearly evidence the test can work.

Today, when symptoms alone aren’tenough for diagnosis, a doctor’s suspicionguides what tests are performed — teststhat work by hunting for evidence of a spe-cific pathogen.

Fever and cough? If it’s flu season, youmight be tested for the flu virus. An awfulsore throat? Chances are you’ll getchecked for strep bacteria. A negative testcan leave the doctor wondering what germto check for next, or whether to make abest guess.

Moreover, rapid in-the-office tests aren’talways accurate and can miss infections.So patients may have blood or other sam-

ples sent to labs to try to grow any lurkingbacteria and tell if it’s to blame — addition-al testing that can take days.

“This is something we struggle withevery day,’’ said Dr. Octavio Ramilo, infec-tious disease chief at Nationwide Chil-dren’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, whowasn’t involved in the new study. Particu-larly with children, a respiratory virus anda bacterial infection “in the beginning lookcompletely alike,’’ he added.

Hints from our immune systems Hence researchers at a number of uni-

versities are trying to harness a fairly re-cent discovery: As your immune systemdetects an invading bug, different genesare activated to fend off a viral infectionthan to fight a bacterial or fungal one.

Those subtle molecular changes appearto be occurring even before you feel any

symptoms. And they form distinct patternsof RNA and proteins — what’s called a ge-nomic fingerprint.

The Duke team discovered 30 genesthat are switched on in different ways dur-ing a viral attack. The test essentially is afreeze-frame to show “what those genesare doing at the moment in time that it’scaptured,’’ explained Duke lead re-searcher Dr. Aimee Zaas, an infectious dis-ease specialist.

Small studies spotted that viral signa-ture in people who volunteered to be in-fected with different influenza strains forscience.

For a more real-world simulation, the re-searchers then analyzed blood samplesstored from 102 feverish people who hadcome to the emergency room — and who

B A L T I M O R E B E A C O N — D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon 3

HealthFitness &RAISE A TOAST TO GRAPE JUICEIn some ways, grape juice may providemore health benefits than red wine

HIGH-DOSE FLU SHOTSThe high-dose vaccine for seniorsworks better than the standard shot

SCANS FOR SMOKERSHeavy smokers need yearly CT scansto help detect lung cancer earlier

DRUG MUGGERSMany medicines can rob your body ofessential nutrients. What you can do

By Lauran NeergaardCall it a hidden ally: The right germs

just might be able to help fight fat. Different kinds of bacteria that live in-

side the gut can help spur obesity or pro-tect against it, say scientists at WashingtonUniversity in St. Louis who transplanted in-testinal germs from fat or lean people intomice and watched the rodents change.

And what they ate determined whetherthe good germs could move in and do theirjob.

The report in the journal Science raisesthe possibility of one day turning gut bac-teria into personalized fat-fighting thera-pies, and it may help explain why somepeople have a harder time losing weightthan others do.

“It’s an important player,’’ said Dr. DavidRelman of Stanford University, who alsostudies how gut bacteria influence healthbut wasn’t involved in the new research.“This paper says that diet and microbes arenecessary companions in all of this. Theyliterally and figuratively feed each other.’’

Our intestines differWe all develop with an essentially sterile

digestive tract. Bacteria rapidly move in start-ing at birth — bugs that we pick up from

mom and dad, the environment, first foods. Ultimately, the intestine teems with hun-

dreds of species, populations that differ inpeople with varying health. Overweight peo-ple harbor different types and amounts ofgut bacteria than lean people, for example.

The gut bacteria we pick up as childrencan stick with us for decades, althoughtheir makeup changes when people loseweight, previous studies have shown.

Clearly, what you eat and how much youmove are key to how much you weigh. Butare those bacterial differences a contribut-ing cause of obesity, rather than simply theresult of it? If so, which bugs are to blame,and might it be possible to switch out thebad actors?

To start finding out, Washington Univer-sity graduate student Vanessa Ridauratook gut bacteria from eight people — fourpairs of twins that each included one obesesibling and one lean sibling. One pair oftwins was identical, ruling out an inheritedexplanation for their different weights.Using twins also guaranteed similar child-hood environments and diets.

She transplanted the human microbesinto the intestines of young mice that hadbeen raised germ-free.

Some surprising findingsThe mice who received gut bacteria

from the obese people gained more weight— and experienced unhealthy metabolicchanges — even though they didn’t eatmore than the mice who received germsfrom the lean twins, said study senior au-thor Dr. Jeffrey Gordon, director of Wash-ington University’s Center of Genome Sci-ences and Systems Biology.

Then came what Gordon calls the battleof the microbes. Mice that harbored gutbacteria from a lean person were put in thesame cages as mice that harbored the obe-sity-prone germs. The research team tookadvantage of an icky fact of rodent life:Mice eat feces, so presumably they couldeasily swap intestinal bugs.

What happened was a surprise. Certainbacteria from the lean mice invaded the in-testines of the fatter mice, and their weightand metabolism improved. But the tradewas one-way — the lean mice weren’t ad-versely affected.

However, the fatter mice got the bacteri-al benefit only when they were fed a low-fat, high-fiber diet. When Ridaura substi-tuted the higher-fat, lower-fiber diet typicalof Americans, the protective bug swap did-n’t occur.

Why? Gordon already knew fromhuman studies that obese people harborless diverse gut bacteria. “It was almost asif there were potential job vacancies’’ intheir intestines that the lean don’t have, heexplained.

Sure enough, a closer look at the micethat benefited from the bug swap suggestsa specific type of bacteria, from a familynamed Bacteroidetes, moved into previ-ously unoccupied niches in their colons —if the rodents ate right.

How might those findings translate topeople? For a particularly hard-to-treatdiarrheal infection, doctors sometimestransplant stool from a healthy personinto the sick person’s intestine. Some sci-entists wonder if fecal transplants fromthe lean to the fat might treat obesity,too.

But Gordon foresees a less invasive al-ternative: Determining the best combina-tions of intestinal bacteria to match a per-son’s diet, and then growing those bugs insterile lab dishes — like this study could— and turning them into pills. He esti-mates such an attempt would take at leastfive more years of research.

— AP

The right bacteria might help fight obesity

See VIRUS TEST, page 5

Is it viral or bacterial? New test may tell

The buzz about the benefits of red winehas many of us drinking a glass to goodhealth. And for those who choose not to im-bibe, it turns out the booze behind the buzzmay not be necessary. Grape juice and de-alcoholized wine can offer similar benefits.

Studies show that a daily glass or two ofred wine may lower the risk of heart disease.While alcohol content may be partially re-sponsible for wine’s ability to relax blood ves-sels and increase levels of “good” (HDL)cholesterol, the hearty concentration of

flavonoid compounds, such as anthocyanin,catechins and resveratrol, play their ownrole in heart health by boosting antioxidants.

It comes as no surprise that purplegrape juice — essentially unfermented redwine — boasts flavonoid compounds, aswell.

Grape flavonoids seem to have similarprotective effects in juice as they have inwine. Studies show that these compoundshelp prevent the oxidation of LDL (“bad”)cholesterol that leads to plaque formation

and build-up inside artery walls.According to a study in the journal Cir-

culation, when 15 patients with cardiovas-cular disease were given a glass of grapejuice each day for two weeks, their LDL ox-idation was significantly reduced and bloodflowed more freely through the arteries.

And according to preliminary researchin a 2007 Cardiovascular Research study,grape juice stimulated the production of ni-tric acid in cells lining the arteries, whichallows for improved blood flow.

Grape juice better in some waysThe flavonoid content in grape juice was

shown to be similar to that of red wine. Inaddition, a study in the Journal of Biomed-ical Biotechnology found that one memberof the flavonoid family in particular — an-thocyanins — were better absorbed fromgrape juice than from red wine. The re-searchers believe the higher natural sugarcontent of grape juice may aid absorption.

Furthermore, the absence of alcoholmay boost the amount of time these antioxi-dant compounds stay in the body, accord-ing to findings reported in the January 2000American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

When volunteers were given red wineand then a de-alcoholized version of the

same red wine, catechin flavonoids re-mained in the blood more than four hoursin the volunteers who drank the nonalco-holic wine, but just over three hours inthose who drank the wine with alcohol.

But red wine has resveratrolRed wine comes out on top, however,

when it comes to resveratrol, which hasbeen linked with preventing heart diseaseand cancer in preliminary studies. Resver-atrol is extracted from the skins of thegrapes during the fermentation phase ofwinemaking, which doesn’t occur in grapejuice.

Both red wine and grape juice can, inmoderation, be a healthy addition to a bal-anced diet that includes a variety of nutri-tious foods. Treat yourself to no more thanone glass of wine a day for women and twofor men.

Or, enjoy a four-ounce glass of grapejuice a day — be sure to scan labels for 100percent juices with no added sugars.

Reprinted with permission from Environ-mental Nutrition, a monthly publication ofBelvoir Media Group, LLC. 1-800-829-5384. Www.Environmentalnutrition.Com.

© 2013 Belvoir Media Group. Distrib-uted by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

A toast to benefits of red wine, grape juice4 Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 — B A L T I M O R E B E A C O N

HOW TO BE ACTIVE EVERY DAY

Attend this discussion at the Seven Oaks Senior Center on how

to find more opportunities to be active, as well as exploring the benefits of walk-

ing and creating an activity plan on Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 10:45 a.m. The cen-

ter is located at 9210 Seven Courts Dr. Sign up at the front desk if you plan to

attend. For more information, call (410) 887-5192.

BEACON BITS

Nov. 27

COMMUNITY AMENITIES• Beautiful club room with theatreand demonstration kitchen

• Salon• Indoor saltwater pool• Yoga studio & classes• Bingo, and many moreplanned activities

• Movie theatre & Billiards room• Business center – 24 hours• Incredible courtyard and meditation garden with koi pond and gazebo

• Guest suites

Regency Crest is an extraordinarily carefree community because ofthe convenient lifestyle enjoyed by those who live here. We go theextra mile to provide our residents with distinctive amenities andservice that cannot be found in ordinary active adult communities.

3305 Oak West DriveEllicott City, MD 21043855.446.1131

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were eventually diagnosed, the old-fash-ioned way, with either some type of virusor a bacterial infection.

The genomic test proved 89 percent ac-curate in sorting out who had a virus, anddid even better at ruling out those whodidn’t, Zaas reported in the journal ScienceTranslational Medicine.

It took 12 hours to get results. The re-searchers hope to speed that up so that itmight work as quickly as some in-officetests.

Still, “it’s a promising tool,’’ said Ramilo,an Ohio State University professor who isdoing similar research. He called theDuke study an important step toward cre-ating a commercial test, and predicts onemight reach the market within five years.

Preventing antibiotic resistance Why would a doctor want to know mere-

ly that a virus is present and not whichvirus?

That’s enough information to rule outantibiotics, Zaas said. Unnecessary antibi-otic use is one factor in the growing prob-

lem of drug-resistant germs, which thegovernment blames for more than 23,000deaths a year.

Plus, if a dangerous new virus beginsspreading, like MERS, this approach couldhelp avoid quarantining people unneces-sarily by telling right away which ones arevirus-free, Ginsburg added.

In Ohio, Ramilo is exploring a more im-mediate need: When young infants havehigh fevers, they’re often hospitalizedwhile doctors run a battery of tests to findthe fraction who have a serious bacterialinfection.

He is leading a study involving 22 pedi-atric emergency rooms to see if a genomicfingerprint approach could separate whichbabies really need all that testing.

But the virus-or-not question is just thebeginning, Ramilo said. His research sug-gests genomic fingerprints also can distin-guish a flu strain from other commonviruses.

And the Duke team is analyzing a hugestudy of students living in dormitories, tosee if the genomic test detected who wasincubating the flu before their first sniffle— and thus might be useful in stemmingoutbreaks. — AP

B A L T I M O R E B E A C O N — D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 5

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you, you,” said the 51-year-old Fotuhi. It’s also the part of the brain that shrinks

with age more than any other. “When youget older, the hippocampus has a tendency

to shrink, usually .5 percent each year after50, which would mean shrinkage of 10 per-cent in 20 years,” said Fotuhi.

And the size of your hippocampus matters.“Changes in its size bring noticeable changesin a person’s memory and cognitive func-tion,” he said. When it comes to peak brain

performance, bigger is undeniably better.But can natural shrinkage with age be

reversed? Yes, Fotuhi said. He pointed to research published a few

years ago in the Proceedings of the Na-tional Academy of Sciences in which onegroup of seniors did stretching exercises,while another group walked 45 minutesfour days a week, both for a year.

MRIs showed that while areas of the hip-pocampus in the stretchers shrank by about1.5 percent during that period, those of thewalkers increased by about 2 percent, “ef-fectively reversing age-related loss in vol-ume by 1 to 2 years,” the researchers said.

Furthermore, the increased brain vol-ume was associated with improved memo-ry function and oxygen consumption inthe walkers compared with the stretchers.

In a book published in 2008, Fotuhi sug-gested that a great workout for the brainwould be doing the New York Times cross-word puzzle daily.

He has also recommended that olderadults put on their dancing shoes. Dancingis the perfect activity to keep the brainyoung, Fotuhi said. He told CNN that hebegan ballroom dancing when he was a stu-dent at Harvard Medical School, and that heand his wife Bita have mastered the tango.

Dancing, crossword puzzles and otherlifestyle changes may sound simple, butthey’re based on sound science, Roizensaid in an interview.

“I think that what Dr. Fotuhi is recom-

mending is something that helps you ex-pand your current brain power. Whetherexercise or memory games, his treatmentis at the forefront of medicine,” saidRoizen, who heads the Wellness Clinic atthe Cleveland Clinic and wrote the intro-duction to Fotuhi’s newest book, pub-lished in September.

In the book, Boost Your Brain: The NewArt + Science Behind Enhanced Brain Per-formance, Fotuhi calls the hippocampus“the gateway for new memories and essen-tial for learning; as such, it is a major playerin the quest for a bigger, stronger brain.”

Look at the hippocampus as if it werethe brain’s librarian, Fotuhi suggests inBoost Your Brain. “It processes all new in-formation and decides what to keep andwhat to discard....The good stuff — thatwhich the hippocampus deems storage-worthy — is sent to various parts of thecortex for long-term storage.” What isdeemed forgettable may be held for ashort-time, then is tossed.

How the program worksFotuhi stressed that his 12-week program

is not in any way akin to the “miracle” curespromised on TV infomercials for varioushealth concerns. Rather, it is an individual-ized treatment plan with proven results.

“I take pride in the fact that 90.6 percentof the patients who have gone through this

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Better brainFrom page 1

See BETTER BRAIN, page 7

High-dose flu shotprotects better

A new high-dose flu vaccine for seniorsworks better than the standard shot in thatage group, according to a long-awaitedstudy by the vaccine’s manufacturer.

Experts say regular flu shots tend to beonly about 30 to 40 percent effective in

people 65 and older, who generally haveweaker immune systems. Sanofi Pasteur’sFluzone High-Dose vaccine boosted effec-tiveness to 50 percent.

“I wouldn’t call it great,” said Dr. Ed-ward Belongia of the Wisconsin-basedMarshfield Clinic Research Foundation, aflu vaccine researcher who was not in-volved in the Sanofi study.

But any improvement is welcome, andthe results could mean fewer illnesses —and, hopefully, hospitalizations and deaths— in seniors, he said.

For other ages, effectiveness can run 60

percent or higher for the regular vaccine.The Food and Drug Administration li-

censed the higher-dose Sanofi vaccine in late2009, based on a study that showed it led tohigher levels of flu-fighting antibodies in sen-iors a month after vaccination. The newstudy is the first to measure how much pro-tection it actually provides against the flu.

The study involved 32,000 seniors in theU.S. and Canada during the last two flu sea-sons. Half got a regular flu shot and half gotthe high-dose version. Researchers calledthe participants to see if they had flu symp-toms or were hospitalized; tests to confirm

the flu were done in more than half of thepeople reporting symptoms.

The high-dose shot was 24 percentmore effective than the regular shot at pre-venting flu, against all strains, the compa-ny said.

Sanofi has the only high-dose flu shotfor seniors on the market. It was used lastyear in 1 in 5 seniors who got vaccinated,according to Sanofi. The $27 per dose costis more than twice the $12 for the compa-ny’s older version. But Medicare pays for

program have significant improvement oftheir memories,” he said.

”The one-size-fits-all approach does notwork, and we need to assess each person’scurrent brain health and make a plan withthat in mind,” he said.

The plan starts with a doctor visit and ex-tensive testing. Among other things, the par-ticipants give their health history, get blood-flow exams, physical stress tests and mentalmemory tests. An EEG (electroencephalog-raphy) checks out brain-wave function.

After physical and mental habits are as-sessed, the doctor explains how to imme-diately embark upon a drug-free personal-ized treatment program.

Patients meet with a “brain coach” whohelps them with tasks to boost memory, in-cluding memorizing a list of random items.Neurofeedback therapy — biofeedback ap-plied to the brain using EEG — is also partof the program.

Some patients, such as those who had aconcussion in the past, require more train-ing than others to enhance their brainfunction and are offered cognitive training.

Stress reduction strategies and medita-tion are also offered as ways to improvememory and increase brain size. Treat-ments for sleep disorders and apnea arealso available.

In Boost Your Brain, Fotuhi said that “witha greater understanding of how to stave offbrain atrophy, it’s likely that just as we haveexperienced an increase in lifespan over the

past century, we will see an increase in our‘brain span’ — the portion of our lives thatwe live in peak cognitive condition.

“Memory, creativity, mental agility —our ability to respond quickly or ‘connect

the dots’ — all can be improved with a big-ger brain,” Fotuhi said.

For more information on the NeurEx-pand Brain Center, call (410) 494-0191 orvisit www.NeurExpand.com/BeaconBalt.

Better brainFrom page 6


Health Shorts

See HEALTH SHORTS, page 9

1205 York Road, Lutherville, MD 21093www.NeurExpand.com/BeaconBalt

Finally, a treatment program that builds your brain’s capacity to resist memory loss and cognitive decline.

Phone: 410.494.0191

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both, and Sanofi executives say they don’tthink cost is a significant deterrent.

Instead, they believe doctors have beenholding off until they saw real-world effec-tiveness studies.

Small 2014Social Security

increase Social Security benefits for nearly 58 mil-

lion people will increase by only 1.5 percentnext year, the government announced inlate October. Social Security pays retiredworkers an average of $1,272 a month. A1.5 percent raise comes to about $19.

The annual cost-of-living adjustment, orCOLA, is based on a government measure ofinflation. It is small because consumer priceshaven’t gone up much in the past year.

The increase is among the smallestsince automatic adjustments were adoptedin 1975. This year’s increase was 1.7 per-cent. There was no COLA in 2010 or 2011because inflation was too low.

The COLA affects benefits for more thanone-fifth of the country. In addition to SocialSecurity payments, it affects benefits for mil-lions of disabled veterans, federal retirees,and people who get Supplemental SecurityIncome, the disability program for the poor.

The amount of wages subject to SocialSecurity withholding is also rising. SocialSecurity is funded by a 12.4 percent tax onthe first $113,700 in wages earned by aworker, with half paid by employers andthe other half withheld from workers’ pay.

The wage threshold will increase to$117,000 next year, the Social Security Ad-ministration said. Wages above the thresh-old are not subject to Social Security taxes.

In some years, part of the COLA hasbeen erased by an increase in MedicarePart B premiums, which are deducted au-tomatically from Social Security payments.

But Medicare announced in Octoberthat Part B premiums, which cover doctorvisits, will stay the same in 2014, at $104.90a month for most seniors. (Premiums aremuch higher for those with high incomes.)

Medical implantswill soon carry tracking codes

Federal health regulators will begintracking millions of medical devices, frompacemakers to hip replacements, using anew electronic system designed to protectpatients by catching problematic implantsearlier.

The Food and Drug Administration pub-lished new rules in September that requiremost medical devices sold in the U.S. tocarry a unique code — identifying its

make, manufacture date and lot number.The codes will be stored in a publicly ac-cessible database to help regulators, doc-tors and companies monitor safety issueswith devices.

The tracking system has been promotedby doctors and public safety advocates foryears. Other industries, from food proces-sors to automakers, have used uniqueidentification codes to track their productsthrough the supply chain for decades.

“The rule that came out today is a victoryfor patients, hospitals and clinicians,’’ saidJosh Rising, director of Pew CharitableTrusts’ medical device initiative. “Up untilnow, medical devices were among the onlyproducts on the market that could not beuniquely identified. This is going to be atremendous victory for all of those interestedin improving the performance of devices.’’

Rising says doctors, hospitals and insur-

ers will be able to add the codes to pa-tients’ medical records, helping themquickly identify people who have receivedproblematic implants and devices.

The FDA tracking system follows yearsof highly-publicized recalls involving defib-rillators, artificial hips and drug pumps,which have been plagued by design andmanufacturing flaws.

The FDA will begin phasing in the newsystem in the coming year, requiring identi-fication codes on high-risk devices likeheart stents and defibrillators. The trackingrequirement will then be expanded to mod-erate-risk devices such as X-ray systems,surgical needles and power wheelchairs.

Makers of those devices will have threeyears to implement the tracking codes.Many low-risk devices, such as bedpansand examination gloves, will be exemptfrom the requirements. — AP


Health ShortsFrom page 7

By Marilynn MarchioneFor the first time, government advisers

are recommending screening for lungcancer, saying certain current and formerheavy smokers should get annual scansto cut their chances of dying of the dis-ease.

If it becomes final as expected, the ad-vice by the U.S. Preventive Services TaskForce would clear the way for insurers tocover CT scans, a type of X-ray, for those atgreatest risk.

That would be people ages 55 through79 who smoked a pack of cigarettes a dayfor 30 years or the equivalent, such as twopacks a day for 15 years.

Whether screening would help younger

or lighter smokers isn’t known, so scansare not advised for them. They also aren’tfor people who quit at least 15 years ago,or people too sick or frail to undergo can-cer treatment.

“The evidence shows we can prevent asubstantial number of lung cancer deathsby screening” — about 20,000 of the160,000 that occur each year in the UnitedStates, said Dr. Michael LeFevre, a taskforce leader and family physician at theUniversity of Missouri.

Public comments were taken throughthe end of August, and the panel is expect-ed to issue its final advice by February. Re-ports on screening were published in theAnnals of Internal Medicine.

Recommendation affects millions The recommendation is a big deal for

many reasons. The task force, an inde-pendent group of doctors appointed by thegovernment, in recent years has urgedless frequent screening for breast and cer-vical cancers, and no screening forprostate cancer, saying PSA blood tests domen more harm than good. There are nogood ways to screen for ovarian cancer orother less common types.

But lung cancer is the top cancer killerworldwide. Nearly 90 percent of peoplewho get it die from it, usually because it’sfound too late for treatment to succeed.

About 85 percent of lung cancers in theU.S. are attributable to smoking, and about37 percent of U.S. adults are current or for-mer smokers. The task force estimates

that 10 million Americans would fit thesmoking and age criteria for screening.

The American Cancer Society (ACS)used to recommend screening with ordi-nary chest X-rays, but withdrew that ad-vice in 1980 after studies showed theyweren’t saving lives. Since then, CT scanshave come into wider use, and the ACSand other groups have endorsed their lim-ited use for screening certain heavy smok-ers.

The scans cost from $100 to as much as$400, and are not usually covered byMedicare or private insurers now. Butunder the new healthcare law, cancerscreenings recommended by the taskforce are to be covered with no co-pays.

Heavy smokers need yearly lung scans

See LUNG SCANS, page 11


!Have high blood pressure or diabetes? !Hear out of one ear better than the other? !Turn the television/radio volume up higher than those around you? !Get annoyed because those around you are mumbling? !Find that the voices of women and children are harder to understand than men? !Work or have worked in noisy environments? !Make inappropriate responses because you have misunderstood what others are saying? ! !"#$%&"'#()%('*#!#*#+&%,+'(-&+%."-%/(!+%$#01'-)*.% hearing in crowded rooms (like restaurants)?

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INSIGHTS ON AGINGJoin a group discussion at the Bykota Senior on the changes andchallenges faced by seniors. The discussion takes place Monday,

Nov. 25, from 10 to 11 a.m. The center is located at 611 Central Ave., Towson.For more information, call (410) 887-3094.

BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT GROUPNorthwest Hospital offers an ongoing bereavement support groupat its Education Center at 5401 Old Court Rd. in Randallstown.

The next group will meet on Wednesday, Nov. 27, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. (Except forNov. and Dec., the group meets on the third Thursday of the month.) Meetingsare free, but registration is required. Call (410) 601-WELL.

HELP A CHILD WITH READINGLiteracy tutors are needed to improve the reading skills of childrenin kindergarten through third grade. Volunteers must be at least

55 years old and speak, read and write English fluently. Tutors with thisExperience Corps program will complete a 30-hour pre-service training, attend in-service trainings monthly and/or as assigned, and complete a minimum of 450hours during the school year. For more information, visit www.experiencecorps.org.

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“It’s generally going to be covered by allhealth plans” if the advice gets final taskforce approval, said Susan Pisano of the in-dustry trade group America’s Health In-surance Plans. She said her group may de-velop a response during the public com-ment period, but has had “high regard” forthe task force in the past “because theyrely so heavily on the evidence” in craftingtheir recommendations.

The task force considered lung cancerscreening in 2004 but said there was toolittle evidence to weigh risks and benefits.Since then, a major study found that

screening the age group covered in thetask force’s recommendation could cut thechances of dying from lung cancer by upto 20 percent, and from any cause by near-ly 7 percent.

Screening “is absolutely not for every-body,” not even all smokers, LeFevrestressed. That includes President BarackObama, who said a couple years ago thathe had quit smoking. Obama is too youngat 52 and too light a smoker (he reportedlysmoked less than a pack a day), to be inthe high-risk group advised to get screen-ing.

Why screening isn’t for allThe potential benefits of screening may

not outweigh its possible harms for peoplenot at high risk of developing lung cancer.

A suspicious finding on a scan oftenleads to biopsies and other medical teststhat have costs and complications of theirown. Ironically, the radiation from scans tolook for cancer can raise the risk of devel-oping the disease.

“These scans uncover things, oftenthings that are not important. But youdon’t figure that out for a while,” and onlyafter entering “the medical vortex” of fol-

low-up tests, said Dr. Peter Bach, a cancerscreening expert at Memorial Sloan-Ket-tering Cancer Center in New York.

The best way to prevent lung cancer is toquit smoking or never start, and screeningdoesn’t make smoking safer, doctors stress.

“That’s everyone’s public health con-cern: People [may] see this as a pass tocontinue smoking,” Bach said of screen-ing. “I don’t think it’s likely,” because peo-ple know how harmful smoking is, he said.

— AP

New blood test measures cancer riskA blood test to identify lung cancer

risk has recently been developed by acompany in Rockville, Md.

Genesys Biolabs’ test, the second of itskind available in the U.S., examines apanel of six biomarkers in the blood thatare associated with lung cancer. While thetest doesn’t diagnose lung cancer, it identi-fies the risk level for having the disease.

“Lung cancer is a silent killer,” saidBarry Cohen, product manager forGenesys Biolabs. “The reason so manypeople die of the disease is that therehasn’t been a good way to identify thosewith the disease until it’s too late.”

While CT scans can help identifythose who may have lung cancer, thetest is expensive and exposes patients toradiation. If the patient first has theblood test and is found to have a low riskof lung cancer, a CT scan may not benecessary, Cohen said. Conversely,

those showing a high risk are then di-rected to have a CT scan.

The test is called the PAULA test,which stands for Protein Assay UsingLung cancer Analytes, and is namedafter the wife of a local physician whodied of lung cancer at age 55 only a fewmonths after diagnosis.

The test is designed for smokers orformer smokers who have at least a 20-year history smoking a pack or more aday. Those who get the test should beage 50 or over, without lung cancersymptoms, and not currently receivingannual CT scans.

Most insurances and Medicare coverthe test, said Cohen. The blood test isdone in a patient’s doctor’s office and sentto Genesys’ Rockville lab for analysis.

For more information, ask your doctor,see www.BloodTestForLungCancer.comor call (240) 453-6342. — Barbara Ruben


Lung scansFrom page 10

Lung Cancer

A Simple Blood Test Is Now Available From Your Doctor

More information for you and your doctor is available online at: www.BloodTestForLungCancer.com

Call (240) 453-6342 To receive an info packet by mail

ASK YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT THIS NEW TEST TODAY!

· For persons age 50 and over that smoked for at least 20 years. · Can Identify Lung Cancer at earliest stages when most treatable. · Covered by most insurances and Medicare.

Exploring Cognition Johns Hopkins University investigators seek healthy adults

ages 40 and up to participate in research studies designed to investigate ways to improve cognitive abilities. You will be

compensated for your time. For more information call:

Julia Hernandez (410) 955-7789

Protocol Number: NA_00015657 PI: Barry Gordon, M.D., Ph.D. Approved August 22, 2013

By Carol SorgenFrontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the

second most common cause of early-onsetdementia. Alzheimer’s disease is the mostcommon.

While Alzheimer’s disease occurs mostoften in the elderly, FTD typically appearsbetween 40 and 60 years of age. FTD alsohas a strong genetic component, with up to40 percent of cases linked to positive fami-ly histories.

Earlier diagnoses and genetic testsmean that people with FTD will spendmore years in earlier stages of the disease,

aware of the fact that they suffer from thisprogressive illness.

Currently, there are no published stud-ies describing the personal experience orcoping styles of individuals with FTD. Re-searchers at Johns Hopkins University,Columbia University and the University ofPennsylvania are conducting an observa-tional study to interview people with FTDand their caregivers to understand theirexperiences with the disease.

The study, titled “Challenges of LivingWith Frontotemporal Dementia: The Per-spective of the Affected Individual,” is

sponsored by the National HumanGenome Research Institute in hopes thatthe information collected will help createbetter treatments and therapies for thoseaffected by FTD.

In-depth interviews requiredTo accomplish the study’s objectives, in-

terviews will be conducted with 20 to 30patients with FTD as well as theirspouse/partner caregivers. Both sets of in-terviews will be audiotaped, transcribedand analyzed.

Themes emerging in both members ofeach pair will be compared and contrastedin order to understand the subjective expe-rience of the disease.

In a similar study conducted in GreatBritain, researchers studied whether ornot people with dementia are aware of thelevel of distress experienced by their care-givers, who often suffer from considerablelevels of anxiety and depression.

Results showed that people with demen-tia were aware of their caregivers’ state ofpsychological health. The researchersconcluded that the clinical implications ofawareness of caregiver distress in peoplewith dementia should be considered.

FTD study participants will be recruitedthrough Johns Hopkins University demen-tia care centers, private physicians, patientsupport groups and ClinicalTrials.gov. The

diagnosis must be made by a behavioralneurologist, neuropsychologist, psychia-trist, or a group consensus of any of theabove in a specialized dementia center.

Caregiver issues addressedCaregivers must be a spouse or partner

(non-spouse relatives or friends, health-care providers, or hired caregivers are noteligible) who provides day-to-day care forthe affected individual, and spends a mini-mum of 16 hours per week, on average in amonth, in direct contact with the individ-ual.

Participants with FTD will answer ques-tions about their experience with the dis-ease, touching on their mental abilities,challenges and coping strategies.

Caregivers will answer questions abouttheir experience in caring for someonewith FTD, also talking about their ownchallenges and coping strategies. Theywill also be asked about the person withFTD, and how aware they believe the pa-tient is of his or her dementia symptoms.

All participants will receive a small giftcard as compensation for their time. Notreatment will be provided as part of thisstudy.

For more information or to volunteer, callWeiyi Mu or Barbara Biesecker at (301)496-3979. Or email or [email protected] [email protected].


Health Studies PageTHE PLACE TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION ON AREA CLINICAL TRIALS

Understanding the dementia experience

HOW TO BEAT CRAVINGSOnce a craving hits, it is tough to get away from it. With all the

yummy foods around during the holidays, it’s great to have a tool set up to not

only beat the cravings once they hit, but to avoid the craving in the first place.

Bring your own tricks and hear more from dietitian Melissa Majumdar at this free

event at Sinai Hospital on Wednesday, Dec. 11, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Meet in the

Hoffberger Building, Suite 15 Conference Room, 2435 W. Belvedere Ave. Call

(410) 601-0723 for more information. This event is open to the public, but specif-

ically tailored for pre-op and post-op bariatric surgery patients.

BEACON BITS

Dec. 11

.

Healthy men & women 50-80 years old are needed to participate in an exercise research study at the University of Maryland / Baltimore

VA Medical Center. Participation involves medical evaluations, blood draws, fitness tests and 2 weeks of exercise sessions. Compensation

for your time is provided. Call 410-605-7179. Mention code EPC-X.

Exercise Research Study

Have You Fallen?Seeking Men and Women to participate in a research study at the

University of Maryland & Veterans affairs of Baltimore to betterunderstand balance and the prevention of falls in aging individuals.

you will receive:• Health evaluation

• Balance, step, strength, and/or flexibility exercises• Compensation for your time

If interested call: 410-605-7179 & Mention code: LIFTBaltimore VA/University of Maryland Gerontology Recruitment Line

*You must be at least 65 years old and in good health*Participants will be seen at the Baltimore VA Medical Center and

University of Maryland School of Medicine *You will attend approximately 41 visits for 1 to 4 hours of time per visit

CaLL Today!

By Jim MillerDear Savvy Senior:

What can you tell me about clinicaltrials and how to go about finding one?My wife has a chronic condition, andwe’re interested in trying anythingthat may be able to help her.

— Looking For HelpDear Looking:

Each year, hundreds of thousands ofAmericans participate in clinical trials inhopes of gaining access to the latest, andpossibly greatest, but not-yet-on-the-mar-ket treatments for all types of illnesses.

But you need to be aware that clinicaltrials can vary greatly in what they’re de-signed to do, so be careful to choose onethat can actually benefit your wife.

Here’s what you should know, alongwith some tips for locating one.

A clinical trial is the scientific term for atest or research study of a drug, device ormedical procedure using people. These tri-als — sponsored by drug companies, doc-tors, hospitals and the federal government— are conducted to learn whether a newtreatment is safe and if it works.

But keep in mind that these new treat-ments are also unproven, so there may berisks, too.

Also be aware that all clinical trials havecertain eligibility criteria (age, gender,

health status, etc.) that your wife mustmeet in order to be accepted. And beforetaking part in a trial, she’ll be asked to signan informed consent agreement. She canalso leave a study at any time.

What to askBefore deciding to participate in a trial,

you and your wife need to first discuss itwith her doctor. Then, schedule an appoint-ment with the study’s medical team and asklots of questions. Here are some to get youstarted.

• What’s the purpose of the study andcan it improve your wife’s condition? Youmay be surprised to know that many drugor procedural trials are not designed tofind a cure or improve a patient’s health,but only to provide scientific data.

• What are the risks? Some treatmentscan have side effects that are unpleasant,serious and even life threatening.

• What kinds of tests and treatmentsdoes the study involve, and how often andwhere they are performed?

• Is the experimental treatment in thestudy being compared with a standardtreatment or a placebo?

• Who’s paying for the study? Will youhave any costs, and if so, will your insur-ance plan or Medicare cover the rest?Sponsors of trials generally pay most of

the costs, but not always.• What if something goes wrong during

or after the trial and your wife needs extramedical care? Who pays?

• If the treatment works, can your wifekeep using it after the study?

How to find a trialEvery year, there are more than 100,000

clinical trials conducted in the U.S. Youcan find them at condition-focused organi-zations like the American Cancer Societyor the Alzheimer’s Association, or by ask-ing her doctor.

Or use the National Institutes of Heath’swebsite at www.clinicaltrials.gov. This sitecontains a comprehensive database of fed-erally and privately supported clinical

studies in the U.S. and abroad on a widerange of diseases and conditions. You’llfind information about each trial’s pur-pose, who may participate, locations, andphone numbers for more details.

If, however, you don’t have Internet accessor could use some help finding the right trial,contact the Center for Information and Studyon Clinical Research Participation. This is anonprofit organization that will take yourwife’s information over the phone and do athorough search of clinical trials for you, andmail or email you the results in a few days.Call 1-877-633-4376 for assistance. You canalso find them online at www.ciscrp.org.

Jim Miller is a contributor to theNBC Today show and author of “The SavvySenior” book.

Consider this before entering clinical trial B A L T I M O R E B E A C O N — D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 13

By Suzy CohenDear Pharmacist:

I take a water pill (diuretic) for bloodpressure. Now, my doctor says I haveto take Boniva for osteopenia. Is therea connection? What’s next for me?

— H.J.Dear H.J.:

Oh yes, definitely connected! I don’tmean to be crass, but your diuretic makesyou lose water volume (the point). But withevery bathroom trip, you pee out minerals!

Many people are saying “Aha” now, be-cause you started out taking a blood pres-sure med, then at some point, you wereprescribed a bone building drug for osteo-porosis.

Often, you’ll find that each drug you takecreates a side effect calling for another drug.

I’ll share my side effect solutions withyou because I realize you have to (or wantto) take your prescription medications.

You’ve asked, “What’s next for me?” De-pending on the specific diuretic you take,

you may eventually need an antidepressant,something for leg cramps, and maybe tinni-tus (ear ringing). You may also need a drugfor heart arrhythmias — all just to counterthe mineral and electrolyte deficiencies thatresult from the “drug mugging” effect ofdrug number 1, your blood pressure drug!

Shocked? When side effects due to nu-trient depletion by a drug (drug mugging)are not recognized, you’ll get a new ‘dis-ease’ and a new medication for it.

This year, an estimated 163,000 peoplewill suffer memory loss (perhapsAlzheimer’s) due to various prescriptiondrugs that mug brain nutrients. About61,000 people will hear the words “Parkin-son’s disease,” but won’t realize it was drug-induced.

Another 32,000 of you will suffer a hipfracture from a drug-induced fall, and almost8,000 people will die from internal bleedingcaused by over-the-counter non-steroidalanti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs.

This gets me fired up! It’s why I wroteDrug Muggers (Rodale 2011) for you, be-cause 75 percent of doctor’s office visitsend with the physician giving you a pre-scription for a medication — and you needme to protect you!

I’ll email you a longer version of this ar-ticle with more side effect solutions if yousign up for my free newsletter at my web-

site, www.dearpharmacist.com. In the meantime, here are several side

effect solutions to ask your practitioner(s)about. Don’t make changes without yourphysician’s approval:

Parsley or dandelion: These are gen-tler diuretics, less likely to cause the harshdepletion of minerals; also less likely tocause dehydration in low doses.

Marshmallow root: Bisphosphonatedrugs for bones can irritate the esophagusin sensitive folks. Marshmallow root orslippery elm tea soothe and protect youresophageal tract.

Green foods and supplements: Thinkof spinach, kale, spirulina or chlorophyllsupplements, or wheatgrass shots. Theseare full of minerals to restore what the drugmugger (diuretic blood pressure pill) is tak-ing from you. Take me seriously, mineraldeficiency leads to heart beat irregularities,faintness, dizziness and depression.

Coconut water: Unsweetened, unheat-ed coconut water will restore electrolytesif you have to take diuretics or lisinopril, apopular blood pressure drug.

This information is opinion only. It is notintended to treat, cure or diagnose your con-dition. Consult with your doctor before usingany new drug or supplement.

Suzy Cohen is a registered pharmacist, atwww.dearpharmacist.com.

Many meds deplete important nutrients14 Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 — B A L T I M O R E B E A C O N

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Dear Solutions: I am in charge of Thanksgiving

every year, and I alwayshave the whole family here.

My two daughters havealways gotten along. Myolder daughter remarriedthis past year, and, unfor-tunately, my two sons-in-law who are in competingbusinesses are in what Iwould call a feud aboutsomething that happened.

When they’re together,they argue constantly overeverything, even the foot-ball teams they support — and it seemsthere’s always a football game to watchduring the holiday. My daughters stayout of the arguing because they reallylove each other and love to get together.

What can I do about these guys sothey won’t spoil the day? — UpsetDear Upset:

Uh oh, here comes Thanksgiving, andhere, in your case, come the three Fs —food, football and feud.

Hopefully your daughters, since they

get along, will have some influence ontheir husbands.

To help your sons-in-law re-frain from spoiling the day foreveryone, I would also sug-gest that you call each ofthem separately and, withouttaking sides in their argu-ment, tell them you are count-ing on them, as you are oneveryone who is invited, tohelp make the day a success.

Then put a big sign on youroutside door that they will seeas they enter. It should say“Food, friends, football wel-

come inside: Feuds must be left on thedoorstep and may, if necessary, be pickedup on the way out. No exceptions!!”Dear Solutions:

Every time one of my kids or closerelatives has a problem and tells meabout it, I start worrying and can’t stop.I console them the best I can, and thenwhen I don’t hear from them for a while,I just keep worrying over and overabout what will happen. The same thinghappens when it’s my own problems.

How do I stop being a worrier?— Hilda

Dear Hilda: OK, so you’re a worrier. First, stop wor-

rying about it. It keeps you from movingon, so accept that about yourself and thenfocus on what you can do about it.

After you’ve consoled your kids andthen don’t hear from them, I’ll bet they’vesolved their problem and have moved on,while you leave yourself stuck in the sameplace. So, until you hear from them again,assume they’ve solved their problem.

When you’re stuck worrying about aproblem of your own, try removing your-self. Step back and visualize a friend ask-ing your advice about that problem. Whatwould you tell her/him?

Also, when you’re feeling very nervous,try deep breathing. Take a deep breath,hold it for a count of four, release it slowlythrough your mouth and repeat.

And each time the worrying starts andyou haven’t found a solution, take a timeout. Actually say the words out loud —“time out” — and watch a movie, read abook, anything that will engage your mind,

After you’ve done all this, please tell mehow it has worked. If I don’t hear from you,I’ll worry.

© Helen Oxenberg, 2013. Questions to beconsidered for this column may be sent to:The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring,MD 20915. You may also email the authorat [email protected]. To inquire aboutreprint rights, call (609) 655-3684.

Tamp down family feuds at Thanksgiving

SOLUTIONSBy Helen Oxenberg,MSW, ACSW


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By Jill SchlesingerEvery few months, I like to empty out

the inbox, which has definitely piled up re-cently. This month and next, I will answera variety of your questions.

As a reminder, if you have a financialquestion or a comment about a column,send it to: [email protected]. If youwould like to be a guest on my syndicatedradio show, call 1-855-411-JILL.Q. I have three young grandchildren,

and my broker suggested that I open529 college savings accounts for them.Although I live in New York, he has rec-ommended a plan from Rhode Island. When I saved for my own kids, I

used custodial accounts, so I am notas familiar with a 529. Is there anyreason that I would use a Rhode Is-land 529 versus one from New York?

— DeliaA. 529 plans are operated through states

and allow you to save for higher educationin a tax-effective way. Here’s how theywork: You invest an after-tax dollar into a529, and then choose from a variety of in-vestment options, which usually include dif-ferent kinds of mutual funds.

The money grows without any current tax-ation, and when the child is ready to attendcollege, it can be withdrawn on a tax-freebasis to pay for qualified education expenses.

While I agree with the advice to estab-lish a 529 plan as the college savings vehi-cle, it makes little sense for you to use aplan from Rhode Island. The main reasonis that, as a New York resident, you wouldbe missing a great opportunity.

Some states, like New York., offer spe-cial state tax benefits to residents. NewYork allows for a state income tax deduc-tion of up to $5,000 per year by an individ-ual, and up to $10,000 by a married couplefiling jointly. (Only contributions made bythe account owner, or if filing jointly, by theaccount owner’s spouse, are deductible). [Editor’s Note: In Maryland, each ac-

count holder can deduct up to $2,500 of con-tributions each year per beneficiary. Account owners who are District of Co-

lumbia taxpayers may deduct up to $4,000in plan contributions each year on theirD.C. tax return (up to $8,000 for marriedcouples filing jointly, if both taxpayers ownan account and make contributions). Virginia 529 account owners who are

Virginia taxpayers may deduct contributionsup to $4,000 per account per year.]

Perhaps you are wondering why onearth your broker would suggest theRhode Island plan. The most likely answeris that the Rhode Island plan would payhim a commission. You can research 529plans at www.savingforcollege.com.Q. I offered to help my son and his

wife with the down payment on theirhome. When they went through themortgage application process, thebank asked for my bank statement. Is that customary? I don’t feel comfort-

able sending the details of my finances.— John

A. The mortgage process has changeddramatically since the housing boom andbust. Not only do borrowers have to pro-vide lots of information, but when a gift isinvolved, the lender is likely to ask for adonor letter/affidavit and could requirethe donor’s account statements to verifythe source of funds.

According to mortgage brokers, this newtwist has more to do with rules to preventmoney laundering than for underwriting pur-poses. Bottom line: If you want to help your

kids, you need to comply with the new rules.Q. I have run the numbers and have

determined that with my pension and re-tirement savings, I can probably retire asearly as age 55, though I was planning tokeep working until 59 1/2 so I could tapmy 401(k) account without penalties. Recently, a co-worker told me that I

could use something called Rule 72-Tto get the money earlier. Is that true?

— JeromeA. IRS Rule 72(t) allows for penalty-free

withdrawals from a retirement account be-fore age 59 1/2, as long as distributions aremade as part of a series of substantially equalperiodic payments over your life expectancy.

The account owner must take at leastfive substantially equal periodic payments,and the amount depends on the accountowner’s life expectancy (as calculated withvarious IRS-approved methods).

If you want to take advantage of Rule72(t), you must separate from service withthe employer maintaining the plan beforethe payments begin.

Keep those questions coming, readers. Ienjoy hearing from you!© 2013 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

Helping with kids’ and grandkids’ finances

16 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com DECEMBER 2 0 1 3 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

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We have now passed the fifth anniver-sary of the financial crisis, which testedevery investor in America —from neophytes to the mostjaded traders on Wall Street.

As Chicago Mayor RahmEmanuel once said, “Younever want a serious crisis togo to waste. And what I meanby that is an opportunity to dothings you think you couldnot do before.”

While Emanuel was talkingabout politics, I think we canapply his statement to in-vestor behavior leading up to and duringthe financial crisis.

With five years of distance from the eyeof the storm, here is my list of the top fivelessons every investor can take away:1. Keep cool: There are two emotions

that influence our financial lives: fear andgreed. At market tops, greed kicks in, andwe tend to assume too much risk. Con-versely, when the bottom falls out, feartakes over and makes us want to selleverything and hide under the bed.

If you had sold all of your stocks duringthe first week of the crisis in September 2008,you would have been shielded from another40+ percent in further losses (stocks bot-tomed out in March 2009).

But how would you have known when toget back in? It is highly doubtful that most in-vestors would have had the guts to buy whenit seemed like stock indexes were hurtlingtowards zero! Yet, stocks are now up close to150 percent since the March 2009 lows.2. Maintain a diversified portfo-

lio...and don’t forget to rebalance. One ofthe best ways to prevent emotional swingsis to create and adhere to a diversifiedportfolio that spreads out your risk across

different asset classes, such as stocks,bonds, cash and commodities.

In September 2008, a clientshrieked to me that “everythingis going down!” But that was notexactly the case: this person’s 10percent allocation in cash wasjust fine, as was her 30 percentholding in government bonds.

That did not mean that thestock and commodities posi-tions were doing well, butoverall, the client was in farbetter shape because sheowned more than risky assets.

3. Maintain a healthy emergency re-serve fund. Bad luck can occur at anytime. One great lesson of the crisis is thatthose who had ample emergency reservefunds — six to 12 months of expenses forthose who were employed, and 12 to 24months for those who were retired — hadmany more choices than those who did not.

While a large cash cushion seems like awaste to some (“it’s not earning anything!”),it allowed many people to refrain from sell-ing assets at the wrong time and/or from in-vading retirement accounts.

Side note: The home equity lines ofcredit on which many relied for emer-gency reserves vanished during the crisis.4. Put down 20 percent for a mort-

gage (and try to stick to plain vanilla homeloans, like 15- or 30-year fixed rate mort-gages, unless you really understand whatyou are doing!)

Flashback to 2004-’07, and you will like-ly recall that you or someone you knewwas buying a home or refinancing withsome cockamamie loan that had “features”that allowed borrowers to put down about3 cents worth of equity.

There’s a good reason that old rules of

thumb work. Yes, Virginia, house pricescan go down. And despite the recovery,please shun the advice from so-called ex-perts like Suze Orman, who are once againsaying that 10 percent down is just fine.5. Understand what is in your target

date fund: Pre-crisis, many investors hadstarted to use funds in which the fund man-ager “targets” your future date of retirementand adjusts the allocation as you near thetime that you will need to access the money.

Unfortunately, many of these funds

were far riskier than investors understood.Whether it’s a target date fund or an age-based investment for your kid’s collegefund, be sure to check out the risk level.

Living through a crisis is never easy, solet’s try to at least learn from it!Jill Schlesinger, CFP, is the Senior Busi-

ness Analyst for CBS News, a former optionstrader and CIO of an investment advisoryfirm. She welcomes comments and questionsat [email protected].© 2013 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

Investor lessons from the financial crisisBA L T IMORE B E A CON — D E C EMBER 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money 17

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RETIRE SMARTBy Jill Schlesinger

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By Elliot RaphaelsonBond funds and individual bonds have

not done well this year. Many investment advisors have consis-

tently urged clients to maintain a commonstock/bond ratio of 60/40. Some recom-mend that retirees adjust the percentageof their portfolio invested in bonds tomatch their age. For example, hold 65 per-cent in bonds if you are 65, 70 percent ifyou are 70, and so on.

Up until this year, investors who fol-

lowed this advice would have done well. In2013, however, most bond investors, espe-cially those with a high proportion of theirholdings in long-term or intermediate-term bonds, have seen a negative return.This was so even for investors with hold-ings in Treasury bonds and investment-grade bonds.

It’s true that investors in high-yield (so-called “junk”) bonds have shown a positivereturn this year. The reason is because thereis a high correlation between these bonds

and the stock market, and this has been avery good year for the stock market.

The reason most bond investors havebeen hurt this year is the rise in interestrates. When interest rates increase, thevalue of bonds fall.

Longer-term bonds fall in value by high-er percentages than intermediate-termand short-term bonds when rates increase.This is true even for Treasury bonds,backed by the full faith and credit of theU.S. government. This is known as inter-est-rate risk.

Some bonds rise with ratesThere is one category of bonds that re-

tain their value when interest rates in-crease: floating-rate bonds. Interest rateson these bonds are adjusted periodically(generally 30, 60 or 90 days) to a pre-deter-mined formula using rates such as LIBOR(London Interbank Offered Rate) or theFederal Funds rate.

Financial institutions protect themselveswhen they lend money by utilizing a vari-able interest rate rather than a fixed rate.When interest rates increase, the banks in-crease the rate that borrowers pay.

Loans based on variable interest ratesare packaged and offered to mutual fundsthat offer them to investors. Investors whopurchase these floating-rate bond funds

are not subject to interest-rate risk. (Theyare subject to other risks, which I will dis-cuss in a moment.)

Therefore, in periods when interestrates are expected to increase, floating-rate funds become more popular.

In 2013, investors in these bonds gener-ally had a positive return on their invest-ment. For example, the Fidelity FloatingRate High Income Fund (FFRHX), whichreceives a four-star rating from Morn-ingstar, had a year-to-date return of 2.27percent, as of September 2013. (This com-pares favorably to most bond funds, manyof which had losses exceeding 2 percent.)

Still some risksWhat are the risks associated with float-

ing-rate bonds? One important one is cred-it risk. This is the risk that the payer of in-terest will default.

Regarding floating-rate bond funds, theinterest is being paid by bank customerstaking out loans. The magnitude of creditrisk is much greater than it is with a Treas-ury fund or a high-quality corporate bondfund. The credit risk is equivalent to thatassociated with a junk bond fund.

Vanguard has issued an excellent“Primer on Floating-Rate Bond Funds,”

Got bonds? Consider floating-rate funds18 Law & Money | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com DECEMBER 2 0 1 3 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

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By Jeff BertolucciSecurity experts tell us to create long,

complex passwords (think numerals andsymbols) for every online account. Buthow are we supposed to remember all ofthose mind-numbing character strings?

Fortunately, there is software that man-ages your passwords for you. These pro-grams allow you to store your passwordsin one file by creating one ultra-securemaster password to serve as the portal toall your other user names and passwords.

Here are three of our favorites:

Dashlane This is an excellent choice for the pass-

word-challenged. Not only is it highly se-cure, but it’s also a breeze to use. Dash-lane (www.dashlane.com) is a free down-load for Windows and Mac PCs and mostsmartphones and tablets.

Enter a master password (be sure to re-member it because Dashlane doesn’t saveit) and the app automatically encrypts yourpasswords and other private informationusing military-grade AES-256 encryption,which has never been hacked.

Dashlane imports new and existingpasswords from your Web browser into its

“vault.” The program can remember yourshipping and credit card information, aswell as auto-fill online checkout screens.

Dashlane also works within your Webbrowser to monitor your online activities.When you log in to your online email, forinstance, Dashlane pops up and askswhether it should save your user nameand password.

Plus, it rates the strength of your exist-ing passwords (and tells you if they shouldbe changed), and it generates strong pass-words for new sites that you join.

If you signed up for two-step verificationusing Google Authenticator (you need acode generated by an app in addition toyour password), you may continue to use it.

LastPassThis is another top-notch free password

manager. Like Dashlane, LastPass (www.last-pass.com) prompts you to create a masterpassword, integrates with the browser, de-tects when you log in to password-protectedsites, and asks whether you want it to remem-ber log-in information.

It also generates strong passwords fornew sites and auto-fills credit card andshipping information. Unlike Dashlane,

however, LastPass doesn’t rate thestrength of existing passwords.

LastPass stores your data online, whichlets you access your credit card numbers

from any Web browser. (The downside:You may be uncomfortable with having

Let software remember passwords for you

written by Donald G. Bennyhoff and YanZilbering. It’s available online, and it dis-cusses in depth the advantages and disad-vantages of this type of investment.

For example, the authors explain thatinvestors should also be aware of inflationrisk. Even though floating-rate bond fundsmay provide a positive return, the returnsmay not keep pace with inflation.

On a long-term basis, you may obtainhigher returns with a balanced fund or tar-get fund, both of which have a significantpercentage of holdings in common stocks,which should provide better inflation pro-tection.

Another issue for those interested infloating-rate bond funds is timing. Al-though these funds provide positive re-

turns during periods of increasing interestrates, it is not that easy to predict whenrates will increase or decrease. As we haveseen this year, it is not easy to predict thepolicies of the Federal Reserve from oneannouncement to the next.

Investors who are very concernedabout capital preservation and need in-come can consider some investment infloating-rate bond funds.

However, taking into consideration otherrisks associated with the product, I don’t be-lieve this type of investment should be a sig-nificant part of your overall portfolio. Theymake the most sense if you want to retainsome bonds in your portfolio, but want to re-duce your exposure to interest-rate risk.Elliot Raphaelson welcomes your questions

and comments at [email protected].© 2013 Elliot Raphaelson. Distributed by

Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

BA L T IMORE B E A CON — D E C EMBER 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money 19

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By Kimberly LankfordQ. I received an email telling me I

need to buy a health insurance cardthat shows I have coverage underObamacare or I will have to pay apenalty. The email looked legitimate,but it asked for my credit card num-ber. Is it a scam?A. Yes. Although the Affordable Care

Act requires people to have health insur-ance in 2014 or pay a penalty, there is nospecial card to buy.

This is just one of the many ways thatcrooks are trying to take advantage of mis-conceptions and misinformation so thatthey can get your credit card number,bank-account information or cash.

Here are a couple of other scams towatch out for:• The Medicare-card scam. The

healthcare law will make few changes toMedicare in 2014, but scam artists are in-voking Obamacare as a scare tactic.

One woman in San Diego received a call

from a person claiming to be fromMedicare who said she needed a newMedicare card because of Obamacare andasked for her personal information andchecking-account number. (He alreadyhad her name and address.) The womanwas told that her Medicare benefits wouldstop if she didn’t provide the information.

She became suspicious and contactedthe California Senior Medicare Patrol, oneof 54 programs throughout the countrythat work with the U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services to fightMedicare-related fraud.

Not only does the new healthcare lawnot require you to get a new Medicare orhealthcare card, but Medicare will never,ever call you. Instead, like the IRS,Medicare will contact you about any per-sonal issues through the mail.

You can call 1-800-633-4227 or go toMedicare.gov for more information, or

Obamacare scams targeting older adults20 Law & Money | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com DECEMBER 2 0 1 3 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

See SCAMS, page 21

LEGAL SERVICES FOR SENIORSThe Legal Services for Senior Citizens Program provides free legal

assistance, consultation and/or representation to seniors 60 or older on health-

care issues, income maintenance, nutrition, housing and utilities, protective serv-

ices and unemployment benefits, and will assist in helping a senior in a lawsuit

when there is substantial risk to the client’s person, property or civil rights. Call

the Maryland Senior Legal Helpline at (410) 951-7750.

JEWISH LEGAL SERVICES PROVIDES AID Volunteer lawyers with Jewish Legal Aid Services provide pro-bono

legal consultation at a monthly drop-in clinic for Jewish communi-

ty members with low income. For more information, contact Jewish Community

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BEACON BITS

Ongoing

Ongoing

contact the Senior Medicare Patrol in yourstate (www.smpresource.org). • Fake navigators and exchange

sites. The U.S. Department of Health andHuman Services awarded $67 million ingrants to community organizations to helppeople sign up for coverage through thenew healthcare exchanges (also calledmarketplaces).

Now scam artists are posing as thesecommunity “navigators” and saying thatthey’ll sign you up for coverage if you sendthem or wire them a few hundred dollarsto get started, said Emily Peters, of PatientFusion, which provides medical recordsand health spending tools to consumers.

Legitimate navigators will not cold-callyou or send you an e-mail. To find a legiti-mate navigator in your area through yourstate’s exchange, go to the “How do I gethelp enrolling in the marketplace?” fact

sheet at Healthcare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596 for more information and resources.Q. Does the new healthcare law pro-

hibit medigap insurers from denyingcoverage or raising rates because ofhealth?A: No. Even though starting in 2014

most health insurers won’t be able to re-ject applicants or charge them more be-cause of their health, the new law doesn’tapply to Medicare supplement policies(often called medigap).

You can buy any medigap policy regard-less of your health within six months ofsigning up for Medicare Part B. But afterthat initial enrollment period, insurers canreject you or charge higher rates becauseof a medical condition.

There are some exceptions. For exam-ple, you may qualify for medigap coveragewithout medical underwriting if you are ina Medicare Advantage plan that discontin-ues operations, or if you move out of thatplan’s service area. A few companies will

let you switch from one version of medigapcoverage to another without new medicalunderwriting, especially if you’re switch-ing to a plan with more cost-sharing —such as to the high-deductible Plan F orPlan N.

If your medigap premiums increase signif-icantly, try applying for a new medigap poli-cy, even if you have minor health issues. Itgenerally takes about 60 days for a medigappolicy to go through medical underwriting,but some companies will process the policyin 15 to 30 days, said Eric Maddux, seniorMedicare adviser for eHealthMedicare,which provides price quotes and sells poli-cies from many companies.

If you can’t qualify for a new policy, an-other option is to switch from medigap toan all-in-one Medicare Advantage policyduring open-enrollment season, whichruns from October 15 to December 7. AnyMedicare beneficiary can buy a MedicareAdvantage plan during that time, regard-less of his or her health. These policies

provide both medical and prescription-drug coverage from a private insurer.

But keep in mind that Medicare Advan-tage policies tend to have restrictiveprovider networks (make sure your doc-tors, hospitals and pharmacies are includ-ed), and you could have a tough time find-ing in-network providers if you travel a lot.

They also tend to have more cost-shar-ing than medigap plans, so while yourmonthly premiums may be lower, you mayhave more out-of-pocket costs throughoutthe year. And if you change your mindlater and decide to switch back fromMedicare Advantage to a medigap plan,you could be rejected because of yourhealth.Kimberly Lankford is a contributing edi-

tor to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance maga-zine and the author of Ask Kim for MoneySmart Solutions (Kaplan, $18.95). Sendyour questions and comments to [email protected]. © 2013 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

BA L T IMORE B E A CON — D E C EMBER 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money 21

your sensitive personal data stored in thecloud.) The app also supports Google Au-thenticator.

KeeperIf all you want is a free password manager

and little more, Keeper (www.keepersecuri-ty.com) is appealing. Like its competitors, theapp uses bulletproof AES-256 encryption.The app supports two-step verification, but itdoesn’t rate the strength of your passwords.Jeff Bertolucci is a freelance writer for

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. © 2013 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

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ENERGY

ASSISTANCE

FORMS AVAILABLE

Do you want to save money on your

BG&E bill? Energy Assistance forms

are available on the Resource Wall at

the Arbutus Senior Center, 855A

Sulphur Spring Rd. or call BGE at 1-

800-685-0123.

HAVE A WILD TIME

AT THE ZOO

Taking care of the an-

imals may seem like the only glam-

orous job, but volunteers at the Balti-

more Zoo can be superstars by doing

all sorts of work, from keeping gar-

dens beautiful, to helping zoo staff

stay ahead of the paperwork, to lead-

ing tours or more. To learn more,

email [email protected] or

call (443) 552-5266.

BEACON BITS

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• Catonsville 410-719-9464

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• Miramar Landing 410-391-8375

• Randallstown 410-655-5673

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• Taylor 410-663-0363

• Towson 410-828-7185

• Woodlawn 410-281-1120

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• Bel Air 410-893-0064

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By Carol SorgenSandra Erbe was unfamiliar with the

Baltimore Station until two years ago,when she was asked to donate one of herpaintings to the organization’s annual “re-stART with ART” fundraising event. Now Erbe is the volunteer chair of the

nonprofit’s fund development and commu-nications committee, spending about 10hours a month in support of its mission to“turn lives around.”The Baltimore Station is a therapeutic

residential treatment program supportingveterans and others who are committed tomoving from poverty, addiction and home-lessness to self-sufficiency. (Of the 408,000+homeless in this country, approximately 35percent are veterans.)In addition to being a contemporary ab-

stract artist, Erbe professionally serves asdirector of marketing and communicationsfor Habitat for Humanity of the Chesa-peake. She prefers not to give her age, butdoes have vivid memories of Vietnam vet-erans returning home, and the lack of re-spect with which they were met. “I didn’t support the war, but I always re-

spected our veterans,” she said. Future

generations of veterans haven’t had it anyeasier, said Erbe, and among the generalpublic, there doesn’t seem to be muchawareness of what these former soldiershave gone through — and continue to gothrough once they return home.That’s where the Baltimore Station

comes in. Over the past 25 years, the or-ganization has transformed from a smallgroup of citizens who assisted the home-less in South Baltimore into a 144-bed ther-apeutic residential treatment program.

Combating PTSDAbout 80 percent of the residents are

veterans, and many of them suffer fromthe effects of combat, including post-trau-matic stress disorder. They often turnedto drugs to cope with the trauma they ex-perienced. “The cycle can spin out of control, lead-

ing to poverty, estrangement and home-lessness,” said Erbe, who notes that herown brother-in-law suffered from the earlystages of PTSD when he returned fromVietnam. It takes a highly structured environ-

ment to break that cycle, and most of the

staff at the Baltimore Station are in recov-ery themselves; half are also veterans.They like to say that recovery is not a“quick fix,” but “a long, tough war.”In the first month of the 18-

month program, residentslearn to “sit still.” They at-tend counseling sessions,drug and alcohol education,and acupuncture treatmentto assist with withdrawalsymptoms. In months two tosix, they focus on life skillssuch as job readiness, budg-eting, education and house-hold responsibilities.Months six to 12 are a

transition period, during which residentsare allowed to live with minimal supervi-

22 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com DECEMBER 2 0 1 3 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

CareersVolunteers &

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Volunteers help turn vets’ lives around

Sandra Erbe volunteers withthe Baltimore Station, a res-idential treatment programfor veterans who are home-less and/or addicted todrugs. The nonprofit organi-zation is seeking volunteersto help with an array ofjobs, from carpentry tofundraising.

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Does your organization use senior volunteers

or do you employ a number of seniors?If you do and you’d like to be considered for a story in ourVolunteers & Careers section,

please send an email [email protected].

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sion, go to school or work, apply life skills,save money, repair relationships, incorpo-rate relapse-prevention strategies andmentor others.Finally, after 18 months in the program,

most residents are living independently,employed and/or enrolled in college.The program has many success stories

to its credit. Take Paul, who now works asa therapy case manager — and role model— for other residents at the Baltimore Sta-tion. For 33 years, drugs ruled Paul’s life. Al-

though gainfully employed as a chef formore than two decades, the bulk of hissalary went toward buying and usingdrugs, a lifestyle that took a toll on hishealth, eventually leading him to undergoopen-heart surgery.While hospitalized, Paul was evicted

from his home and returned to find hispossessions on the curb. When he saw hisbirth certificate floating down the street inthe pouring rain, he realized it was time tochange.Since entering the program, Paul re-

turned to school, earned his GED, gradu-ated summa cum laude with a BS in addic-tions counseling, and earned a master’s ineducation from Coppin State University in2012. He is a member of Chi Sigma Iota,Psi Chi and Pi Gamma Mu honors organi-zations and was awarded the Rehabilita-tion Counseling Program Award (2013)and Dean of Graduate Studies Award(2013) for his academic accomplishments.

“The Baltimore Station taught me totake personal responsibility for my life andto change my life,” Paul said.

Many volunteer needsThe Baltimore Station has an ongoing

need for volunteers who can help in a num-ber of ways, such as sharing their talentsand skills. For example, experienced painters and

carpenters are needed to keep the facilitiesin top shape for residents, graphic design-ers to assist with creating promotional ma-terials, and experts to lead educational ses-sions with its residents.Other volunteers may host a fundraising

event at their church, school, business orsocial club. Some — like Erbe — serve ona committee (in addition to fund develop-ment and communications, there is anevents committee and a facilities commit-tee), while others serve and supply mealsor offer expertise in counseling, health-re-lated issues, education and spiritual en-

richment.Of her decision to become a volunteer

with the Baltimore Station, Erbe said,“With such a compelling mission, how

could I not help?” For more information on volunteer op-

portunities at the Baltimore Station, call(410) 752-4454.

B A L T IMORE B E A CON — D E C EMBER 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Volunteers & Careers 23

Balitmore StationFrom page 22

ACT LOCALLY AND MAKE A DIFFERENCEGLOBALLY

Ten Thousand Villages at 1621Thames St. is looking for individualswho are supportive of fair trade andinterested in assisting artisans inother countries. Volunteers work inthe retail store to explain the missionof Ten Thousand Villages to cus-tomers, arrange merchandise, re-stock, clean, unpack shipments, greetcustomers and assist them in makingtheir selections. Volunteers are askedto assist for 4 hours at a time. Formore information, visit http://balti-more.tenthousandvillages.com.

ACTIVITY VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT AT CHARLESTOWN

Spend time assisting residents inCharlestown’s skilled nursing and as-sisted living facilities with various ac-tivities such as bowling, bingo,crafts, storytelling, cards, checkersand more. Charlestown is located at715 Maiden Choice Ln. inCatonsville. For more information,visit www.ericksonretirement.com orcall (800) 917-8649.

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

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I’m here for you.I’m here for you.

7 2 5 M O U N T W I L S O N L A N E P I K E S V I L L E , MA RYL A N D 2 1 2 0 8 ( 4 1 0 ) 4 8 6 - 9 0 9 0

Vi s i t o u r we b s i te at www.Nor thOaksLCS.com

When you live in this senior living community, you’ll

enjoy a close connection with staff members whose

work and wishes are to connect you to the best in life.

Please call (410) 486-9090 to learn more.

“Your roadmap to the right health care is me.”

Diane Witles, R.N., health care navigator, has been helping residents of North Oaks live independently for as long as they can since she started here 22 years ago. Like other staff, she knows everyone by name – and most of their family members as well. If someone needs medication reminders, immunizations or consultation with a physician, they turn to her. Diane is often the fi rst to pick up on a resident’s changing health needs. Perhaps you should be living at the address where she works.

24 Volunteers & Careers | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com DECEMBER 2 0 1 3 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

You’re on top of your medications.But we make a good back up.You know it’s important to stay on your medications exactly as prescribed. However, if you miss a dose, want a lower-cost alternative, or experience any side effects, we can answer any questions. Speak to your local CVS Pharmacist to learn more.

Find a store near you at www.cvs.com

014331RXX11

BA L T IMORE B E A CON — D E C EMBER 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon 25

TravelLeisure &TravelLeisure &

Things you need to know before rentinga car in Europe. See article on page 27.

By Glenda C. Booth“Pardon me. You did what?” asked an in-

credulous friend. “I caught crocodiles,” I replied coolly,

when asked about my two-week Earth-watch volunteer expedition studying theNile crocodile in Botswana’s OkavangoDelta.

And that’s just one of many things I havedone on vacation.

I have:• Filmed young marmots frolicking in

the French Alps;• Identified dolphins by their dorsal

fins’ nicks and streaks in Greece’sAmvrakikos Gulf;

• Yanked invasive vines from an ancientheiau (temple for women) on Maui;

• Helped band loons wintering in theGulf of Mexico;

• Weighed migrating shorebirds onDelaware Bay;

• Mapped and macheted invasive plantsin the Galapagos Islands; and

• Cleared trails on St. John’s in the Vir-gin Islands National Park.

I’ve tangled with prickly briars, tiptoed

across volcanic crevices, fought off ticksand other clingy critters, been “decorated”with soupy loon feces, evaded hippopota-muses in the moonlight, sweltered underthe Grecian sun, and had an infected toe-nail treated atop a trashcan at a clinic inAfrican bush country.

To me, these were challenging, mind-expanding adventures, and many weretrips of a lifetime.

Volunteer vacationsSome call it voluntourism, volunteering

for conservation or another cause whilevacationing. Others dub it eco-immersionor “citizen science.” Usually, it involvestraveling outside one’s home area andworking with a group under the leadershipof a scientist or other expert.

Most projects do not require subject-matter expertise, as leaders train volun-teers on-site. It’s travel with a purpose, andservice without pay. There’s usually littletime to read a book, sip margaritas, orlounge in a beach chair.

Senior volunteering is rising and is nowat a 10-year high, with one in three people

over age 55 volunteering inthe U.S. or elsewhere.

“More than 20 millionsenior volunteers gave near-ly three billion hours of serv-ice, at a value of $67 billion,”announced the Corporationfor National and CommunityService (CNCS) in May. A2008 CNCS study reportedthat more than 1 million peo-ple volunteered overseas.

Making a differenceMost people say they vol-

unteer for conservation andsimilar projects to do some-thing meaningful, to make adifference.

Conservation-oriented or-ganizations promote ahealthier planet, a more sus-tainable environment. Earth-watch volunteers, for exam-ple, often help scientists col-lect data that informs publicpolicy and advances science.

Vermonter VictoriaKohler, who has gone on 15

Earthwatch expeditions, commented, “Ireally enjoy working with animals, andhope that my efforts will help furtherknowledge about them and maybe evenhelp save them from decline or possibleextinction.”

Part of a conservation project’s missionmight be to help people who live near theproject site. Claudia Seldon, an Earth-watch volunteer and retired nurse fromDetroit, Mich., said, “I’ve always enjoyedmeeting with local people. It’s differentfrom traveling as a tourist. I enjoy givingback to society.”

Conservation projects are usually in out-door settings — nature’s classrooms — inall kinds of weather. Many projects are inremote locations. That attracts Kohler. “Itgets me to unusual and interesting placeswhere the average tourist does not go,”she said.

Many volunteer projects are rich learn-ing experiences. Volunteers gain newknowledge, such as learning about ani-mals and plants, and master new skills, likeusing GPS systems or tools. They oftenhone their observation skills.

For some, volunteering abroad allowsthem to brush up on a foreign language.

On his fifth Earthwatch expedition

studying loons wintering in Louisiana, RonLeMahieu said, “I do it because I’m a frus-trated field biologist. Holding a loon is likeholding the wilderness in your arms.”

Volunteering abroad can also enhanceyour understanding of world events, gen-erate insights into cultural values and as-sumptions, and can bolster respect for dif-ferences.

Volunteer vacations appeal to many peo-ple who love to travel but do not have acompatible or willing traveling companion.Usually, others on the project are like-minded and may be of a similar age. Theother volunteers wouldn’t be there if theydid not have common interests.

Because projects are often “away fromthe headlines” and are hands-on and in thefield, they are a healthy respite from the In-ternet, email, cellphones, television andother technological trappings of today.

Bottom line: They enrich your life.

Tips for choosing tripsExtended volunteering requires

thoughtful planning. “A lot of pitfalls canbe avoided when people research their vol-unteer opportunities well. It helps set the

Voluntourism makes for trips of a lifetime

Earthwatch volunteers near the Arctic Circle in Canada use ground-penetrating radar tocollect data on permafrost and soil for climate change research. An increasing numberof older adults are taking part in volunteer vacations, which offer unique experiencesand allow them to help the environment and communities around the world.

The author, Glenda C. Booth, films marmots in theFrench Alps, on an Earthwatch project.

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volunteers’ expectations,” said GenevieveBrown, executive director of the Interna-tional Volunteer Programs Association.

“Traveling to another country, peoplewill experience some level of cultureshock, so it is important to eliminate a lotof the unknowns that can surround a vol-unteer placement,” Brown added.

Here are some tips:• Understand the physical requirements,

and assess your capabilities realistically. Projects may require backpacking,

walking in muck or over treacherous ter-rain, standing for extended periods orsteady on a boat, getting in and out ofboats, and lifting heavy equipment. Canyou tolerate weather extremes, very hot orvery cold weather?

• Determine your minimal require-ments for sleeping arrangements. Expectfew frills. You may sleep on the ground, oncots, and in sleeping bags, tents or dormi-tories and you’ll likely have a roommate.

• Understand meals. Explain your foodpreferences and allergies ahead of time.You may have kitchen duty.

• Decide if one, two or more weeks aredesirable. Weather can reduce the numberof work days, but there may be indoor worktoo, such as typing data into a computer.

• Understand the costs. Most likely, youwill have to pay for your transportation toand from the site. Understand what’s in-cluded in the organization’s price. Clarifywhat expenses, if any, are tax deductible.

• Understand the insurance provided tovolunteers by the sponsoring organization.Consider travel insurance and extra healthinsurance if leaving the U.S.

• Don’t expect healthcare facilities,medicines or medical personnel like thoseyou have in the U.S.

• Pay close attention to the list of sup-plies recommended. Some projects re-quire specialized gear, like headlamps fornight work. Take every item recommend-ed and don’t over pack, expecting porters.You’ll likely have to lug everything your-self.

• Don’t expect much privacy or freetime. While there’s always some “downtime,” generally, your time will not be yourown.

• If traveling abroad, learn about thecountry beforehand — its governance, poli-tics, cultural factors and restrictions basedon age, gender, gender identity, race, eth-nicity, sexual orientation and religion. Thesponsoring organization can likely connectyou with someone who has been there.

• Don’t expect to save the world. “I think the biggest pitfall for people is

expecting to change the world in the timeof their volunteer placement,” Brown said.“Volunteers should go into their placementwith the attitude of service, but also opento learning and striving to understand.

“The greatest benefit from volunteerservice is the bridge of cross-cultural un-derstanding,” she observed.

Plan thoughtfullyWhile many volunteers come home rav-

ing about the experience of a lifetime, it’s

not for everybody. A woman whose husband of 30 years

asked for a divorce signed up for a trip toEcuador to “get away,” but spent much ofthe two weeks dysfunctional and grieving.Another failed to bring strong hiking bootsand twisted her ankle the second day, dis-abling her and confining her indoors formost of the project.

Most volunteer travel experiences re-quire a tolerant, patient, flexible attitude.Once there, it’s usually hard to leave, soyou have to “stick it out,” whatever the cir-cumstances.

To help you make informed decisionsabout volunteering abroad, check outwww.idealist.org/info/IntlVolunteer orwww.voluntourism.org/traveler-start.html.

Most of all, volunteer travel requires acuriosity, a willing spirit and an open mind.You might learn something new aboutyourself. For many people, it is transforma-tional.

Wit Ostrenko, president of the Museumof Science and Industry in Tampa, Floridafor the last 24 years, found volunteering onEarthwatch’s Gulf of Mexico loon projecthad a profound impact on him.

“This expedition was humbling for me,and it changed my life,” said Ostrenko.“Being part of the Earthwatch volunteerteam allowed me to be a scientist again,and it changed my life as a science center

26 Leisure & Travel | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com DECEMBER 2 0 1 3 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

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VoluntourismFrom page 25

See VOLUNTOURISM, page 27

By Ed PerkinsDon’t ever think you’re too old to rent a

car and drive through Europe. You can’tbeat driving for catching all the interestingsights along the way and enjoying themany — and usually inexpensive — road-side restaurants.

As far as I know, Ireland is the only coun-try in Western Europe where renting a caris difficult or impossible if you’re over 70.

If you’re OK to drive at home — reallyOK, not just barely making it — youshould be OK to drive in Europe. Justmake a few adjustments.

What to rentIf you’re comfortable with a stick shift,

you’ll pay about $50 a week less than you’dpay for an automatic. And you’ll also enjoybetter mileage, although today’s automat-ics do a lot better than they did when Istarted driving in Europe.

The main exceptions: I recommend anautomatic in Britain, where driving on thewrong side of the road takes enough con-centration that you don’t want to add thehassle of shifting — with the shift also onthe wrong side.

I also recommend an automatic when

you plan a lot of mountain driving, where,again, the driving is enough of a challengethat you don’t need to add shifting.

Air conditioning, on the other hand, hasalmost disappeared as a problem. When Istarted renting in Europe, air was availableonly on luxury cars or at a huge price pre-mium on a smaller car.

Now, however, even European second-hand car buyers want air conditioning, soyou find it in most cars — even in com-pacts — in most central and southern Eu-

ropean countries. Get a diesel, if you can; the fuel is usual-

ly cheaper, and you get fantastic mileage.Unfortunately, many companies won’tpromise a diesel, but diesels do make up abig percentage of their fleets.

Weigh where to rentYou’re going to drive through Austria,

so you rent in Austria, right? Not necessar-

How to rent a car and drive it in Europe

president. I was reminded that it’s thedoing that matters, not the talking and theshowing.”

The following organizations offer volun-teer travel opportunities:

• Earthwatch, www.earthwatch.org• Sierra Club, www.sierraclub.org/

outings• Road Scholar, Service Learning,

www.roadscholar.org/programs/srv-clearning.asp

• World Wide Opportunities on Organ-ic Farms, www.wwoof.org

• Biosphere Expeditions (wildlife con-

servation) www.biosphere-expeditions.org• Cross-Cultural Solutions, www.cross-

culturalsolutions.org• Idealist, www.idealist.org• Passport in Time, USDA Forest Serv-

ice, www.passportintime.com/• Wilderness Volunteers, www.wilder-

nessvolunteers.orgFor more organizations offering a range

of volunteer opportunities abroad, visitwww.volunteerinternational.org/mem-berlist.html.

To learn about traveling with minimalimpact on the environment or cultures,visit www.responsible-travel.org.Glenda C. Booth is a travel writer in

Alexandria, Va.

BA L T IMORE B E A CON — D E C EMBER 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel 27

You deserve to be by the glow of a cozy hearth and in the comfort of a warmly appointed private room especially when you’re in

need of rehabilitation or nursing care. Discover The Green House Residences at Stadium Place where

boutique care and comfortable amenities come together.

1010 E. 33rd Street, • Baltimore, MD 21218(410) 554-9890

www.greenhousemd.org

• Private rooms with private European-style bathrooms• Homemade meals with personalized dining options• State of the art technology to maximize mobility & safety• Beautifully maintained open air spaces overlooking the Cal Ripken Youth Development Park (former site of the Memorial Stadium)

(410) 554-9890

VoluntourismFrom page 26

See RENT A CAR, page 29

28 Leisure & Travel | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com DECEMBER 2 0 1 3 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

BA L T IMORE B E A CON — D E C EMBER 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel 29

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ily. Sometimes, renting in a nearby coun-try can cut your bills a lot.

For example, on this trip, I rented inMunich rather than Innsbruck: It’s lessthan two hours away, and German ratesare about $100 a week less than Austrian.

Germany is also sometimes a betterplace to rent than higher-cost Switzerlandand even Northern Italy; France is some-times a practical alternative for Switzer-land or Italy.

Don’t drive an extra day to cut the rentalrate, but if you add only an hour or so, take alook. Also, in many countries, rates at down-town offices are less than those at airports.

When I crossed the border from Austriato Italy, the price of diesel went up from1.40 euros to 1.75 euros. Obviously, I filledup in Innsbruck and won’t fill again until Ireturn to Austria in four days. To play thelow-cost fuel game, check the websitehttp://fuel-prices-europe.info/ for coun-try-by-country price variations.

Where to stayDriving is ideal for seeing the country-

side, so you want to avoid cities as much asyou can. That means finding hotels farenough outside the cities that you haveopen-lot parking next to the hotel.

Even if you want to go into some of thecities, stay on the urban fringe, where youhave a choice of driving into the city whenyou want to or leaving your car at the hoteland hopping a bus, tram or metro.

Expect to make some mistakes. No mat-

ter how skilled a driver you are, driving inEurope is different from driving at home.You will make mistakes — take wrongturns, head into the wrong lanes and such.

I find, especially, that it’s all too easy tofind yourself in a “right turn only” lane be-cause the only marking is an arrow paint-ed in the street when you’re almost intothe intersection. If that happens, turnright, find a place to turn around, and tryagain.

Don’t let it get to you — laugh it off andfigure it’s part of the experience. And ifyou hate to be tailgated, don’t drive in Italy.Send e -ma i l t o Ed P e r k i n s a t

[email protected]. Perkins’ new book forsmall business and independent profession-als, “Business Travel When It’s Your Money,”is now available through www.mybusi-nesstravel.com or www.amazon.com.© 2013 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Rent a carFrom page 27

WASHINGTON HOLIDAY CONCERTJoin Senior Box Office as it travels to Washington, D.C., onSunday, Dec. 8, for a holiday concert by the U.S. Army Band at

DAR Constitution Hall with lunch at Pier 7. Tickets are $65. For reservations, call(410) 882-3797.

PLAY AND SHOP IN DOVER, DELAWAREVictory Villa Senior Center invites you to enjoy Dover Downs,shopping at Christiana Mall, and Delaware Park Casino onMonday and Tuesday, Dec. 9-10. Cost is $139/double. Reserve a

spot by calling (410) 887-0235.

CHRISTMAS IN LANCASTERSee the Christmas Show at American Music Theatre, with a visit tothe National Christmas Center and lunch at Good and Plenty inLancaster, Pa., on Wednesday, Dec. 11. The trip is hosted by Seven

Oaks Senior Center and is $90 per person. Call (410) 887-5192 for reservations.

IT’S A SWEET TRIP TO HERSHEYJoin the Edgemere Senior Center on Friday, Dec. 20, for a guidedtour of Hershey, Pa., including the Milton S. Hershey School, timeon your own at Chocolate World, a ride through Hershey Sweet

Lights, attendance at a Christmas show and lunch, all for $95 per person. Call(410) 477-2141 to reserve a spot.

BEACON BITS

Dec. 8

Dec. 20

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• Emergency Response System• Controlled-Access Entry• Hair Salon• Elevators• Smoke-Free• Small Pets Welcome

Live the carefree life you’ve been waiting for, and let us take care of all the details!

For more information, call410-526-3380

300 Cantata Court • Reisterstown, MD 21136

www.firstcentrumcommunities.com

930 Bay Forest Ct. • Annapolis, MD 21403

410-295-7557

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410-969-2000

Dec. 11

Dec. 9+

By Carol SorgenAt the age of 50, Cherrie Amour feels

that she is finally finding her creativevoice, and it has resulted in the release ofher first book of poetry, Free to Be Me:Poems on Life, Love and Relationships.

“It’s a little scary to be doing this at thisstage of life,” said the Mount Vernon resi-dent, a public relations practitioner by pro-fession, “but maybe I’m finally getting mycourage up.”

Amour, born Cherrie Woods, was firstgiven the moniker that has turned out tobe her nom de plume by her mother. Thename is a take on the 1969 Stevie Wondersong, “My Cherie Amour.” Amour is alsothe French word for love, which is thefocus of much of her writing.

Fascinated by the written word, Amoursaid she’s an avid reader and has been keep-ing written journals since she was in highschool. Indeed, there were so many journalsthat when she moved to Baltimore from De-troit five years ago to take a position with theReginald F. Lewis Museum (she now worksfor Baltimore City), she decided it was timeto thin out the collection a bit —though shecontinues to add to it anew.

While the slim volume of verse is Amour’sfirst written publication, she has also previ-ously released two spoken word CDs,“Love’s Journey” and “ilovemesomewords.”

“My true love, though, is the writtenword,” she said, adding that while she’s“pausing” now between projects, shehopes to write other books in the future,including a guide to self-publishing and abook of short stories.

A poetic memoirFree to Be Me explores Amour’s geo-

graphical and emotional journey fromchildhood to adulthood, and from theCaribbean, where she was born, to Cana-da, Detroit and now Baltimore.

The poems deal with both feelings of aban-donment and the personal remedies she hasdeveloped through the years for healing.

Amour’s poems tell her stories of beingseparated from her parents when she wasjust two years old. They moved to Englandfor their education, leaving Amour and hersiblings with their grandparents, returningto them six years later.

“They had a good reason for leaving,” saidAmour, explaining that educational opportu-

nities were not readily available inthe Caribbean. “But still, for sixyears I didn’t have my parents.

“I was inspired to begin writ-ing this poetic memoir shortlyafter my mother’s passing,” saidAmour, “particularly because wehad worked through many of ourmother/daughter issues causedby my feelings of abandonment.

“It took years for me to fullyaccept my parents’ reasons formaking difficult life choices, andmany more years for me to for-give and heal. I hope my bookwill give readers a point of refer-ence for their own journeys.”

Her poetry also helped Amourcope with the loss of her sister in2004 from lupus-related compli-cations. When her sister died,Amour, who had always soughther advice when it came to loveand relationships, was left againwithout a confidante.

“The writing has been thera-peutic for me,” she said.

And apparently to others as well, saidAmour, who relates that people who havecome to her author appearances have toldher that through her writings they havefelt empowered to confront some of theirown challenges.

Appealing to men and womenWhile Amour expected her audience to

be made up primarily of women, she’s de-veloping quite a male following as well,with one man telling her that it’s not oftenmen can find out what women are thinkingin a “non-combative” way.

“A lot of men say they’re buying thebook for their girlfriends or wives,” Amoursaid, clearly pleased at this unexpected


Arts & Style A festive Lincoln is part of a Civil WarChristmas music show at Center Stage.For more information on this and many more holiday events, see storyon page 31.

TOBY’S DINNER THEATRE OF COLUMBIA • CALL 410-730-8311

OPENING NOVEMBER 15Just in time

for the Holidays!

A Season of Hits at Toby’s Dinner Theatre!

Dinner & Sho wTobysDinnerTheatre.com

RESERVE YOUR SEATS TODAY!

Based on availability. Due to the nature of theatre bookings, all shows,dates and times are subject to change.

11/14/14 - 2/22/159/5/14 - 11/9/146/26/14 - 8/31/143/28/14 - 6/22/141/11/14 - 3/23/14

2014 SUBSCRIPTION PACKAGE • $159 for 4 Tickets - Dinner & ShowCoupon book which includes one FREE adult admission. Good for the first two weeks of the five

2014 shows...plus many more money saving coupons

Holiday Gift Certificates (Valid 1/2/2014 until 3/2/2014)

Children's Gift Certificates & Custom Gift Certificates

A new Baltimore poet finds her voice

Cherrie Amour recently published her first bookof poetry at age 50. Her poems focus on loss,separation and her family.

See POET, page 33

Radio Flea Market

Cars, boats, furniture, antiques, tools, appliancesEverything and anything is sold on

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

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By Carol SorgenFrom musical concerts to theatrical pro-

ductions, Baltimore’s performance venuestake on a holiday air this time of year, sotake out your calendar and start makingplans. It’s going to be a busy season!

“A Civil War Christmas: An Ameri-can Musical Celebration”

Tuesday, Nov. 19 through Sunday, Dec. 22CenterStage, 7 N. Calvert St.www.centerstage.orgPulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula

Vogel looks at Christmas from the long-ago vantage point of the Civil War in a mu-sical production that, in the spirit of theseason, centers on hope and forgiveness.

On a frigid Christmas Eve in 1864 all alongthe Potomac, from the White House to thebattlefields, friends and enemies alike findtheir lives intertwined.

Through both traditional carols and folksongs, this is, according to the New York

B A L T I M O R E B E A C O N — D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style 31

Talking on the phone can be easy again.You have our word.

To learn more, visit mdrelay. org or call 1-800-552-7724 (Voice/TTY).

Using voice recognition technology, a Captioned Telephone operator makes it possible for you to receive on-screen captions of what your caller says as you listen. You may qualify for a Captioned Telephone, ampli�ed phone, or other devices through the Maryland Accessible Telecommunications program at no cost.

Captioned Telephone from Maryland Relay

Word-for-word captions Easy-to-read display Simple to use

For tickets visit the Modell Lyric Box Office (M-F 10a-4p).

410-547-SEATMODELL–LYRIC.COM

Tickets Make A Great Gift

MAY 28TH - JUNE 1ST

MARCH 4TH & 5TH

DECEMBER 12TH

Theater, music highlight holiday season

See HOLIDAY, page 32

Cirque Musica performs acrobatics while the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra playsholiday favorites at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall Dec. 11 to 15.

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Times, a “beautifully stitched tapestry ofAmerican lives.”

Elf the musicalFriday, Nov. 22 through Sunday, Nov.

24, various show timesPatricia & Arthur Modell Performing

Arts Center at the Lyric, 140 West Mt.Royal Ave.

www.lyricoperahouse.comYou’ll want to take the little ones to this

holiday-themed musical. Elf is the enter-taining story of Buddy, a young orphanwho crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and istransported to the North Pole.

When his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities make him realize he’sonly human, Buddy sets off to New YorkCity to find his birth father and discoverwho he truly is. When he discovers thathis father is on the “naughty,” not “nice,”list and that his step-brother doesn’t evenbelieve in Santa, Buddy vows to win overhis new family and help New York re-member the true meaning of Christmas.

Irving Berlin’s White ChristmasTuesday, Dec. 3 through Sunday, Dec. 8Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Mer-

rick Performing Arts Center, 12 NorthEutaw St.

www.france-merrickpac.comThe classic holiday movie White Christ-

mas gets new life in this musical that in-

cludes such Irving Berlin hits as “BlueSkies,” “How Deep is the Ocean?” and theunforgettable title song, “White Christ-mas.” As in the movie, the show tells thestory of two friends putting on a show in asmall Vermont inn and finding their per-fect mates in the process. You’ll be dream-ing of a white Christmas too by the timeyou leave the theater.

The SnowmanThursday, Dec. 5 and Friday, Dec. 6, at

10 and 11:30 a.m. each dayJoseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212

Cathedral St.www.bsomusic.orgAnother one for the youngsters in your

life, as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestratells the musical tale of a young boy’s mag-ical friendship with a snowman as theytravel the world together.

Handel’s MessiahFriday, Dec. 6 and Saturday, Dec. 7, 7:30

p.m.Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212

Cathedral St.www.bsomusic.orgThe BSO once again ushers in the holi-

day season with its powerful performanceof Handel’s oratorio, featuring the stirring“Hallelujah Chorus.”

30th Annual Merry Tuba ChristmasSaturday, Dec. 7, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.Harborplace Amphitheaterwww.harborplace.comMore than 20 tuba and euphonium play-

ers will help get you in the holiday mood asthey blend their unique styles and rhythms.

BSO Holiday CirqueWednesday, Dec. 11, 2 p.m.; Friday,

Dec. 13, 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 14,2 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 15, 2 p.m.

Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212Cathedral St.

www.bsomusic.orgBring the entire family to hear holiday

favorites while also enjoying the perform-ance of Cirque Musica with its gasp-induc-ing aerial feats, strongmen and mind-bog-gling contortionists.

Mannheim SteamrollerPatricia & Arthur Modell Performing

Arts Center at the LyricThursday, Dec. 12, 8 p.m.www.lyricoperahouse.comIf it’s nearing Christmas, then it’s time

to break out the Mannheim SteamrollerCDs. Get a head start with this live per-formance at the Lyric.

Soulful HolidaysSaturday, Dec. 14, 8 p.m.www.france-merrickpac.comHippodrome Theatre at the France-Mer-

rick Performing Arts Center, 12 NorthEutaw St.

Soulful Symphony’s holiday show runs thegamut from rousing renditions of Christmascarols to traditional holiday favorite adapta-tions of the Messiah and The Nutcracker.

Carolers on the CourtThe Walters Art Museum

Sunday, Dec. 15, 1 and 4 p.m.www.thewalters.orgA cappella caroling ensemble Joyous

Voices returns to The Walters this year toentertain with traditional Christmasmelodies, medieval and Victorian to popu-lar favorites. Cocoa and goodies will be onhand!

The Nutcracker Family ConcertPatricia & Arthur Modell Performing

Arts Center at the LyricFriday, Dec. 20, 7:30 p.m.Saturday, Dec. 21, 2 and 7:30 p.m.Sunday, Dec. 22, 3 p.m.www.lyricoperahouse.comThis timeless tale of The Nutcracker is

an annual tradition for many families. Thisproduction brings together the BSO, Balti-more School for the Arts, Maryland Insti-tute College of Art and the Modell Per-forming Arts Center at the Lyric for aretelling of this holiday classic.

Moscow Ballet’s Great RussianNutcracker

Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Mer-rick Performing Arts Center

Saturday, Dec. 21, 12:30 p.m., 4 p.m., 8 p.m.www.france-merrickpac.comMoscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nut-

cracker features 40 top Russian dancers,falling snow, silk puppets and a spectacular“Dove of Peace,” as two dancers becomeone stunning bird with a 20-foot wingspan,all set to Tchaikovsky’s complete score.

32 Arts & Style | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 — B A L T I M O R E B E A C O N

HolidayFrom page 31

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For your personal tour contactArthur or Laura Ruby at

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B A L T I M O R E B E A C O N — D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style 33

“Hermoso Negro,” my Dad would sayAs he pulled the hairs from his chin with a tweezerI would watch him move his face closer to the mirror in

the bathroom“Hermoso Negro,” he would say again.

Handsome black man, I guess that’s how my Dad sawhimself

Or that’s what he said And when he visited my school on parents/teachers night My female teachers acted like he was handsome.

6’ 2”, not so dark-skinned with a strong Caribbean accentA professional manMy Dad was a novelty at my school in Dartmouth, Nova

Scotia.

“Mr. Woods, you look like Harry Belafonte,” my homeroom teacher said

My dad would respond with a toothy grin.

He would set up conferences with my teachers To ask if I should watch soap operasThe merits of reading fiction booksWhat my appropriate bedtime should be.

I often wondered if my teachers understood most of whathe was saying

Because at no time did he ever try to conceal hisCaribbean accent.

I remember being embarrassed in front of my friendsWhen he would say “tree” for three, “glass” for window “How ya going?” instead of How are you?But he always spoke unapologetically.

That part I liked.

HANUKKAH FEVER CONCERTCelebrate Chanukah

with the Mama Doni Band at theGordon Center for Performing Arts,3506 Gwynnbrook Pkwy. in OwingsMills, on Sunday, Dec. 1 at 3 p.m. DoniZasloff Thomas, besides being MamaDoni, is a music teacher, songwriter,lead singer for the band, and herself amom. Mama Doni celebrates Jewishculture with its high-energy, interactivefamily rock concerts, such as this onefor Hanukkah. Tickets are $10 per per-son in advance, $12 at the door. Formore information, visitwww.jcc.org/gordon-center orwww.mamadoni.com.

BEACON BITS

Dec. 1

turn of events.For a newly published poet, Amour has

been well received, and one of her poems,“Hermoso Negro,” written about her fa-ther, garnered an Honorable Mention inthe Allen Ginsburg Poetry Awards, spon-sored by the Poetry Center at PassaicCounty Community College in New Jersey.“Hermoso” means handsome in Spanish.

Amour has appeared in Baltimore, andwill be reading from her work later thismonth in New York.

Writing the book took close to two years,and while Amour contemplated looking forconventional publishing options, she feltthat, creatively, it was time for her to re-lease the book now. That is why she wentthe self-publishing route. “Besides,” shelaughed, “poetry is a really hard sell.”

Free to Be Me: Poems on Life, Love andRelationships is for sale, both in print ande-book format, on Amazon.

PoetFrom page 30 “HERMOSO NEGRO”

F R O S H I D L E O V E NL A N C E T R O T N E R OU T U R N E I G H T E E N SB A S E C A M P A S P S

W E B S O R EA B C S B A S K E T C A S EL U R I D S C O R E M I XT R I N I O R K S K I R TI R E L A N A I T I G E RD O D G E V I P E R C O D A

I M A C E E KK I L N S O F T S O A P

H A V E A B A L L H O R S EO N E A A C I D O U S T SP T S D N E T S S T O A T

ANSWERS TO SCRABBLE

ANSWERS TO CROSSWORD

FROM PAGE 34


Puzzle Page

Scrabble answers on p. 33.

Crossword PuzzleDaily crosswords can be found on our website:

www.TheBeaconNewspapers.comClick on Puzzles Plus

Answers on page 33.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16

17 18 19

20 21 22

23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34

35 36 37 38

39 40 41 42

43 44 45 46

47 48 49 50

51 52 53

54 55 56 57 58 59 60

61 62 63 64

65 66 67

68 69 70

Down1. Botch2. Pro ___3. Burden of proof4. O: Attaches5. In conclusion6. One story or two lovers7. Party pooper8. Diary9. Ending of the Bible10. “I’ll be right there”11. Senate tie-breaker12. White-bellied Sea Eagle, and relatives13. Ballot proposition options19. Most pucker-producing21. Start of a sonnet rhyme scheme24. Home to the Illinois Holocaust Museumand Education Center25. “___ the fields we go”26. Other ref. nbr.27. Small donkey28. Wept30. ___ Boomer (an intense post-war kid)31. Left-over parts32. Ole buddy33. Begot34. Face in a crowd scene36. No-win situation42. O: Evicts45. Gardner of The Barefoot Contessa48. Biblical mountain, in present-day Jordan49. Arbiter or arbitrate53. Community spirit54. He could write of Pure Reason55. Folk singer Burl56. Feature of a 41 Across57. He made 425 new cars in 190158. Roughly59. “The Thin Man” dog60. Annoyance61. Short flight62. Lifetime ___ (permanent expulsion)63. Get a top grade

Enjoy Yourself by Stephen Sherr

Across1. Attendee at a new student mixer6. Unused10. GE product14. It’s used as a weapon a lot15. Hot to ___16. He has a steakhouse at Caesar’s Palace17. Complete 18018. O: Pretty good blackjack hands20. O: Last stop for supplies22. Nile snakes23. One of the w’s in www.crossword-dictionary.com

24. Achy26. Fundamentals29. O: Neurotic one35. Gruesome37. Cross the goal line38. Match match39. South Caribbean islander40. TV ET HQ41. Ann Taylor offering43. Resentment44. Hawaiian Island with no traffic lights46. After Jack, he has won the most majors47. O: New model greenlighted by Lee Iacocca in 1990

50. Concluding event51. Jobs creation52. “Oh no; a mouse!”54. It turns clay to bricks56. O: A good cleanser, bar none61. Enjoy yourself (or what all the O’ed clues do)

64. Trojan hiding place65. ___-Day (vitamin brand founded over 25,000 days ago)

66. Type of jazz or rock67. Expels68. War vet’s problem69. Brooklyn team, since 201270. Short-tailed weasel

JUMBLE ANSWERS

Jumbles: USURP APPLY POWDER BEHELD

Answer: What the clerk got when she decorated the giftpackage -- "WRAPPED" UP IN IT

ACCOUNTING, BOOKKEEPING, TAXES –conscientious CPA, 37 years experience, reason-able rates, looking for additional business, per-sonal and eldercare clients. Call 410-653-3363.

2ND-FLOOR APARTMENT – 2 bedrooms.Living and dining room. Kitchen and 1 bath-room. Open porch. Heat included. $600 permonth. 410-298-8048, 410-523-8844.

2 BURIAL LOTS AT PARK VIEW CEME-TERY – in Parkville. New sect. Garden ofPeace. Mrs. Schafer, 410-569-5686.

WEIGHT EQUIPMENT – ALL CHROMEParamount 4 station. Cost $5,000. Will sell for$1350 firm. Also upright Sears Freezer, 16 cubic ft.Never used. $125. Full size Brunswick Slate pooltable with green felt, $625. 443-797-4800, Richard.

2 SALVADOR DALI woodblock prints fromDante’s Divine Comedy. Signed and framed.Asking $900 for the pair. Can email pictures ifdesired. Call Steve, 410-913-1653.

WORLD’S LARGEST HEALTH AND WEIGHTLOSS company. Incredible 30 free milkshakes.Offer while supplies last!! www.results44.com. 443-253-2640.

SANFORD & SON HAULING Trash re-moval, house & estate clean-outs, garage clean-outs, yard work & cleanups, demolition, shedremoval. 410-746-5090. Free Estimates. In-sured. Call 7 days a week 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

FEDERAL HOME SOLUTIONS - CertifiedAging in Place Specialists. We are a full-service,custom-remodeling company specializing inmodifications for accessibility. 410-409-8128.MHIC# 104589.

BASEMENT OR FOUNDATION PROB-LEMS? LEVELIFT SYSTEMS, INC. offershonest, professional, no-pressure inspection,consultation & repair quotes for owner-occupiedhomes with settling, cracking & buckling base-ment walls. Our 23-year-old Jessup, Maryland-based firm has a spotless record with Angie’sList, Better Business Bureau and MarylandState Home Improvement Commission. Ask forPaul. Office: 301-369-3400. Cell: [email protected]. MHIC #45110.

MIKE RUPARD – A FULL SERVICEPAINTING contractor. Interior. Exterior. “Nojob is too small.” 30 years experience. Free esti-mates. Fully-licensed and insured. 301-674-1383.

BALTIMORE’S BEST JUNK REMOVAL –Clean Outs: Whole House, Emergency,Attics/Basements. Furniture and Junk Re-moval, Yard Waste Removal, General Hauling,Construction Debris Removal. Free estimates.10% Senior Discount. Licensed, Bonded and In-sured. Call Jesse, 443-379-HAUL (4285).

HANDYMAN MATTERS will help you staysafe in your own home. Professional, ReliableSkilled Craftsmen. Grab Bar Installation,Bathroom Modifications and your to-do list!410-549-9696. MHIC # 89094.

ESTATE SPECIALIST, experts in estateclean-outs and preparing your house for sale.Trash removal, house cleanouts, light moving,demolition, yard work, cleaning. 410-746-5090.Free estimates. Insured. Call 7 days, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

FEMALE COMPANION, EXPERIENCED –light housekeeping, cooking, errands, organiz-ing, pet care. 443-243-1280.

LEARN ENGLISH – SPANISH – ITALIAN –FRENCH – PORTUGUESE Conversational.Grammatical. Private lessons. ReasonableRates. Tutoring students. 443-352-8200.

VINYL RECORDS WANTED from 1950through 1985. Jazz, Rock-n-Roll, Soul, Rhythm& Blues, Reggae and Disco. 33 1/3 LPs, 45s or78s, Larger collections of at least 100 itemswanted. Please call John, 301-596-6201.

WE BUY OLD AND NEW JEWELRY, Coins,Silver and Gold, Paper Money Too. Watches,Clocks and Parts, Military Badges and PatchesOld and New. Call Greg, 717-658-7954.

MILITARY ITEMS Collector seeks: helmets,weapons, knives, swords, bayonets, webgear,uniforms, inert ordnance, ETC. From 1875 to1960, US, German, Britain, Japan, France,Russian. Also Lionel Trains. Please call Fred,301-910-0783. Thank you.

OLD AND NEW WE BUY Sterling SilverFlatware, Tea Sets, Single Pieces, FountainPens, Lighters, Tools, Cameras, Glassware, ArtWork. Toys From Trains to Hotwheels to StarWars. Call Greg, 717-658-7954.

CASH BUYER FOR OLD COSTUME JEW-ELRY – pocket and wrist watches (any condi-tion). Also buying watchmaker tools and parts,train sets and accessories, old toys, old glass-ware & coins. 410-655-0412.

FINE ANTIQUES, PAINTINGS ANDQUALITY VINTAGE FURNISHINGSwanted by a serious capable buyer. I am verywell educated [law degree] knowledgeable[over 40 years in the antique business] andhave the finances and wherewithal to handlevirtually any situation. If you have a specialitem, collection or important estate I wouldlike to hear from you. I pay great prices forgreat things in all categories from orientalrugs to Tiffany objects, from rare clocks tofirearms, from silver and gold to classic cars.If it is wonderful, I am interested. No phonypromises or messy consignments. Referencesgladly furnished. Please call Jake Lenihan,301-279-8834. Thank you.

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TO PLACE A CLASSIFIEDDeadlines and Payments: Ad text and payment is due by the 5th of each month.Note: Only ads received and prepaid by the deadline will be included in the next month’sissue. Please type or print your ad carefully. Include a number where you can be reachedin the event of a question. Payment is due with ad. We do not accept ads by phone orfax, nor do we accept credit cards.

Private Party Text Ads: For individuals seeking to buy or sell particular items, or place apersonal ad. Each ad is $10 for 25 words, 25 cents for each additional word.

Business Text Ads: For parties engaged in an ongoing business enterprise. Each ad is $25 for 25 words, 50 cents for each additional word.

Note: Each real estate listing counts as one business text ad. Send your classified ad with check or money order, payable to the Beacon, to:

The Beacon, Baltimore Classified Dept. P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915-2227

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AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTIFACTS“The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard & ShirleyKinsey — Where Art & History Intersect” is a world-class collection

of art and artifacts chronicling over 400 years of African American history and cul-ture from the 1600s to the present. Highlights of this exhibition at the Reginald F.Lewis Museum of African American History and Culture include an early copy of theEmancipation Proclamation, a signed copy of Brown vs. Board of Education, andrare works from early 19th century artists. The exhibition makes its final stop of anational tour in Baltimore through March 2, 2014. For more information, visitwww.rflewismuseum.org or call (443) 263-1800. The museum is located at 830 E.Pratt St. Admission is free for members, $6 for those 65 and older.

EVERYMAN THEATRE PRESENTS REDWinner of six 2010 Tony Awards, including Best Play, Red, playing atEveryman Theatre through Dec. 8, is an exploration of the mind ofartistic genius and abstract expressionist Mark Rothko. Set against

the changing landscape of the early 1960s, the celebrated artist has just landed hisbiggest commission: a series of massive murals for New York’s posh Four SeasonsRestaurant. Everyman Theatre is located at 315 W. Fayette St. Tickets are $32 to$60. For more information, phone (410) 752-2208 or go to www.everymantheatre.org.

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BRITTANY IN BALTIMORE“La Lumiere Fantastique: Brittany Shines in Baltimore” is on viewthrough Dec. at the Graduate Student Center: Sheila and Richard

Riggs and Leidy Galleries at the Maryland Institute College of Art, 131 W. NorthAve. The exhibition features works by 65 MICA artists created during and aftertheir residencies in Brittany, France. For more information, visit www.mica.edu orcall (410) 669-9200.

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Makes a

great gift!


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More and more people are getting so-called “Smartphones” these days. They are designed to do much more than calling, you can use them to text, send emails, access the Internet and much, much more. The problem is, they aren’t designed for seniors. What’s so smart about a phone that you practically need a computer degree to use? That’s why I was so pleased to find out about the Jitterbug Touch 2. It comes from the same people who introduced the original Jitterbug cell phone, so it’s easy to see and hear

Jitterbug Touch 2 ! "#$!%&'(!)**&+,)-.$!,)()!/.)0'!! &*!)01!'%)+(/#&0$ ! 2)'1!(&!3'$!+45#(!&3(!&*!(#$!-&6 ! 73..8'49$!&0':+$$0!;$1-&)+,!! %);$'!(1/405!$)'1 ! <)+5$=!$)'18(&8+$),!-3((&0'!)0,!,4'/.)1 ! >&!:&0(+):('!&+!:)0:$..)(4&0!*$$'?

NEW

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IMPORTANT CONSUMER INFORMATION: Jitterbug is owned by GreatCall, Inc. Your invoices will come from GreatCall. All rate plans and services require the purchase of a Jitterbug phone and a one-time set up fee of $35. $300 savings calculation based on market leaders’ lowest available monthly published fees. Coverage and service is not available everywhere. Other charges and restrictions may apply. Screen images simulated. There are no additional fees to call Jitterbug’s 24-hour U.S. Based Customer Service. However, for calls to an Operator in which a service is completed, minutes will be deducted from your monthly balance equal to the length of the call and any call connected by the Operator, plus an additional 5 minutes. Monthly minutes carry over and are available for 60 days. If you exceed the minute balance on your account, you will be billed at 35¢ for each minute used over the balance. Monthly rate plans do not include government taxes or assessment surcharges. Prices and fees subject to change. 1We will refund the full price of the GreatCall phone and the activation fee (or set-up fee) if it is returned within 30 days of purchase in like-new condition. We will also refund your first monthly service charge if you have less than 30 minutes of usage. If you have more than 30 minutes of usage, a per minute charge of 35 cents will be deducted from your refund for each minute over 30 minutes. You will be charged a $10 restocking fee. The shipping charges are not refundable. Jitterbug and GreatCall are registered trademarks of GreatCall, Inc. ©2013 GreatCall, Inc. ©2013 by firstSTREET for Boomers and Beyond, Inc.

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December 2013 Baltimore Beacon Edition

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Transcript of December 2013 Baltimore Beacon Edition